Heddels Blowout
121 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 months ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsClothing history...and more!
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Episodes
16 - Denim History pt. 7; Jeans End the Great Depression
December 07, 2020 07:40 - 39 minutes - 54 MBDenim soldiers forward through one of the darkest times in recent American history, the Great Depression. Reed and David explore the denim histories of both the Dust Bowl migrants and the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps, whose denim uniforms built much of the infrastructure we still enjoy today. Hear about all that and more in part 7 of our ongoing podcast series. If you'd like to support the show, head over to make a purchase at the Heddels Shop. Get 10% off your order with th...
15 - Harley-Davidson vs. Japan with Eric Kvatek
November 29, 2020 21:12 - 1 hour - 105 MBThis week we're on with renowned photographer and former vintage dealer / cigarette security guard Eric Kvatek. After getting an initial lucky break, Eric has shot for everyone from 45rpm, Strongarm, Battenwear, W'menswear, Holubar, Heddels, and most notably all the books for Japanese brand Kapital. One of his passions from his collecting days is printed t-shirts, specifically Harley-Davidson t-shirts from their xenophobic anti-Japan era of the 1970s and 80s. As the US manufacturing economy...
14 - Denim History pt. 6; The Cowboy Episode
November 22, 2020 19:44 - 50 minutes - 68.8 MBSaddle up, partner! We're here to talk about how the image of the cowboy is a manufactured piece of myth-making that helped spread denim pants all across these United States. In part 6 of our denim history marathon, Reed and David discuss the origins of the actual cowboys in the tradition of Mexican vaqueros and how that morphed into denim clad gunslingers on the silver screen. Listen in for all that and more on this week's episode. As always, listeners get 10% off at the Heddels Shop with ...
13 - Denim History pt. 5; The Rise of the Big Three
November 15, 2020 21:43 - 31 minutes - 44 MBAs the rivet cold war subsided out west, blue jeans went national. We dig into the effects rail connectivity had on the expansion of jeans eastward and how certain companies began dividing up the map into regional territories, establishing the modern day "Big Three" of Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler/Blue Bell. Listen in for all that and more on this week's episode. As always, listeners get 10% off at the Heddels Shop with the code BLOWOUT. If you have any questions you’d like us to answer, topi...
12 - Denim History pt. 4; The 17 Year Rivet War
November 09, 2020 03:04 - 34 minutes - 47.4 MBWe're back in 1870s San Francisco and Reed and David are exploring the fallout of Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis's exclusive patent to put rivets on pants, creating the first iteration of what we know as jeans today. The resulting period kicked off an arms race of competing brands trying to make their own inventions to compete with the patent-protected riveted Levi's pants. If you'd like to learn more, much of the reference for this episode is from Michael Allen Harris's phenomenal book Jean...
11 - The Politics of Pants
November 01, 2020 14:31 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MBIt's nearly the end of the 2020 election in the United States. And David's taking this week's episode to explain why something seemingly innocuous as a pair of jeans is very much a product of and affected by our political system. If you live here, please take the time to vote either in person or by dropping off your ballot. In many states, you can register same day and you can check right here where the correct spot is for you to go: https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/ Be safe out...
10 - Denim History pt. 3; Levi Strauss, Jacob Davis, and We Actually Talk About Jeans!
October 26, 2020 02:33 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBWe did it, I swear we actually talk about jeans in this one! It's only taken about 90 minutes of background history for us to go from fabric to pants made out of that fabric. In this episode we delve into the rough history of the town that birthed the modern blue jean, San Francisco and the hardscrabble gold rushers that made it boom. Including two local immigrants who made a deal that would change pants forever. If you like this show, be sure to subscribe and give us a review. It'll help u...
9 - Denim History pt. 2; The Most Unwittingly Evil Man in America
October 19, 2020 04:58 - 55 minutes - 75.9 MBThe story of denim continues—into the newly formed United States! David and Reed explore the development of mass production textiles in the early days of America and what life was like in these mill towns of 1800s New England. And then we discuss a person who unknowingly created the conditions that lead to millions of people being enslaved and probably caused the U.S. Civil War (and then he knowingly invented a faster and cheaper way to build guns). All that and more on this week's episode!...
8 - Denim History pt. 1; Serge de Nîmes and Italian Sailors
October 11, 2020 18:11 - 30 minutes - 42.2 MBDenim is the thrust of what we discuss on Heddels - and our original namesake in Rawr Denim. It’s become the people’s fabric, democratized into ubiquity around the world in just 150 short years. But how did it get there? How are we at the point where jeans can be the “default pant option” for a large part of the globe? We’re getting into the history of denim on a new series, and in this episode we're starting at the beginning in the "Speculation Zone" around the origin of our favorite fabri...
7 - The Rise and Fall of Made in USA
September 27, 2020 23:31 - 1 hour - 101 MBWe could put a man on the moon, but recently we couldn't put a piece of fabric on our collective faces. What happened to the mythical "Made in USA" of yore? Was there ever a Golden Age of American manufacturing? How did we get there and can we recapture it again? David and Reed put on their historian speculation hats and dig into why things used to be made in America, why workers used to be paid more, and why things in this country once functioned much more equitably than they do now. If y...
