After Graeme shared five of his favorite items from his collection, I was inspired to take a step back and choose my own most beloved pieces.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have been undergoing a huge closet purge. I hit a point of struggling to get dressed in the morning due to too many options; first-world problems. Because of this, I've sold over half of my collection, narrowing the closet down to things that are practical for where I live, and others that were grails for a long time that I could never relinquish. That being said, here are my five favorite items in my collection.
FW15 ICT Garage Down JKT
This is one of those items that gets put on a wishlist and never comes off; good luck finding one. I first saw this jacket from longtime Visvim collector, Gian Jonathan. This was back in 2018 before I started the store, I had a mild interest in Visvim due to its expensive barrier to entry. So on my off time, I would live vicariously through Gian's Instagram mesmerized by his collection. Out of everything he had, this jacket stood out. Something about the combination of the fabrics and color variation truly spoke to me and exemplified Visvim's supreme attention to detail. Like anyone, I added it to my wishlist. Five years later, I finally found one on Grailed and bought it instantly.
This is a down jacket made from different panels of Limonta nylon, military fabrics, and vintage Japanese kofu all whipstitched together by hand; totaling four different fabrics used. Each panel was cut and mud-dyed separately at Amami Ōshima Island in Japan. It features Visvim's signature lining, the Battle of Little Bighorn, which is colored using natural dyes including indigo, cochineal, and mud. I truly wish I could wear this more, but living in Florida it's like a 3-4 times a year kind of jacket. Nonetheless, I love it and will have it forever.
FW17 Virgil Boots-Folk (Veg Suede)
I've said it before, and I'll continue to say it, these are the most underrated Virgil's ever made. I purchased these for less than $200 around 2 years ago. In that timespan, they've replaced every boot I had. I sold my ICT Virgil Picaro N.D. because I always chose these instead. They go with everything in my wardrobe, and the extra chunky midsole is a winner.
They're constructed using one of the toughest suedes I've ever handled. Hiroki sought a suede that embodied the true essence of
leather, and it was at a tannery in Sweden that his search finally ended. There, he found an old, small-batch tannery that produces 100% vegetable-tanned suede. The hide is very durable and keeps its shape well. You can enjoy the aging process because the more you wear them the more unique they become. I highly suggest you read the Veggie Suede Dissertation we have archived on our blog here to learn how it's made!
I've worn these everywhere, as you can probably tell. They've aged beautifully over time, and I can't wait to resole them repeatedly as they grow with me.
SS17 Irving Shirt S/S Bamboo
Like many Visvim enthusiasts, I'm obsessed with John Mayer. He's who inspired me to look into Visvim and start the store back in 2019. He did a show in 2017 and wore this shirt. I fell in love with it immediately and began researching what it was and how I could get it. The research part was easy, but getting it was not easy. I found out only 39 of them were ever made and they came in three colors. That's 13 for this color alone. At that point, I somewhat lost hope, but 6 years later one popped up on Grailed, and once more it was mine!
Let's talk about the shirt's fabrication. It's 100% hemp, similar to linen but much more durable. The texture is very slubby and has a nice light-mid weight to it. Its dyeing process is what makes it special. This is not a printed fabric, but a hand-dyed pattern. Imagine the natural white hemp fabric laid out on the floor. Then, rubber grooves were placed over the top of it to block the dye. Finally, they hand-brushed natural indigo between these grooves to give it the pattern. No wonder they only made 39 of them! It was finished with cool details like original bamboo buttons and a hand-twisted hemp yarn neck closure. This shirt is just a grail in all aspects, and I can't believe I finally have it in my collection!
SS15 Pastoral Braces Pants (DMGD Chino)
Do you ever buy something on a whim and it becomes your favorite piece of clothing? That's what these were to me. I've never been a suspender guy, I'm not sure anyone is, but Visvim makes some of the best braces pants on Earth. I decided to try these out and was surprised at how much I loved them. What do I like about these pants? The better question is what do I not like? The fit, fabric, and color check all of my boxes.
Firstly, the fit. The pants fit me like a glove straight out of the box. They have a perfect straight leg, and they have a super high rise, so I can adjust how they sit at my ankle very easily. I try to find pants that work with boots and sneakers, so they're as versatile as possible. These achieve that.
The fabric is truly exceptional. It's a chino fabric made from super long staple cotton that has undergone a sulfur dye and damage process. This causes beautiful natural fading along the seams with a unique color gradient. Visvim continues to amaze me with its ability to produce new products that look worn-in and aged naturally. There are so many brands that try to do this, but making it seem authentic is nearly impossible. The fabric also has a satin finish where it's lustrous in certain lights, only adding to the great color variation they have.
Green pants have always been my go-to. Especially when my closet is mostly earth tones, it lends itself to go with anything. When I first got them in the Fall of 2021, they were this dark olive color. But now after wearing them for 3 years at least once a week, they are this light green almost khaki color. I can't wait to keep wearing these until they fall apart!
SS21 Lumber Khadi Check L/S
This is one of the newer items from my five favorites. It is from SS21, and I got it 3 years ago. I have worn it every week since purchasing it. This is the Lumber silhouette which is Visvim's take on an oversized work shirt, which features a cropped length and drop shoulders. The fabric is made from a check-print cotton Khadi fabric. Khadi cloth is the purely hand-spun and hand-woven fabric promoted by Mahatma Gandhi in India as a form of swadeshi (self-sufficiency)! They made this shirt in both a non-damaged and a damaged version. I'll let you guess which one I have.
For those of you who guessed damaged, you're wrong! I've worn, washed, and dried (but don't tell anyone) this thing nearly 100 times by now. It's faded beautifully over time and has become my favorite shirt in my collection. I loved it so much that I purchased the other two colors they made, but I got the damaged versions of those. Comparing the damaged version to this non-damaged variant, I can't differentiate the two as the green has broken in so much.