INS(oev)IDE #12 - Some Recent Finds

A look at some of the items that have luckily made their way into my wardrobe over the past few weeks.

Writing a “what I purchased lately” type post was never something I intended on doing. I am not a huge fan of those types of posts, especially when they lead into the “look at my haul” territory. But I do appreciate a good “here’s what’s new to me” that has the right foci and is exploratory for each piece, which I will try to achieve here. I personally read these types posts partially as recon, partially as curiosity, and partially as an online version of window shopping to avoid actually shopping.

Over the last few years I’ve tried to limit my clothing purchases, and when I do buy, its often out of necessity (like finally replacing the Dickies I’ve been wearing to work for the past six years), utility (running gear, socks), tells a unique story, or it is a something that I believe will have longevity. It often also happens a few weeks before the season is changing. I try to take a look at what I have for the upcoming weather and decide if there are any pieces I can donate/repair, and any pieces that need replacing.

When I am making a purchasing decision, I try as hard as I can to ensure that the materials are sustainably sourced, it’s pre-owned, it supports an artist/artisan, ideally is a one-of-few, and is of a quality that I will be able to wear it for many years to come. There is also a utilitarian aspect to purchasing thoughts as well; can I wear this for multiple purposes?

The items I am highlighting below all hit key areas and all have a quick story associated, so I thought I would share.

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DI CHEM DRESSER SWEATER

I would say that I don’t have an overly “loud” wardrobe. I mostly wear plain white or black tees, the occasional graphic t-shirt or sweater, black or blue jeans and mostly plain looking shoes, so when I add pops of colour or “flare”, they tend to be things I really appreciate and love, and are usually a top-layer item like a jacket or sweater. I also love when the item can tell a story and like I mentioned above and/or could potentially be a one-of-one, like I explored in my very first GENEs article about my favorite jacket.

This particular sweater, has to be, by far, the most complimented item of clothing I have purchased in the last few years and every time I’ve worn it so far, the people I interact with, whether strangers on the street, people at work, or close friends, have asked how/where I got it.

I found it at Mintage on Commercial, which is surprising to some and par for the course for others who know my habits. I guess some people have found it hard to believe since this particular find seems like it was custom made for me but I try to be clear; my method of thrifting/vintage shopping is very passive and I just get lucky once in a while.

I rarely am searching for something specific when I head into shops, but I love looking. I stop into the vintage stores almost every time I am on Commercial or Main St. and frequent thrift stores in the suburbs when I get a chance and more often than not, I walk out empty handed. I’ve been doing this for the past two decades. I’ve always looked at shopping more as a way to take in information than to clothe myself, I am constantly looking at the patterns and graphics, feeling the textures, and trying to figure out what is being purchased and what is being left behind. Occasionally though, I stumble upon things that I HAVE to purchase, this sweater being one of them.

The second I saw “DI CHEM”, I HAD to buy it. For those who don’t know, my last name is DiPietro, and I teach chemistry…it was a no brainer.

It was on a mannequin at the front of Mintage and I didn’t even try it on or ask the price, it was an automatic purchase because of the DI CHEM badge on the front. I can honestly say orange is one of my least favorite colours, and the collar…not my usual style, but the double zipper, the warm wool, and the 70s striping still make the styling of it nice despite those things.

As it turned out, it fits me perfectly and pairs very well with my favorite pants (see below), as well as my brown Dickies I wear to work. The orange isn’t really that bright or off putting and the collar, when zipped up, is actually really nice.

I did some quick research as the tag said made in Edmonton, I figured it was an old oil company (not ideal…) and indeed it was.

“Dresser Di-Chem was a division of Dresser Industries, a multinational corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that provided a wide range of technology, products, and services for developing energy and natural resources (Wikipedia). In the late 1970s, Dresser Di-Chem introduced the Tridair, a version of the hydraulic Induced Gas Flotation (IGF) unit, which had a smaller footprint and improved recycle design (JPT). This innovation contributed to advancements in produced water treatment technologies.” (ChatGPT).

Being a bit of an environmentalist myself, I will take this opportunity to reclaim the name Di-Chem but respect the efforts of an “improved recycle design”…

One of my favorite parts of the GENEs interviews I have been doing, especially when the piece is vintage or handed down, is talk about what we think the history of the clothing item is. Who wore it? Where has it been for the last 20 years? How amazing is it that it is perfect for you, and ended up in your hands?

I keep asking and trying to answer those questions every time I put this on.

This item hits many of the qualities I mentioned above in my purchasing checklist

• unique story,

• likely one-of-one,

• pre-owned, and

• I can wear it for work and play, its quite warm, but breathable,

and although a couple of the teeth in the zipper are missing, this thing seems like it has A LOT of life left and I look forward to wearing it for many more autumns

Di-Chem for work.

