Meet the Man Who Will Save Your Denim from an Untimely End
Photo courtesy of Julian Prince Dash
So you have a favorite pair of jeans that recently became unwearable because you blew out the crotch while stooping down to clean up after your dog. Or perhaps you have a 13-year-old denim jacket that's so well-loved it has holes in its perfectly-softened arms. You don't have to ditch your favorite denim just because it's now achieved holey status. You just need to visit Julian Prince Dash.
To hear Julian tell the story, there was never a question that he would end up working with denim: he says he's known it was his destiny since he was 15. Years later, he got his intro to sewing at a class in Hayes Valley. "All the ladies were sitting around me saying, “Don’t do jeans. It’s the hardest thing,’" Dash recalls.
His response? "Fuck that. That’s what I’m doing."
Today, Dash teaches other people how to work with denim in addition to designing custom pieces for big names like Kevin Durant, remixing vintage denim for stores like Afterlife, and repairing jeans for individual clients.
Dash gives denim gets a new lease on life, and it's not with those scratchy iron-on patches you find in fabric stores. Dash and his team will stitch and stitch and stitch your worn items, creating a thread patchwork over the affected areas. The cost for refurbishment starts at $15. (Yes, that's $15. As in, 1/10 the price of a new pair of premium jeans.)
I brought two pair of jeans and a denim jacket to Dash for repairs—okay, maybe those hypothetical scenarios above were about me—and I had three fully-functional pieces in less than a week for only $65. You can see photos of their work below.
Look, I know you can buy new jeans when your current favorites wear out. I know that denim can be recycled into very, very expensive insulation that practically no one can afford. But why abandon your jeans to sound absorption in a rich stranger's home? They're your jeans. You love them. Take them to Julian Prince Dash, and you can continue wearing them for years to come.
Clients are welcome at Julian Prince Dash's workshop by appointment. Call 415-748-1908, email hemsrepairsandalterations@gmail.com, or message Julian on the 'gram at @julianprincedash.
