Hope everybody has been doing well. Sorry for not posting in a while. As I mentioned in my last post, I had a newborn and as you can imagine, I’ve had a lot less free time. I still do care about this community and want to see it grow more. I’ll keep posting whenever I can, but as I mentioned before, I would love for others to step up and post.

That being said, I wanted to have a conversation about something that’s been on my mind lately. The topic is fundamentally about consumerism. Where do you draw the line between clothing being an enthusiastic hobby rich in education and personal growth versus it becoming an excuse for your rampant overconsumption?

I saw an interview with a vintage collector recently and he mentioned something along the lines of “the hunt is more enjoyable than the find”. He was referencing this in light of vintage hunting obviously but he came off less as a materialist and more as a collector, curator and historian. I love fashion and clothing. I have been into it in one shape or another for approximately the last 20 years. Often, I find myself looking for my next clothing related purchase during my free time. At times, it has gotten a bit absurd as right after purchasing an item, I am looking for the next purchase in the same category.

I caught myself doing this recently with leather jackets. When I get into a garment sub-genre, I generally go quite deep into it. Last year I purchased a vintage flight jacket and this year I purchased a Mr. Freedom campus jacket. The difference in price was about 20x. The MF is a perfect, beautifully designed piece and easily can be the only leather jacket I ever own. But right after pulling the trigger, I found myself immediately going into vintage leather jacket forums/YouTube and researching the best makers in the world. The rabbit hole is deep and I soon learned of world class brands such as Himel Brothers, Thedi, Rainbow Country, and Aero leather. These are all the step above Mr. Freedom and I have already created a wish list of potential future jacket purchases from these companies.

This process started not two minutes after making my MF purchase. The thing is, I genuinely am interested in the construction, history and manufacturing process of these higher end companies. Yes I’m materialistic, but it’s not purely to own as much as possible. I’m generally quite thoughtful in my buying but I love learning about my potential purchases. All this may just be my elaborate justification though for materialism, but I wonder if there’s anything deeper and more noble? At what point does the learning process get divorced from over consumption? Is it always mutually exclusive necessarily? No man needs a leather jacket, they’re one of the most impractical garments imaginable unless you are a biker. Certainly no man needs to own two. I own these things because I like them and justify them in my own circuitous ways. But I think researching a $3000 jacket minutes after purchasing a $1000 jacket is a bit much.

I wish I can get to a place where I can just learn about items but not lust to purchase them. It makes me not appreciate what I have if I’m always thinking about the next item. And I do read fashion books, but find the same issue. I get into something and then want to buy it. But I’m genuinely interested in this stuff and if I stop learning, I’m sure naturally I will stop lusting. But if I stop learning, then I generally give up this hobby and I’m not sure that’s something I want to do. I fear becoming washed when I’m older if I don’t keep growing and pushing my style. But at some point, you are supposed to find your “personal style” and I suppose that’s when you stop caring so much. But this is a deep conversation for another day.

Anyways, I’m done rambling and hope this can start a productive conversation. I’m very curious to hear your thoughts.

It is different compared to the standard one you see all the time.

I hate to say it, but we need to beat this ugly piece of American trash! They are embarrassing us in 0-60, 1/4 mile and the nurburgring, and for less than €200K. When are we making something to beat it!?

Guide rod sticking out with one in the chamber? \[bodyguard 2.0\]

New bodyguard 2.0 which I have not shot yet. I keep it with one in the chamber and safety on. I just noticed that the Guide rod stuck out when I went to look at it. I took the magazine out and re-racked the slide and it went in a little bit but not completely (last picture). Is this normal? How do I fix it? Do I need a new gun?

Guide rod sticking out with one in the chamber? [bodyguard 2.0]

New bodyguard 2.0 which I have not shot yet. I keep it with one in the chamber and safety on. I just noticed that the Guide rod stuck out when I went to look at it. I took the magazine out and re-racked the slide and it went in a little bit but not completely (last picture). Is this normal? How do I fix it? Do I need a new gun?

This is a vintage wool coat I just purchased. Heavy wool made in US. I noticed this on the shoulder and wondering how I would go about fixing it. Should I try steaming it? Or is there something else you would recommend?

