The Obsessive Details of My Custom Uniform
Published September 16, 2024 · 8:59 · 209,338 views
About This Video
Van wears the same thing every day. Black Carhartt double knees. Khaki Filson shirt in heat. One white work shirt for extreme heat. 122 degrees last week. The colors change by season or activity, but the uniform doesn't. He gets the shirts tailored on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. They last about 4 years. I had four labels sewn on four new shirts for his birthday. Our son's idea.
The uniform is not an aesthetic choice. It's a position on labor and class. Van dresses like a worker because it eliminates class division. Wherever he goes, no matter how fancy, he looks like he works there. When he works with workers, he's dressed like one of the crew. The details (German snaps at $8 each that lock shut at 100 mph, an hour per letter to embroider his vest, a motorcycle jacket from Hidden Treasures in Topanga with leather like old car upholstery) aren't vanity. They're a material argument that clothing communicates what you're here to do. Van is here to serve and keep things working. He dresses accordingly.
Transcript
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up I wear the same thing every day but the colors change according to
season or activity black car heart double knees if I'm going to ride a motorcycle but not
always white roundhouse double knee pants if it's hot khaki shirt if it's
hot I own one white work shirt for extreme heat like last week pinned at
122 I feel a responsibility to keep things for as long as it's reasonably
practical to repair them this used to be a money thing now it's a waste thing or
maybe a morality thing clothes are relatively cheap and my time
is relatively expensive but I just can't throw them out when there's wear left in
them crashed my BMW trying to do a wheelie while wearing these
jeans and Patch the tear then hand drew the Levis stitches I never wear them but I love the repair job so I don't throw them out
the crotch is blown out and the new crappy denim they're made from sort of turns back into raw cotton fuzz after a
while so you can't sew it to anything Levis 501's Wranglers are much
tougher I used to repair clothes on Long airplane rides sewing is slow and clothes are cheap my clothes are cheap I mean I'm
going to justify fixing this shirt by making this video but I'd like
to know how much time it actually takes I get these shirts tailored by a
lady I like down on tapena Canyon Boulevard in the Valley BC gave me the original batch
given to him by his Union as part of his union rights I think they last about 4 years or so before they're beyond repair
100% cotton which is harder to find than you would think in a work shirt I either sew these labels by hand or have them
sewn on Isabelle had four labels sewn on four new shirts for my birthday said it was our son
idea thanks [Music] guys the collars and cuffs eventually wear out but it takes years I SWA The Roundhouse labels for my labels on the pants little tweaks here and there and just about
[Music] everything about an hour per letter to embroider this vest I wish I had dated it but I think it's from 2004 I always cut the hammer Loop off of
the car hearts and then that's about it they're good to go had a label sewn onto
this chore coat I think it's made in Japan I like buying clothes from countries where people are well paid but
I'm guilty of buying the poorly paid stuff too I hand so this pencil slot
which was more involved than it looks oh there's Band-Aids in here sewed
this loop on so I can hang it on hooks made in USA of Japanese
fabric I have this philson shirt cleaned and maintained by the cleaners on the boulevard though I did prair the right
cuff as an example for the tailor to replicate I'm not going to I'm not going to do the second cuff myself and I'll
have her sew the button on and Patch the elbow this shirt was a gift and it was
more expensive than a new GoPro until the age of like 30 or so I
used to buy nearly all of my clothes from thrift shops none of them as good as Hidden
Treasures in Tanga I bought my motorcycle jacket at Hidden Treasures I love this
thing strong leather like old car upholstery leather I took the coat hook Loop off of
a t-shirt from my friend's production company seed in the spirited man label myself Old Glory zipper poles that I can
zip with gloves on but I am overly proud of the snaps
I look forward to motorcycle rides so I can wear this jacket so I can snap these snaps made in Germany like porsa and
leas they cost about 8 each plus shipping which seems like a fortune to
me and you need a special tool to install them but but once you do man they're
diesel they lock shut and you need to release the lock to unsnap them
[Music] lock them unzip the jacket when you ride air conditioning them snaps ain't blowing open at a 100 I label the car Hearts when I buy them but they do not last forever they last about 2 years and my record oldest
pair is 7 years old the knee blows out the thigh fabric that's how they kind of
die these two pairs I'm going to patch though I normally never do
this a clothing philosophy grows over time like a music philosophy upper middle class guys tend
to like activity specific gear running gear motorcycle gear snowboarding gear
I'm guilty of activity gear but my everyday outfit my uniform developed over time time and
practicality there was no plan and dressing like a worker serves me and
serves others wherever I go no matter how fancy it looks like I work there and
when I work with workers there's no class division I'm sort of dressed like one of the crew and like them I'm here
to serve and keep things working [Music] uh 52 minutes and 25 seconds but I took 10 minutes to answer a text and so forth
54 minutes 44 seconds to do the [Music] caller this week on the patreon a conversation with one of my peers the link is right there
Products & Tools Mentioned
- ClickUp uses
- Carhartt double knees essential
- Roundhouse double knee pants essential
- Levi's 501 uses
- Wrangler recommends
- Filson shirt uses
- GoPro mentions
- BMW (motorcycle) uses
- Porsche mentions
- Leica mentions
- Old Glory zipper pulls uses
- German snaps essential
People Referenced
Isabelle, BC (Casey Neistat)