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Fade Friday – RRL Slim Fit Rigid (6 Years, 7 Months, 2 Washes, 1 Soak)

May 30, 2025

Together with

/ Fade Friday /

Repairs, tears, and fades, oh my! This week’s Fade Friday is a veritable smorgasbord of denim eye candy, courtesy of reader Leslie over in Atlanta.

Leslie bought these RRL Slim Fit Rigid jeans back in 2009 and wore them to school, skating, camping, and work. He’s retired them several times for repairs, most notably to the crotch. These beauties are fraying at the pockets, both front and back, and knees in ways that pre-faded jeans wish they looked.

Now that they’ve reached grail status, Leslie is considering framing them, glass-on-glass style. Whether he goes through with it, we’re proud to have these RRLs in our digital Fade Friday archives forever.

RRL Slim Fit Rigid Raw Denim Jeans

  • Fabric: 100% cotton selvedge denim

  • Fabric weight: 16 oz.

  • Fabric source: USA

  • Made in: USA

  • Fit: Slim Straight

  • Additional Details:

    • Leather patch

    • Logo embroidery on front pocket

    • Chainstitched waistband

  • Available at: STAG for $295

/ New Releases /

Having a decent weekend bag improves your holiday, from packing to traveling, making your way through parts unknown, and getting your stuff back safely. Wherever you’re planning for your great escape, Bleu de Chauffe‘s new Travel Bag Missak is a formidable weekend bag that hits vintage USAF notes while remaining practical, durable, and not property of the U.S. Government.

Vintage Aviator’s Kit Bag via eBay and Steve McQueen in The Great Escape via iMDB

The Missak is inspired by vintage aviator kit bags that were used by the USAF during the Second World War and beyond. Cockpits were cramped and weight needed to be kept at a minimum, so the kit bags were formulated to offer just the right amount of carry for an aviator without taking up too much precious room. These iconic pieces of luggage came in all shapes and sizes, but most iconically in a rectangular shape with dual carry handles. A bag of this ilk was famously used by Captain Hilts (portrayed by the omnipotent Steve McQueen) in The Great Escape, cementing it in the vintage menswear paradigm.

Vintage articles are great ‘n’ all, but the Bleu de Chauffe Missak is simply a cut above. Crafted from heavyweight waxed canvas from British Millerain, it features vegetable-tanned leather carry handles and a heavy cotton webbing shoulder strap for dual carrying options. The veg-tan leather is continued onto the front pocket and zip welts, offering more potential for patina against the waxy backdrop. Coming in camel, navy, khaki, and that gorgeous blackwatch-leaning tartan that Bleu de Chauffe has been deploying this season.

Mindfully sized to fit hand-luggage dimensions, the Missak has a roomy main compartment with an added internal pocket for your valuables, as well as a zippered front pocket for quick access to your passport. Each bag is built in Aveyron, South of France, and signed by its singular maker, ready to become your travel companion for decades to come.

Available for $300 from Bleu de Chauffe.

/ In Partnership with Iron & Resin /

Fed up with tees that only last a thousand miles? Well, turn that Vanessa Carlton down right now, ‘cos Iron & Resin has you covered with an American-made tee that promises a lot more – The Million Mile Tee.

Made in the USA from 9 oz. 100% cotton jersey, the Million Mile Tee offers heft, comfort, and essential style from the jump. That ultra heavyweight jersey is something to behold, with its thicker-than-usual yarns made even more prominent through a garment wash treatment that brings each of the 5 colors to life.

Get yours at Iron & Resin for $55.

We love monkey boots. And we love John Lofgren. For their 15th anniversary, the Japanese bootmaker has released an extremely special pair of the classic lace-to-toe boot.

For the last 3 years, Lofgren has ethically and respectfully sourced hides from Ezo brown bears that have passed away naturally in their wild home of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands. The Ezo bear holds a deep spiritual meaning for the island’s indigenous people, the Ainu. Known as the Kimun Kumay or mountain god, the bear is revered by the Ainu as both protector and provider and is considered a sacred being, whose flesh and hide are considered gifts from the divine. For this reason, in their own words, John Lofgren has been working for “years of quiet patience and deep respect” to craft a pair of boots that are truly rare and even more special.

Being John Lofgren, the monkey boots themselves are a piece of art. They feature Goodyear welted construction using US-made storm welts, single, double, and triple stitches, Japanese-made steel shanks, Vibram 700 cork soles, and 7335 cork heels. They’re already an impressive pair of boots before you consider the rarity and sacred nature of the Ezo bear hide.

With their 15th anniversary monkey boots, John Lofgren pays tribute to the beautiful Ezo bear, as well as the traditions, beliefs, and landscapes of Hokkaido that have played a huge part in its legacy. You’ll never see another pair of boots quite like these.

Available for pre-order (in extremely limited numbers) at Franklin & Poe for $1950.

If you’re tired of experimenting with light outerwear, the vintage workwear scientists over at Kapital have perfected the formula with their Gabardine Ringoman Coverall in a Linen Chino Cloth.

Mixing the collar and placket of French chore coats, generously asymmetric pocketing of early hunting jackets, and a military drab colorway, this is one statement piece that gets cooler the longer you look. For instance, in the time it took to write that last sentence, I just noticed the placket was slightly asymmetrical too.  And those huge buttons? So sick. All of this tinkering is underpinned by a linen body with contrasting cotton-nylon gabardine sleeves and pockets.

This is really the funhouse mirror of jackets, but instead of making you look like you’ve been stretched or condensed lengthways, it just makes you look like you know which niche Japanese label to tap up for your beautiful outerwear.

Available for $491 from Independence.

Sheffield-based shoemakers, Goral, have teamed up with Jason Jules (aka Garmsville) to produce what is probably the world’s finest deck shoe.

Goral, though only founded in 2018, is built on a solid 80-year Polish shoe-making heritage. Now under the helm of 4th generation shoemaker, Dominik Goral, they still make each pair of shoes — or sneakers in this case — by hand. Their collaboration with Garmsville is a take on the classic Ivy staple, the deck shoe, which comes as no surprise considering Jules’ expertise. But Goral has gone above and beyond here, making sure these are the last deck shoe you’ll ever buy.

They’re crafted from a herringbone waxed cotton canvas from Scotland’s finest, Halley Stevensons, with a vegetable-tanned leather insole, lasting board and heel counter, and reinforced double eyelets. The blue trim that runs around the side of the shoe is not rubber or plastic as you would usually find on deck shoes, but is also a dyed vegetable-tanned leather. Which means even the trim will develop a beautiful patina the more they’re worn. Finally, these Garmsville goodies are stitched with Blake construction, where the outer sole is directly stitched to the insole with a chain stitch, which means they can be resoled again and again — a real rarity in the world of sneakers.

These are a special pair of deck shoes, which isn’t surprising given the Garmsville co-sign. You’ll be able to roll them out again for summer after summer. We know that summer is a special thing for Goral too; they still honour the long-standing British shoemaking tradition of a summer break, giving their full team a two-week break at the end of June.

Available for $330 from Goral.

/ Weekly Rundown /

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