dopetalk
Core Topics => In the Media => Topic started by: clinton on February 01, 2016, 06:28:23 AM
-
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/jeans-and-heroin/431538/
OLGA KHAZAN
JAN 28, 2016 HEALTH
When Enrique, an aspiring heroin dealer from Nayarit, Mexico, arrived at his uncles’ home in California in 1989, they led him to a closet full of brand-new Levi’s 501 jeans.
“Take what you want,” the uncles, who were deep into the heroin trade, told Enrique.
That scene, described by Sam Quinones in his excellent book Dreamland, about America’s opioid crisis, marks a strange and important feature of the U.S. heroin market.
Mexican dealers, who peddle much of the black-tar heroin in the United States, valued Levi’s 501 jeans almost as much as currency. In fact, they sometimes accepted payment in denim form: One balloon could be had for two pairs. When the dealers came home to their ranchos wearing 501s—or if they brought them as gifts—their families knew they had truly made it.
The story behind why the pants were so valued explains much about foreign heroin dealers’ motivation for their work.
“I’d get them from clients who would steal them from Sears.”
Quinones describes how 501s were the “gold standard” for men in the rural parts of Mexico in the 1990s. The pants were expensive there and hard to obtain. Owning a pair implied not only wealth, but likely American connections.
Soon, dealers’ families began to expect gifts of 501s upon their return to Mexico, so the dealers couldn’t not go back to sell more heroin, Quinones writes
The Mexican dealers’ obsession echoes a broader international fascination with American denim—and Levi’s in particular, according to James Sullivan, author of Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon.
“Since World War II ended, jeans have been recognized as symbolic of Western ideals around the world,” he said. Steeped in Westerns and movies like Rebel Without a Cause, teens saw in jeans the picture of the American cowboy and renegade. Their relative scarcity outside the U.S. only compounded their cache.
Japanese youths’ preoccupation with American jeans and leather bomber jackets launched a market for vintage denim in the 1980s.
“In the 70s, it was common knowledge among American backpacking kids doing European travels that if you brought an extra pair of blue jeans, you could sell them to kids behind the Iron Curtain who were desperate to get them,” Sullivan said.
Citizens of the former U.S.S.R. regularly handed over their entire paychecks for smuggled Western goods. As the Christian Science Monitor pointed out in 1984, jeans—particularly Levi’s—were a hot commodity during the Cold War:
It is not unusual to enter a subway car and see the majority of men and women—and 80 to 90 percent of the young generation—wearing blue jeans. Of those wearing American brands, Levi's seem to be the most in evidence, although just about every label can be seen, from Calvin Klein to Gloria Vanderbilt. In fact, the Russian word for ''jeans'' is dzhinzy, pronounced ''JEANS-ee.''
Such an attraction may reflect the tendency to view goods from abroad as better than domestic items. But wearing clothing that may cost as much as a month's salary (average 160 rubles, or about $200), and is available only under the table, may also be a sign of status-seeking.
Though other brands, such as Wrangler and later Guess, approached a similar status, Levi’s “did the best job of selling its own story in the jeans world,” Sullivan said. With their riveted reinforcements and iconic red tabs, 501s were hard to imitate. Anyone caught trying faced swift litigation from Levis, according to Sullivan.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t try. In Italy in the 70s, he said, the top-selling pair of jeans were Levi’s 501s. Number two were knock-off 501s.
In the U.S., desperate addicts opted to pilfer the real thing. Quinones interviewed one trafficker from Xalisco who said he once brought home 50 pairs of Levi's in suitcases. “I’d get them from clients,” he said, “who would steal them from Sears.”
-
Levi's, the brand you cant wash
I would put their pants at a shelf life of 5 years
working on a ranch in them? MAYBE three.
personally I find jeans to be fucking uncomfortable
unless I am working I wear courderoys or cotton/poly shit
I wish we could have something in our culture worth coveting
one that we didnt steal fromnanother culture first even
-
Are you saying Levi Strauss stole the design he used?
Personally Levis last forever for me. 5 or 6 years at the least unless I tear/burn a hole in them. In my line of work (industrial) and my line of leisure (nod town) holes are a frequent problem. As long as the holes are smaller than a quarter, or an inch and a half, they aren't a problem and the jeans hold up, any bigger and they start to grow and go to hell. Levi's are awesome though.
-
Personally, I hate the button fly on 501's. And if they're not really loose, I hate jeans. Skinny jeans? fuckin' puhleez.
wish I could find me a nice pair of vintage bell bottoms. Those were THE shit!
I'm sure there's some on e-bay or CL.
I'll defo jump on a pair if I ever see one (that fits me) in one of the thrift shops in my little area, of which there are many.
The thing that strikes me as most odd about jeans as a cultural phenomenon is the color: why is it that they are all blue? it's weird when you notice it, practically everyone in a gathering or roomful of people is wearing blue pants in one form or another. Why is everybody wearing blue pants?
The only "blue" jeans I wear currently is one pair of William Rast, low-waisted, "distressed" blue jeans that I found at a thrift shop for $10. Made in USA too, so you can't beat that. My only complaint with this garment is the button fly on it.
-
Haha the good ol' days -- Levis and Pendletons :D
REI, The Gap, Nordstroms, Eddie Bauer all took anything back, for a long ass time too.
Shit even Startbucks, it sounds dumb but if you're desperate and you got wheels - take the $10 max return and in an hour you're gonna have a hundred bucks if you can steal quick.
I'm sure there's a lot more these days, I'm retired :D
Shit was so easy to gank from thrift stores sometimes it was stupid. We used to laugh at the fools who went in gankin' shit with they fuckin' pants around they knees. I heard some funny stories from Loss Prevention from those idiots. If you gonna go out boostin' go ready to fucking run, dummies. You might be a rap star, but you ain't no track star with your pants hangin' like that.
