Joel in California is continuing the long long tradition of Westcoast faders with his pair of Stanton Slim Straight jeans from Rogue Territory. Clearly a solid nugget of gold at the bottom of the mine shaft, these jeans have seen some things over their life and have the deep wrinkles to show for it. Worn since I was a sophomore in high school – which everyone knows was 2012 – these jeans have been getting seasoned for over a freaking decade. With raw, high-contrast wear leading the way, I swear there’s something about the sun out West that just leads to crazy results. Well, that and determination.

As the owner of Turncoat Dry Goods in Weaverville, Joel stuck to a pretty simple routine to coax the indigo ghost out of his jeans wearing them every day for years and years with some off-and-on wear as time went on. Though foregoing any repairs and letting them evolve “as is” adds to their workwear aesthetic, it’s the fact that they have never been wet-washed that takes the cake. We always wonder what creates that authentic almost soiled, yellowy hue on hard-worn jeans but who would have thought refusing to soak them could be the answer? Granted they were dry-cleaned a few times, but does that even count?