Burgundy and Stripes

I totally see a pattern here…without even trying, I keep ending up wearing a lot of burgundy and black lately…often with stripes. I could maybe blame the acquisition of my striped Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac bag, but there’s something very theatrical and playful about black and white stripes that I love…especially with, yes, burgundy or a dark plum. Yummy. Anyway, it’s recently warming up again here in California which is nice for now, but dammit we need more rain! At least it allowed me to pull out some tank tops for styling ideas again for a little while. Here, I’m wearing a tank from Old Navy with a cute hoodie my sister got from London and bestowed upon me. It has so many cute embroidered and applique details, I’m in love! I wore my American Eagle Outfitters booties with it to round out the burgundy look. As for jeans, I thought I’d try out my hand at the raw denim world. This is my first pair! For those who aren’t familiar with what that is, raw (or dry) denim is basically jeans that are just that…raw out of the factory, heavily dyed, with the wash and detailing treatment skipped. This allows for, providing you wear your raw jeans heavily for months and even years before you wash them (ew, I know), truly custom, faded jeans that tell a story, you could say…and are unique to you! I plan on making another post that gets more in detail about what raw jeans are in the future. For now, check out this great post at Denimology!

Most raw denim is a bit pricey, sometimes more than your typical pair of premium jeans, as much of it is done with high-quality Japanese denim or authentically made in America with love. Nudie, A.P.C., Railcar and even Levi’s are great choices for raw jeans, which are much easier to find for men than women as the men’s demand is MUCH higher. I’ll also recall a blog post I did about KOBEN, a successful kickstarter for raw jeans lined with silk! I chose this pair of Cheap Monday Original Tight Jeans in Blue Dry as my first pair. They are a bit cheaper in quality and price than most raw denim, but from reading a lot about them, they could be called a bit of a cult favorite, and the brand does have a decent following. Anyhow, they’re a great starter pair. I am excited enough to break these in and get some awesome fading (they are already starting to get some creasing in the hips and back of the knees after just 4 days of wear) but it also means I can’t wear my other beloved jeans as much! I’m aiming for 3-4 times a week with them. Also, they might be cheaper in the premium denim sense, but I am super impressed by the fit! I’m slightly curvy, and I read these are super tight, so I sized up, and they are PERFECT and have already molded to my shape…just as raw denim is supposed to do. I’ll make more posts about them later as my breaking-in progresses! You can grab a pair of these jeans right here.