Denim. Original once.
A pair of Levi's pulled from an abandoned mine sold for $87,000. The same jeans new cost 60 quid. Originality is a stock, and you can only spend it.
THE GIST ON DENIM: "Made to Be Ruined"
Why is denim worth more used?
Denim is the only thing worth more used than new. A pair of Levi's pulled out of an abandoned mine sold for $87,000. The same jeans new: 60 quid. Because you're only original once.
Who goes looking for old jeans?
In the 1880s, Levi's were work trousers. Miners wore them underground till they fell apart, and then chucked them away. Which is why there's a man in Colorado whose job title, and I'm not joking, is Denim Archaeologist. He spent five years climbing through 50 abandoned mines to find one surviving pair still splattered with candle wax from the tunnels.
What is a worn pair actually worth?
Work trousers sold cheap and were worn to destruction. Every mark on them is a record of one man's working life: the fade maps how he sat, and the wear maps what he carried. That can't be manufactured, only lived.
Car collectors worked that out years ago. A barn find Shelby Mustang sold for $350,000, $100,000 more than a restored one. There's a phrase for it in the trade: it's only original once.
Why is improvement so expensive?
Originality is a stock. You get a fixed amount, you can spend it, but you can never get any back. That makes improvement the most expensive instinct there is. Every refurbished pub, every spruced up watch, every modernised building is a withdrawal from an account that cannot take deposits. And it's always done by someone sure they're adding value.
Nobody wrecks anything on purpose. They just tidy it to death. What do you think is better as an original?
Restore a vintage find or leave it original?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How much did the mine Levi's sell for?
$87,000. The same jeans new cost 60 quid.
What does a Denim Archaeologist do?
The man in Colorado spent five years climbing through 50 abandoned mines to find one surviving pair still splattered with candle wax.
What does 'original once' mean?
Originality is a fixed stock: you can spend it by restoring or improving, but you can never get any back.
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