After a record hot summer, we all had to break down and wash our denim. Oh well, less SuFu street cred. This probably means, that like me, you’re contemplating what new denim to break in this fall. Today I spoke with Karl Thoennessen, the man behind Rogue Territory Denim Goods about his just released (8.30.11) Stanton jeans, and anything else he had coming this fall. (Spoiler: We will finally get our hands on the Dark Stantons!)

OA: The Stanton’s have been my goto jean for a couple years now. I see for Fall 2011 you switched up the denim for this run. What made you choose this particular denim?

KT: The denim is from Nihon Menpu, I gravitate towards this mill because I love the shades of indigo and the quality of construction that they produce. This denim runs slightly heavier then the last batch…closer to 15oz then 14oz. Not a huge difference, but you can feel it when you put them on. The denim has some great character to it. Some visible details are the cross hatch and a slight vertical slub, which give it a more vintage feel. Finally, though the denim is on thicker side it has a great hand and breaks in really nicely and the indigo breaks down really nicely to give you great contrast between high and low impact areas.

OA: (*Grins widely.)

OA: Have you tweaked the design from past Statons’?

KT: Other than the slightly heavier denim there have been some minor changes to fit and construction. First off, I gave a little more room in the crotch and seat (approximately .5″ front and back) and took in the waistband approximately .5″ (the last batch was running a little on the larger side) Other than that the fit is the same from the thigh down. size 31 finished leg opening is 7.75″ or 15.5″ total circumference. Some construction details include heavier/stronger thread throughout the jean. Navy thread used to sew down the lining on the back pocket instead of black. Gives a cleaner look the thread practically disappears. Unbranded rivets and fly button, there’s still the branded crossed feather button on the waistband. I went for unbranded hardware because I wanted the jeans to look more utilitarian and I think they compliment the denim perfectly.

With every production run I’m constantly making little tweaks to try and produce the best quality product I can.

OA: Awesome! The denim sounds amazing and you tweaked the only (minor) changes I wanted with the fit of the existing Stanton: little less waist, little more crotch/seat.

OA: Can you talk about the stretch of this denim as it breaks down? I felt the last denim stretched no more than .5″ throughout the jean, where some other jeans I’ve had stretch anywhere from .5 – 1.5″ throughout. For example, much of the Cone Denim I’ve worn will stretch considerably (more than 1″) and you can’t leave out APC, which are known to stretch an ungodly amount.

KT: This denim will be about the same minimal stretch/shrinkage, I’d say on average about .5″.

KT: Also, keep and eye out for our Navy Overdyed 13.5oz Japanese Denim Stanton and our Black on Black Stantons dropping in the next couple of weeks!

OA: Tell me more about the navy overdyed JDS – is this the infamous Dark Stanton (finally)?

KT: The Navy Overdye is the infamous Dark Stanton! (finally) haha yea that denim is rad. Pretty rigid right off the bat with minimal stretch approximately .5″. the jeans features all black thread inside and out except for a nice bold natural thread for all the overlock on the side seams, fly, and inseam. The Denim has a dark navy top (what you’ll see on the outside of the jean) and a black bottom (what you’ll see on the inside of the jean) so needless to say it’s dark. The cool thing about the denim is since it’s an overdye the dye hasn’t fully absorbed into the yarn, so when it starts to breakdown the white of the core of the yarn will start showing which lends to amazing contrast and an overall unique fade.

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So there you have it, Karl is kicking out a sweet update to the Stanton and dropping the Dark Stanton – a product I had a chance to see concept images of a couple years ago and have been bugging him about ever since. If you don’t have a pair of Rogue Territory jeans in your closet, you’re a punk. Just kidding, but you’ve really missed out. Karl’s denim selection and attention to detail can’t be touched for less than $300 and provide a more unique experience than most US based denim brands.

Stanton pic from RogueTerritory.tumblr.com...

Prototype shot of Dark Stanton from Rogueterritory.com...