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- Fade Friday – GUSTIN Okayama Standard #75 (18 Months, 2 Soaks, 1 Wash)
Fade Friday – GUSTIN Okayama Standard #75 (18 Months, 2 Soaks, 1 Wash)
/ Fade Friday /
Woven in Okayama, sewn in San Francisco, brought to life in Pennsylvania. Heddels reader Justin shares his pair of GUSTIN #75 Okayama Standards for this week’s Fade Friday.
Crowdsourced and community-driven, GUSTIN is known for choosing fabrics with real character and letting its community decide whether a full run gets produced or not. That said, the #75 Okayama Standard denim is a stalwart in the GUSTIN roster. Woven on vintage shuttle looms, the midweight fabric starts out rigid with a clean medium-indigo tone. With wear, the vertical grain texture comes alive, showcasing a wide range of indigo blues.
After only 18 months of wear, Justin’s jeans show those remarkable results in droves: heavy indigo loss at the thighs, deep honeycombs, and vertical fade patterns that highlight the fabric’s natural slub texture. With just one soak and two washes, his Okayamas have lightened into a bright medium indigo that looks naturally broken in. Factory distressing could never!
Now working in construction, Justin wears these GUSTINs daily, whether on-site, camping, or wrenching on his truck in the driveway. Imparting some denim wisdom in his submission, Justin says that there is no secret to great fades, just consistent wear and time. I’m inclined to agree.
Gustin Okayama Standard Raw Denim Jeans
Fabric: 100% cotton selvedge denim
Fabric weight: 14.5 oz.
Fabric source: Japan
Made in: USA
Fit: Various
Additional Details:
Sanforized
Button fly
Leather patch
Selvedge belt loop and fly
Red-gold chainstitch hem
Custom hardware
Available for $139 at GUSTIN.
/ New Releases /
As we collectively pull our socks back up to our calves with the rush of colder temps flooding in, it’s only right that we have a pair of boots to keep them company. But in this time of intimate sole searching, where should you turn? Well, the Peco Boots from Red Wing Heritage are back after numerous periods of discontinuation, and they’re pretty hard to ignore.
Originally dropped in 1953, the Peco Boot hasn’t changed much since its initial release, which is usually the sign of a timeless product. No controversial additions or subtractions, nor material pivots. Just letting the original design speak for itself decade over decade. You can’t innovate when it’s already perfect, right?
Forever known as a Western-style boot, the Pecos uses genuine Hawthorne Muleskinner roughout from Red Wing’s partner tannery, SB Foot, and features a leather insole. Plus, thanks to a Goodyear welt construction, after you put them through their paces, you can resole them and get them back on the road for another 12 rounds.
Each pair is made in the USA and featured as part of a limited capsule helping Red Wing celebrate 120 years in the business. Get your pair now, while supplies last.
KATO and White’s are two brands from the Land of Things That Get Better with Age, so it makes sense that they have come together to produce a pair of absolute patina machines. The Hiroshi KATO x White’s Semi-Dress boot is the first collaboration between two of these quality goods heavyweights, using teacore leather as a nucleus for an absolutely compelling pair of boots.
Sourced from Chicago’s iconic Horween tannery, this black chromexcel teacore leather is engineered for patina. Teacore leather is a highly prized style of leather that emulates the nuanced break-in of vintage leather by emulating older styles of tanning and finishing leathers. What makes a leather teacore is that, as you wear away the outermost layer of dye or pigment, you begin to see a new layer of color — the core.
KATO & White’s applied lustrous full-grain black teacore to the latter’s iconic Semi-Dress boot, this time constructed with a combination of hand-welted and handsewn stitchdown construction methods around White’s popular 55 last. Developed in the early 1930s, the 55 Arch Ease last features a Medium arch and width in the toe box, and accommodates the shape of most feet with a moderate break-in period. A choice of leather or drawcord laces threads through a combination of 4 oxidized eyelets and 2 speed hooks, while a tonal Vibram Christy wedge sole provides comfort and traction on the first step.
