The older I get, the less time I have to be concerned with constantly replacing things or worrying about how I look. A lot of us guys are realizing that you only need a few really well made favorite articles of clothing to get by. There's a reason why men are combing their hair again and adopting fashions of the fifties. Because you're grandpa looked damn sharp, whether he was working on a car or working in an office. You can pull his work shirts and jackets out of the garage and they're in better shape after 65 years than a new pair of (pick any chain store brand) will be in 3 months. Here you can find some staples to beat the hell out of for a long time, and feel good about where they came from. Meeting dudes who make stuff like this is better than bacon and eggs with a cup of coffee and a cigarette (I quit a year ago, for my baby.)
This particular day's adventure started with a hunt for a great tattoo artist. I was even more excited when I stumbled upon their neighbors, who happen to make clothes built to last just as long. Chopper Fever started with 100% American made quality Cone Mill denim, with the occasional Japanese selvedge run for flavor. Now you find custom made hats, jewelry, t-shirts, 40s and 50s style button ups, sweaters, outerwear, and my personal favorite go to, henleys. All designed and made in the U.S. Pepper in vintage Filson, Harley, & militaria pieces (many with custom chain stitching) you've got a perfect blend of classic meets modern that's built to ride hard and look sharp doing it. They should know. Their sister company, Sunrise Cycles, builds custom Harleys in the basement.
One of the founders, Jon Dragonette, breaks down how they got started, and why it's okay to spend money on your jeans.
(Continued Below)
H- So how did you guys get started? What’s the idea behind Chopper Fever.
J- We started kindof as an experiment. Just for us. We started making, I think, denim was one of the first things.
H- So you started making jeans for yourself?
J- Yeah, and it was more out of necessity, than it was anything else. We just wanted to see if we could make something that would last a little bit longer. We had been buying, you know, Levis 501s, and you blow through ‘em in a couple months. After a while it adds up.
H- It’s 50-100 bucks every three months for a pair made in Bangladesh (a beautiful place), or you spend 200 bucks for a great raw pair that’ll last.
J- Yeah. Then we spent a lot of time making a tshirt that was comfortable and fit well. And kinda…I mean, a tshirt’s a tshirt. They’re gonna get holes in ‘em, depending how you wear them.
H- How did you come up with the design for them?
J- We just looked at old vintage stuff that we had found that we liked. Whether we liked the cut of it, or the body shape. Some of it was the sleeve length. Some of it was the collar. So we took all of those and made it into our own thing.
H- Did you sketch them out?
J- We would take actual pieces we had found. We would say: We like the length of this. We like the fit of this body with this collar. Then, we would bring it to the guy who was making stuff for us, and say start here. It took us a bunch of times to actually get it to where we wanted it.
H- How was it hunting down people to make it?
J- It’s fucking so hard. We’ve been through three factories. Sometimes we go back to the guy that we started with, because he does good work. But, If you’re not a huge company, you get pushed to the bottom of the barrel. So, you understand why a lot of people go overseas, because it’s really cheap.
H- You can produce a bunch at a lower cost.
J- Exactly, so it makes you seem like a bigger company than you are, because your numbers…the volume is way higher. Whereas here, the price is a little bit more expensive, but you’re also not putting in such a big order compared to some of the other companies that they’re manufacturing for. So, your stuff automatically gets pushed to the bottom. Then, your dates of delivery have to change. And, you know, people get…
H- It’s hard to provide, because people want it now.
J- Yeah.
H- Are you guys still making your own jeans?
J- Yeah, we’re actually sold out of ‘em. So we have to go back and start over. We might do a run of the Japanese selvedge. Then, do a run of the Cone Denim and see how that does. It’s a little lower price point, and obviously the Cone Denim is made here in America. So, we can do a fully American version. (H- A heavier cut) Yeah, We would do a 14 oz. Cone Denim.
H- Did you use the same process as the tshirts, where you combined elements?
J- Yeah, we both wore Levis 501s, a little bit looser. So when we initially did it, we took the 501 and we made our version (the 101) which is a little slimmer. So it fits kindof like a 501, but it’s tapered a little bit.
H- Levis has a bit of a wider leg with the 50/60s style and now they go so slim, so it’s nice to…
J- Yeah, so we’re kindof somewhere in the middle.
H- A slim straight?
J- Exactly, but no low rise, or anything like that. (H- I can't even get on a skinny low rise) Yeah, so uncomfortable. So uncomfortable. No, It’s standard fitting. We basically have what we call the high and the low. The low has a small leather patch above where the cuff would be. And the high, would be up where you need, depending what kind of pipes you have on your bike. A lot of people’s pants touch their pipes, and it burns a hole right through ‘em. So, then your fucked, because you’re out of a pair of jeans.
H- Did you guys hand pattern these?
J- Yeah, we had a guy do it for us. And originally, we took jewelry cast buttons. (copper)
H- You guys have some beautiful vintage style work shirts. Your website said you found some authentic cloth?
J- Uh huh. This is 50s vintage fabric. We found a couple rolls. The shirts, and the sweaters.
H- I saw that you have three distributors online. How are you getting your stuff out there? Are you actively looking for places to distribute?
J- We wanna be in LA, but we wanna be [in] super select (stores). And now that we have our store front, we don’t want it to be over saturated. Seriously, online is the way to do it. If you can make a really fucking good online store, and have good (obviously) instagram presence and all that shit…to be honest, there’s no point in having a storefront anymore. I mean, it’s good to be able to come and touch the goods, and see ‘em, and feel ‘em.
H- Instagram’s perfect because you’re also a photographer.
J- Yeah, that’s what I do. This started as a side project. But right now, It’s been taking over.
H- It’s kinda hard, with a baby like this. AND you guys build (motor) cycles downstairs. Did you already have this space up?
J- Well, this space was some weird kind of Voodoo shop (H- Voodoo? Like a Santeria Botanica?) Yeah, it was crazy...and then there was an apartment in the back. The owner came in and redid the whole building, and gave us first shot at it if we wanted. So we took it. Then we built the whole store up, and here we are.
Recommendations to start: Grab yourself a pair of jeans, a t-shirt 3-pack, a henley, and a button down. Throw 'em in a backpack and you're good to go for a long comfortable weekend. If you forgot the big stuff, they also have vintage leather jackets, workwear, boots, and bags.
Thanks to Chopper Fever and Jon Dragonette. Treat yourself to some goods and photos by checking their links in Friends and Destinations.