Saturday, October 28, 2006

Shopping From Myself: Double Tin Filson Pants


Renewing my austerity vows, I'm trying to locate items from my own home closet to sport for the new Fall fashion season. It helps that I'm an epic pack rat with still unopened boxes from my last two moves (souvenirs from 2001 trip to Tokyo or a genuine Rosie O'Donnell barbie doll w/prop microphone anyone?). For the most part, austerity shopping consists of visiting the laundry room and unpacking a new box. Today, I made two major purchases: one for me--a pair of double tin Filson waxed trousers, tags intact--and one for Sara--a barbour quilt vest with polarfleece lining. The Filson pants were purchased off ebay some time ago. I originally bid on them because the gallery image implied that they were the more user friendly, unwaxed, single tin version. I ended up winning the pants on a superlow bid because they were already ready tailored to my oddball dimensions: adult waist, childish length. Though I've never actually worn the pants I've kept them around, for one, because they're lovely artifacts, and two, because they might have future use value under post-apocalyptic conditions (the fabric is so rigid, so profoundly two dimensional, almost thing-like, that it took me a full five minutes to work myself into both pant legs)(an experience akin to having a complete wax casting made of your lower body). Anyway, I've decided that for the sake of austerity I'm going to push forward and start wearing these pants (on a daily basis?) especially since they feel like body armor and clean up with a soapy sponge. In a future entry, I shall report on the futility of my austerity program in the likely event that I develop some sort of fatal waxed fabric friction rash.

7 comments:

Lesli Larson said...

Update #1: sporting tin pants today with cashmere sweater and threadbare socks. Walked halfway to work before I realized I was wearing mismatched loafers: one black, one brown. Perhaps I was mesmerized/disoriented by whoosh-whoosh of tin striking tin.

Lesli Larson said...

Update #2: pants give off a strange waxy odor which makes me feel like I'm in the rental department of a ski lodge. Sitting longterm seems to be an issue (the permanent, waxy ridges of the pants start cutting into my legs). Next up: lunch outdoors on a bench in thirty degree weather.

Lesli Larson said...

Update #3: survived full day (including appropriate drive out to roberts logging supply) in pants. Now moving into evening activities--pumpkin carving--without bothering to change into more casual velour-y loungwear. Question: how will the tin survive pumpkin splatters???

Anonymous said...

I knew I should have read this earlier! I would totally have stepped up to try the splatter test (rather than dump it in the gut bowl like a good carver ... but I use stencils so what do I know for splatter?). Those trousers are fascinating. They need their own daily blog.

another kind of nerd said...

Fantastic. But I'm wondering what the total wear to independent stand-up-ability ratio is. You need more research. I'm sure there is some sort of inverse relationship there.

Lesli Larson said...

Update #4: postmortem view:

http://flickr.com/photos/archivalclothing/285208877/

love-up-you said...
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