Opting to champion the inky tone of the black teacore, White’s deployed all-black stitching on the uppers, and dyed the leather midsole, too. The welt offers a hit of contrast with white stitching, but don’t expect these things to stay black forever. That’s right, the black pigments will eventually give way to the lighter, more natural-toned core of the leather. If you want a pair of boots that will transform alongside your favorite raws, this is it.
Each pair is made in the USA, using time-honored shoemaking techniques that have made White’s such an enduring brand. A debossed Hiroshi KATO logo on the collar marks the occasion.
Available exclusively for US customers at KATO, priced at $780.
All leather boots grow in texture as you wear them, but some are imbued with additional grain or character off the bat. Falling into this category is Meermin‘s 514667 Cap Toe Boot, which has been rendered in a crossboard edition of C.F. Stead‘s oiled shoulder leather.
What’s Crossboard, you ask? Well, it’s a form of crossgrain leather, which is basically where a texture is imprinted onto the hide as the leather is tanned. As well as adding instant visual appeal, this treatment is typically paired with a gloss or oil coating that provides water resistance, an effect bolstered by the little debossed channels created by the geometric imprint. In this instance, C.F. Stead has imprinted a ‘crossboard’ imprint onto their oiled shoulder leather in a rich brown ‘polo’ brown, making this edition of Meermin’s 514667 Cap Toe boot a compelling option for your fall/winter footwear arsenal.
Made in China using re-soleable Goodyear welted construction, the 514667 comes with a combination of eyelets and speed hooks, a bellows tongue, and a cap toe with intricate brogueing. The shaft is unlined while the vamp is lined with horsehide for comfort and longevity. Combine all of the above with Meermin’s wide-toed NEGON last and a lugged rubber sole, and you have one hell of a boot that will be snug, secure, and shower-resistant from the first step.
Available at Meermin for $280.
We’ve been so preoccupied with all the straight and taper cuts under the sun that we’ve neglected the flair that ruled unapologetically throughout the ’70s. Sugar Cane is remedying that with the SC42321 Bootcut.
Pairing 14 oz. denim based on an early 1970s sample (and woven on an old power loom) with a cut pulling from the late 1970s, these jeans put their best leg forward with cherry-picked excellence from the era. Made in Japan and closed out with a paper patch and Universal 42 type zipper —modeled after old Talons that would have adorned old pairs — these sanforized jeans are ready for the original Woodstock plus your indie sleeze era. Just maybe stay away from the tie-dye stuff for now.
Available for $205 from Hinoya.
Get Mister Freedom’s Snipes 11oz 2×1 Selvedge Denim Shirt in Your Sights
Mister Freedom has garnered a very well-deserved reputation for some of the best heritage goods in the game, and their Snipes 2×1 Selvedge Denim Shirt is here to uphold that reputation. Designed in MF’s studio, the pattern is inspired by a vintage 1930s US Army wool uniform shirt, updated for 2025 in a raw 11 oz. 2×1 denim, milled in Japan.
2×1? Don’t worry, no math involved here — 2×1 simply refers to the twill of the raw denim. Specifically, it means that there are 2 warp threads for every weft, which makes it lighter than your typical raw denim. It’s more breathable, but not quite as light as a plain weave (or 1×1), so the Snipes shirt is an ideal piece of layering all year round. This specific 2×1 denim has a dark indigo warp and grey weft, making it a deliciously dark denim that will fade beautifully.
Made in Japan, the Snipes shirt has some really lovely detailing. An unstructured one-piece collar which gives the shirt a more relaxed look, black corozo wood buttons perfectly complement the rich indigo denim, whilst two large chest pockets — with an equal amount of pen slots — and reinforced elbow patches make sure that it is in-keeping with its utilitarian roots.
Available for $298 from Tendrel.
Fall is the perfect time to hard launch tweed, and with Gitman Bros. in the mix, you can be sure it’s done right. With the Independence Work Shirt – done exclusively for the Chicago retailer – you’re getting heavyweight cotton tweed, a two chest pocket design, and even a locker loop.
But a tweed work shirt, big deal. Well, wait, what if we told you it is the slubbiest plaid shirt to ever exist and works way beyond a gimmick? Bringing blue, brown, and green hues to the table, the outrageously burly shirt is easy to get lost in for all the right reasons. Almost like a wearable Monet painting, when you’re desperate for a break from plaid flannels but need something more substantial than an OCBD, this Made in USA shirt puts in the work.