Alterior Jeans

This section will be short as I have already written about Alterior here, here, and here. I originally wasn’t planning on writing anything about these pants because of how much I’ve mentioned them and their space over the last year or so and I figured the reader might start to get bored about me “stanning” over this place… but I couldn’t help myself because of how much I love these pants and their new space.

Worn about 50-75 times so far and the early signs of patina are just starting to show.

Ever since Alterior started producing these trousers, I’ve been wanting to buy a pair. I love the big and baggy but yet not frumpy way the material falls off the body in their very unique silhouette. Made from deadstock or specifically sourced materials, the brothers’ eye for both design and materials is at a very high level and I’m always down to a support a local shop if and when I can. They are manufactured in the neighborhood I frequent so often to take photos and I’ve watched Cole assemble many pairs over the last few years.

Di-Chem with the Alterior Trousers in black.

I bought these pants in the summer when they were just getting this material (14oz black Okayama Japanese Selvedge) in stock and I was originally anticipating I’d be wearing them a bunch during upcoming winter, but the second I got them, I couldn’t wait. As soon as the weather started to drop a few degrees in late August, I’ve put them on any chance I get. They have become my daily drivers and they are only getting better with age. Yes, they are expensive, but I’d argue, very worth it.

They check many of the purchasing boxes…

• made locally,

• in limited runs,

• very unique and local design, with a limited amount of material to make each pair

making them something I value much higher, and makes me want to cherish for much longer.

Vancouver Sun Run Sweater

Finally, on a recent browse of Vintage Sponsors new shop, I came across a few vintage running sweaters. Buying used running gear is something I’d like to do more, but those types of items are often heavily used considering they are sweat in constantly… The old promotional t-shirts and sweaters are more appealing because of their nostalgia quality, and often they were printed on great cotton.

I flipped by the small selection Matt had put out and I thought they were pretty cool, but initially, the 80’s colours didn’t please my eye, especially since they were printed on white crew neck sweaters, something I can’t bring myself to wear because of my tendency to spill, and my daughters tendency to wipe her greasy little mitts on me. I snapped some photos and sent them to my brother and a couple friends of one of the designs and headed back out to take photos.

My friends and I have been in the process of trying to design a graphic for a run club t-shirt. We have gone back and forth with a few inspirations and iterations over the last few months, but no design has really stuck. My illustrator/procreate skills aren’t “the best”, but I’ve dabbled with those programs for enough years now that when a project comes by, I like to give it a few tries. I took the photos as potential references for future designs, I like to build a collection just in case.

I did another couple laps of Commercial drive, but the entire time I was thinking I’d go back and check the sizes one more time, maybe a friend, or my wife, would be interested in one of the crew necks.

Upon my return, I flipped to the “Sun Run” sweater again and looked at it with a bit more attention to the details.

I’ve personally never done the Sun Run, but boy I love running the seawall…

The people in the image match my family exactly…

and its from the year my wife and I were born….

This was too good of a story, so I had to get it. I likely wouldn’t wear this sweater, but I needed to have it, maybe my wife would wear it, or one day my daughter. I picked it up and got chatting to Matt about how he came into ownership of the sweater, which was a pretty fun story in itself, thanked him for the find, and was on my way home.

I sent another photo, as I hadn’t originally sent this one forward. A couple hours later my group chat with the running shirt ideation started pinging off. We needed to give this design a try for the run club design.

Some initial design trials done on Procreate.

At first I was a bit intimidated, illustrating the silhouettes of people seemed a bit outside of my abilities, and the design in general seemed a bit complex compared to some of the stuff I had been working on prior, but it turned out, I was up for the challenge.

It took a couple of hours, but I ended up producing a design ripped right from the old design.

I’m super pleased with how it came out and appreciate the challenge it presented. I always learn something new when I take on new projects on Illustrator and I’m pleasantly surprised that I was able to achieve exactly what had been envisioned by the original artist while still making it our own. I wasn’t intending on sharing this design yet as we wanted it to be a surprise for the run club members, so those of you in the run club who are reading this, you rock, seeing this is you treat for making it this far in my newsletter!

Conclusions

I can’t imagine too many more of these types of entries will follow this post, but maybe it’s something I can do every other season. My goal has always been to provide a different way of looking at consuming clothes and I hope I can continue to find ways to achieve communicating that goal by digging into the stories people have about their clothes (through GENEs), but also my own journey with clothes as well. Maybe the next article though, will be “everything I am purging from my closet”…

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I am currently in the process of making my yearly magazine. Different size and format this year, but I am hoping to be able to share sneak peaks soon.

I am working on a draft about the magazine currently, so stay tuned!

As always, thanks for reading.