I know this is a bit tmi, but I have a complicated relationship with clothes, and pants in particular. I found a pair of pants I get on with and literally don't buy any other kind. They are reasonably priced and comfortable. Everything fits in and doesn't move around too much (sorry for being sexy on the internet, but we've all got a bum - deal with it). However they do have a tendency to fall apart after a while. I will charitably say this is because I clean them fastidiously and not that my balls excrete acid somehow, like someone in my marriage who will remain anonymous has theorised. I therefore have to occasionally sadly say goodbye to my old friends, with whom I have shared many adventures. But I went through some Very Hard Times not that long ago and took to mending my pants (which for the interested, are exclusively black - that's just how I roll). And then I discovered I got a kick out of mending them with gold thread. And now I can't stop. And I imagine it's not terribly appealing to Mrs Bread to have a husband who refuses to throw away his old pants, but instead spends hours badly sewing them with the wrong colour thread. But the thing is.....a) she's not interested in me at the moment anyway, and b) my brain has decided it's like kintsugi. Whatever the pants version of kintsugi is. Pantsugi. And it means I rescue my old friends and we go on even more adventures, and they get a chance to live the second half of their life a little snazzier. Just me and my pants with their lil gold sparkle. Going running around town and getting into mischief. Anyway I've just done a bunch of sewing and it's made me strangely happy. And it's not like I never buy new pants. I did recently. And I got them from somewhere else. A trusted premium brand. And do you know how much they were? THIRTY POUNDS!!!!!!!!!! FOR PANTS!!!!!!!!!!! It should be a crime. The worst crime. Charging £30 for pants. And when they inevitably die, I will need to decide whether they deserve to be inducted into the Gold Club. Honestly I think they may not deserve it. I think they might be one and done. The audacity. Sometimes I read what I've written and genuinely wonder if I'm ok.
absofuckinlutely love the idea of PANTSUGI, given sashiko ―which is a japanese style of visible mending― and kintsugi share the same zen buddhist origins.
also, there’s a really strong tradition in sewing, as an art form, to use colors, notions or fabrics as a form of signature for the maker. think of Schiaparelli’s neon pink.
so, seriously, keep on, keep on. this is punk as fuck.
@TheBreadmonkey @blogdiva
For the next level of Mastodonification, start embroidering xkcd comics on your underpants.
@TheBreadmonkey I think this is great, and would love the story of how you settled on gold thread in the first place
I'm afraid it's not a very exciting story. Searching the sewing box which I inherited from my mum I thought 'ooh, gold thread!'.
re: Talk of clothing which goes on your downstairs area where the horrors live
@TheBreadmonkey
Commiseration: I had a brand I liked, despite having a higher cost. The longevity was in their favor, so economical overall. The recent batch is not outlasting the older batch they were meant to replace. I'm upset. And they haven't gotten cheaper (at least cost wise.)
Perhaps I'll just send them to you for mending!
@TheBreadmonkey this makes me want to go to a visible mansion fashion show
@TheBreadmonkey hey mate I’ve bought exactly one style and colour of underwear from Sloggi for the last 15 years. Unless I’m out sailing/walking/cycling when I use merino sub-layer boxers. Embrace the comfort!!!
I'm only aware of Sloggi doing sexy euro thong style undies, so this is what I now assume you wear
@TheBreadmonkey i think this is your most relatable post to date.
Also, Pantsugi deserves a medal. That's fucking hilarious.
@TheBreadmonkey If I were pants, I would want to be inducted. Into the Gold Club, no less.
@TheBreadmonkey okay you meant British pants here. I read this whole thing through thinking of American pants mended at the crotch with metallic gold thread, and you rocking up to Sainsbo's or whatever in your black trousers with a giant gold codpiece stitched badly on them, and, oh, that's just Ben.
@TheBreadmonkey visible mending is very on trend (that's not a suggestion btw 😉)
@TheBreadmonkey I'm glad you thought of kintsugi because I was going to say that's 100% what this is!!
You're the king of Home Benconomics.
@TheBreadmonkey Sometimes I read what you've written and *know* you're okay.
Pantsugi is 100% what it is.
@TheBreadmonkey It was only when I reached the word “balls” that I remembered that “pants” in England does not mean what English would call “trousers” (outerwear), but that it refers to underwear.
@mahryekuh @TheBreadmonkey hold up, wth! this is new to me
I thought panties == underpants and pants == trousers, no? have I been living a lie?
@bazkie @TheBreadmonkey Pants is the male version, I think.
Edit: But only in UK English. In US English pants = outerwear.