Available for $325 from Independence.
From baggy cuts to slim fits, there are plenty of fish in the indigo-dyed sea. But when the dust settles, and hype trains leave the station, only a few jeans will remain, no matter when you’re looking to buy a share of $DENM.
The Ivy Tapered Fit from Big John is simply one of these special pairs. Made from 14 oz Japanese selvedge denim, this ’60s throwback features a roomy top block with a robust taper towards the hem, which brings comfort and a clean silhouette to any look.
Inspired by ‘Ivy‘ style pants from the 1960s, bringing this iconic cut into the world of denim is a harmonious blend of workwear and collegiate fashion, which, in our book, makes them bulletproof. So whether you’re walking across the campus on the daily or just want to look the part, you’ve met your match.
Available for $220 from Franklin & Poe.
While jacquard fabrics are woven all year ’round, it’s in fall/winter that the most iconic jacquard cloths come out to play. Adding to this world of whimsical wovens is Iron & Resin‘s Salton Shirt, a 10.5 oz jacquard flannel button-down that balances old west romanticism with true rugged utility.
The Salton Shirt takes its cues from the early jacquard textiles of the American Southwest. Jacquard wovens, known as Jerga, had been produced by the Pueblo and Navajo tribes for hundreds of years, but when Spanish colonists used them for coats, wagon tarps, and blankets, they became a cross-cultural phenomenon.
Reminiscent of 19th-century blankets, Iron & Resin’s custom 10.5 oz jacquard is woven on vintage shuttle looms, imbuing it with the subtle slub and nuanced texture that make authentic jacquards so special. No prints to chip away, no branding; just pure geometric beauty where every yarn is part of the story.
Heavy enough to be an overshirt but not too hefty to simply slip over a tee, the Salton shirt is available in three colorways, each curated with charmingly washed-out tones that echo the eery, sun-baked landscape of the shirt’s namesake; the Salton Sea. Each shirt is constructed with robust double-needle seams, bar-tacked stress points, custom InR metal catseye buttons, and a drawcord locker loop in the neckline for easy storage.
Available at Iron & Resin for $129.
/ Giveaway /
It’s been nearly a month since the Fall equinox, and we’re loving being back in our cold-weather favorites. Corduroy garb, cozy sweaters, hardy flannels — all that good stuff. The weather may not be as uplifting, but here’s just something about stepping out into that crisp air with tough clothing protecting your body that just feels right.
We’ve teamed up with Iron & Resin, Carl Murawski, Cool Material, Denimhunters, Stridewise, and Live a Little to offer our readers a chance to win a Fall Starter Pack from Iron & Resin. Worth over $800, this pack consists of:
If you need a little boost in the fall/winter clothing department, this prize pack has you covered with a duck canvas jacket, jacquard flannel, corduroy work pants, and a rustic shawl sweater inspired by The Dude‘s iconic cardigan in The Big Lebowski.
To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is drop your email on this page before Monday, 3 November 2025. The one lucky winner will be notified by email and have 24 hours to confirm their shipping and size information. All entrants will be signed up for all partners’ newsletters, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.
Wait, you’re still reading? What are you waiting for – hit the button below for your chance to snag this haul of Iron and Resin goodness.
/ Weekly Rundown /
Ep. 40: The Fight Worth Fighting—with James McKinnon – Jeansland Podcast
Time Capsules: Meet the Vintage Retailers Preserving American Fashion – Sourcing Journal
HAVEN 2025 Catalyst Boot Process – HAVEN
Dehen’s Letterman Sweater – A Piece of History – Dehen 1920
How “Instagram Workwear” Gets You Hurt, Wastes Your Money – Site Pro News
How to Revive The Cobbling Industry? Teach it in High School—and it’s Already Working. – Stitchdown
In-depth – How type of leather affect fit – Shoegazing
Introducing Levi’s® x Barbour – Levi Strauss & Co.
After a zeitgeisty Halloween costume? Look no further than the back of your wardrobe – The Guardian
Like this? Check out Our Blowout Podcast
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