6 - Are People Buying Fall Clothes?
September 01, 2020 15:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBReed and David discuss what fall fashion and the typical "back to school" buying season will look like as they wear their respective basketball shorts and t-shirts. Is there going to be a need to buy clothes for this upcoming season as so many stay inside and many more face financial uncertainty? We also get into our favorites on the Taco Bell menu and ponder if celebrities can use mask wearing as a way to send body doubles out to do public appearances. If you want to support the show, have...
5 - Postal Problems, Retail in NY, Too Much PR Plop
August 31, 2020 19:03 - 1 hour - 134 MBHeddels writer Reed Nelson and managing editor David Shuck run down the issues of the day including the mass exodus of retail in NYC (and what's left to fill it besides real estate speculators), how postal slowdowns/shutdowns affect small business, and should Patagonia be given any credit for taking this long to cut ties with potential forced labor in Xinjiang. Also we make fun of random PR emails for a long time. If you want to support the show, have a look at the new Teamster Tees on the ...
4 - NYC Garment District with Blluemade's Alex Robins
July 28, 2020 23:46 - 1 hour - 154 MBIn the early twentieth century, it's estimated that 70%-95% of all clothing worn in America was made in a small section of midtown Manhattan. In 2020 it's less than 3%, but NYC's Garment District is still one of the most crucial communities in the entire global fashion industry. However, it's shrunk to the point where it's at risk of being uprooted and destroyed entirely. We're talking with Alex Robins, one half of the linen-focused brand Blluemade, about what it's like to do all of their p...
3 - Ruedi Karrer aka Swiss Jeans Freak
July 15, 2020 18:21 - 1 hour - 89.1 MBThe man, the myth, the legend. We've got an hour with the most passionate man in denim, a Swiss geographer named Ruedi Karrer who also has one of the largest private collections of denim in the world. Since the early 1970s, Ruedi has grabbed up nearly every scrap of raw indigo he could get his hands on, amassing a total of 16,000 denim garments in his "Jeansmuseum of Heaviest Fadings". Learn all about Ruedi's life in denim (doing everything from climbing Kilimanjaro to attending weddings and...
2 - Veganism in Denim, Jaime Wong of Raggedy Threads Vintage
July 08, 2020 06:00 - 2 hours - 166 MBWe're back this week with another two discussions. First we chat with our editor James Smith about a recent article of his documenting his journey buying clothes as a vegan and avoiding all animal products (https://www.heddels.com/2020/06/my-experience-of-navigating-quality-menswear-as-a-vegan/) and all the difficulties and decisions that requires. Then David talks with Jaime Wong, the owner of Raggedy Threads (http://www.raggedythreads.com/), about her 20+ years buying and selling vintage w...
1 - Introducing Blowout, Corona Closures, Mohsin Sajid
June 29, 2020 21:33 - 2 hours - 159 MBWe're back! Unfortunately a lot of other brands and retailers aren't. In this Heddels podcast reboot, David talks with writer Albert Muzquiz on his articles following the fallout of Covid-19 on the clothing business (spoiler: it hasn't been great). Then we have a lengthy chat with all-around denim renaissance man Mohsin Sajid about his 20 year career designing, consulting, and educating about all things indigo, including his latest push for a greater use of hemp in the textile industry. Al...
Episode 6: Tanya Fleisher and Roy Katz of Winter Session
June 08, 2017 03:16 - 1 hour - 98.5 MBWe sit down with husband and wife team Roy Katz and Tanya Fleisher as they discuss the start of their brand, Winter Session and it's evolution from an architectural side project to a full fledged business with a full time staff.
Episode 5 - Dave Himel of Himel Bros.
March 01, 2016 22:27 - 1 hour - 96.4 MBWe sit down with Dave Himel of Himel Bros., arguably the finest leather jacket maker working today. Dave takes us through his start as a vintage clothing dealer through the founding of his eponymous brand. Also a new treat, two minutes in takes you inside the sounds of chopping a shoe on a bandsaw. Episode is sponsored by Mildblend Supply Co. in Chicago, www.mildblend.com.
Episode 4 - Karl Thoennessen of Rogue Territory
June 29, 2015 00:42 - 55 minutes - 76.2 MBIn this episode we sit down with Karl Thoennessen, the founder of denim and lifestyle brand Rogue Territory. Hear all about the early days of RgT and how he grew a small custom jeans business into one of the most beloved raw denim brands around.
Episode 3: Christian McCann of Left Field NYC
March 19, 2015 05:01 - 59 minutes - 81.5 MBWe talk with the founder of Left Field NYC and twenty year industry vet Christian McCann about everything from the start of his brand, to the difficulties of manufacturing in the United States, to how the denim game has changed in the last two decades.
Episode #2: Andrew Chen of 3sixteen and Self Edge
December 10, 2014 20:00 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MBOn the second episode of the Rawr Denim Podcast, we sit down with Andrew Chen, the co-owner of lifestyle and denim brand 3sixteen as well as the co-owner of denim boutique Self Edge NY.