I recently purchased a vedder light tuck IWB for my BG 2.0 after reading much positive praise on Reddit. My old holster is a CYA IWB with no claw. I tried on both in the 3 and 330 positions and walked around the house for some time and documented photos. All my photos are marked with the position and V or C for the respective holsters. For some reason, I find the claw both more uncomfortable and less concealable. I also have a picture of the extra space in my pants so to show my pants are not too tight.

At 3 o’clock the vedder keep bunching up the shirt and is quite visible. At 3:30 it prints less, but also it is still uncomfortable. I think this mainly comes from the fact that the magazine release is not covered by the holster and digs into my skin (it is aggressively textured)

The CYA I think prints the least at 3 o’clock but it is more comfortable at 3:30. Again this has no claw, but I find it more comfortable.

Not sure if I am missing something about this claw device? For me it’s both more uncomfortable and prints more. Is it a holster issue? Or should I just keep the CYA? Also the CYA has a stronger retention and click when I holster the gun. Curious to hear your thoughts

Summer is the best time to buy vintage outerwear. I purchased the first coat pictured recently from eBay because it combines elements of my other two long coats and the color kind of lies in between, and i’m trying to consolidate my wardrobe. It’s a vintage 100% wool coat from eBay made in the US. Probably the best made of the three. But I worry it’s a little bit too large when unbuttoned. Also the sleeves are a little wide.

Number two is a more traditional Balmacaan style from Madewell. I think overall it fits me the best, but the construction is not the greatest and it’s a wool blend.

Number three is also a wool blend but it’s pure new wool and vintage and you can tell it’s a heavier wool and made much better. Also vintage MIUSA from eBay.

Which one would you keep and which two would you sell? I only want to keep one.

Summer is the best time to buy vintage outerwear. I purchased the first coat pictured recently from eBay because it combines elements of my other two long coats and the color kind of lies in between, and i’m trying to consolidate my wardrobe. It’s a vintage 100% wool coat from eBay made in the US. Probably the best made of the three. But I worry it’s a little bit too large when unbuttoned. Also the sleeves are a little wide.

Number two is a more traditional Balmacaan style from Madewell. I think overall it fits me the best, but the construction is not the greatest and it’s a wool blend.

Number three is also a wool blend but it’s pure new wool and vintage and you can tell it’s a heavier wool and made much better. Also vintage MIUSA from eBay.

Which one would you keep and which two would you sell? I only want to keep one.

I wanted to ask the community a very specific question. What western brands are there that you think rival the Japanese, who historically and especially in recent years, have dominated, in both the heritage and post-heritage scene? Post heritage is a phrase I first heard from my friend slowfashconnoisseur essentially referring to heritage inspired garments that are not strict repros, rather are more fashion oriented, while still maintaining some degree of heritage construction.

Two Japanese post-heritage brands that immediately pop into my head are Kapital and Kaptain Sunshine. Both are heavily influenced by historical workwear and military, but prioritize other non tangibles such as fit, wearability and obscure details (especially for Kapital) over pure 1:1 reproduction accuracy and durability (compared to a brand like Buzz Rickson's or Real Mccoy's which I consider true heritage brands).

I've been bitten by the Japan bug as hard as everyone else, and there's no doubt that pound for pound, they are putting out better clothing than any other country or region in the world. Still, I think there are a few juggernauts in the West, that don't just compete, but surpass the Japanese in this realm.

My first example is Mister Freedom. He is clearly vintage inspired but none of his garments are true reproductions. They are all products sold through a lens of fictional historic characters and have some of the best branding, story-telling and details I've ever seen compared to any traditional heritage brand. Christophe hand-draws all his artwork and logos, and his blog on ChristopheLoiron.com, is a treasure-trove of obscure, absurd historical fiction and nerdy diatribes about garment construction. Of course, he is no stranger to Japan (first having a vintage store there in the early 90s, and then partnering with Sugar Cane later on). I also think Nigel Cabourn (RIP), sits in an upper pantheon of western brands that not only can go toe to toe with the Japanese, but in many respects, surpass them.

Curious to hear your thoughts. Also if you have any interest, I dropped an inspiration album dedicated to Christophe and his vintage inspired brand artwork on r/threadtalks.