-
I was being chased by loss prevention with a friend once, and dude turns around and reaches his hand into the back of his pants and says to the loss prevention guys "nobody moves, nobody gets hurt" and they stopped dead in their tracks. It was fucking hilarious because dude didn't have anything in him. We just got the fuck out.
-
Zoops I picture you as a monkey wearing vintage Versace and shit.
-
can confirm.
a few years ago, in tijuana, 2 pairs of 501's were worth a half gram of the good tar. one of the best currency items.
another is cheese. 2lb or 5lb blocks of cheese can be currency. as can nescafe brand instant coffee.
-
Seriously, SWPK, how did you know what size to trade for that OxyM the other day? You didn't answer me in the other thread. Do you need to know the size / inseam beforehand, or will any size do?
I can see Levis being used for currency, especially in other countries. But how do you know what size and inseam to get? You either must have to know beforehand, or the recipient better know how to sow.
TTA meant this when he was saying Levis' are stolen from another culture:
The word "denim" come from the French "de Nîmes." Denim is a fabric traditionally made in Nîmes, France. It was also always traditionally dyed blue with indigo.
The first denim trousers were produced in Genoa, Italy. In French, Genoa is spelled Gênes. The denim trousers became associated with the location in which they were made, just like denim fabric was called denim because it was made in Nîmes.
So Gênes became jeans. Therefore American jeans were stolen from both French and Italian culture.
And the American who first invented jeans, and what later became Levis', was a man named Jacob Davis in 1873. He was a tailor from Nevada. He started making jeans for miners, ranchers, and other people who needed sturdy work clothes.
When his production capacity maxed out, he sent a proposal to the dry goods wholesaler he had been buying the bolts of denim fabric from. That wholesaler was Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco.
It sucks for Davis that today we call them Levis' and not Davis'.
-
I think he mightve been joking Narko...
But, I would assume you guess and get a common size. I don't think they are gonna care about inseam unless it's really short. Like pretty much all Italian brands will come in a 34-37 right now and are meant to be "stacked"... but I don't think these guys are going to Dior shows man... they probably just don't care if it's off an inch or two. I bet that at least 50% of men would not know which measurement the "rise" is... if it really fits that badly, and it's really currency, I assume they can just trade it to someone else.
-
I think he mightve been joking Narko...
But, I would assume you guess and get a common size. I don't think they are gonna care about inseam unless it's really short. Like pretty much all Italian brands will come in a 34-37 right now and are meant to be "stacked"... but I don't think these guys are going to Dior shows man... they probably just don't care if it's off an inch or two. I bet that at least 50% of men would not know which measurement the "rise" is... if it really fits that badly, and it's really currency, I assume they can just trade it to someone else.
See, I thought he was serious, about him and that woman getting Levis' to trade for OxyM.
You're probably right though. Get a common size and hope for the best. It just seemed odd to me because jeans are so specific. It seems like it would be a worthless trade if they didn't fit.
-
Seriously, SWPK, how did you know what size to trade for that OxyM the other day? You didn't answer me in the other thread. Do you need to know the size / inseam beforehand, or will any size do?
I can see Levis being used for currency, especially in other countries. But how do you know what size and inseam to get? You either must have to know beforehand, or the recipient better know how to sow.
i was told to ALWAYS get 40inch waist. inseam wasnt as important. but most of these guys were wearing them LA gangbanger style. baggy and saggy, cinched together at the top like a potato sack.
-
Zoops I picture you as a monkey wearing vintage Versace and shit.
I'm not exactly sure as to how you arrived at that mental picture, but it sounds cool, so go with it!
-
i was told to ALWAYS get 40inch waist. inseam wasnt as important. but most of these guys were wearing them LA gangbanger style. baggy and saggy, cinched together at the top like a potato sack.
I would think that's about right... you gotta remember Nark, not everyone dresses "nice". For some people, getting a size 40 pair of jeans when they really wear 38, means just tightening up their belt some... and I guess to some level it is the "style" but... I think a lot of straight men just don't know how to dress... not on a technical level.
I'm not exactly sure as to how you arrived at that mental picture, but it sounds cool, so go with it!
Damn Zoops! Monkeys in the illuminati and shit... it's the future.
-
I would think that's about right... you gotta remember Nark, not everyone dresses "nice". For some people, getting a size 40 pair of jeans when they really wear 38, means just tightening up their belt some... and I guess to some level it is the "style" but... I think a lot of straight men just don't know how to dress... not on a technical level.
/derail
straight men dont know how to dress themselves?
check your microaggressions brah
-
Yeah, as a straight male, I think that's a fair *generalization* (if there is such a thing) to make. Especially when it comes to stuff like suits and the technical side of dressing. I mean maybe you kinda just know what looks good on you but do you rationally make those choices based off anything? Not saying you, just saying. Stuff like, how long should a suit jacket be? What is drape? Etc. A lot of these things there isn't a set answer to but I think there are limits before aesthetics start looking fucked off.
-
what about any professional athelete?
i suppose a majority of them might be straight men
and they all look daper as fuck
just look up Henrik Lundqvist in a suit
there are HUNDREDS of different suits he is wearing
each more gloriously fitted than the last
::)
-
Do you know what a generalization is? Are we talking about professional athletes with paid stylists? Why are you seemingly getting butt hurt?
-
Mexican dealers' love of 501s goes back to the mid nineties at least. My guys would give almost dollar for dollar in product if you brought them requested sizes. I was never much of a thief & saved that for when I was broke & out of other options. I couldn't figure out why only 501s and never expensive designer jeans. "Everybody likes/wants these" was about all the explanation I recall.
-
Choosing the right clothes that a cut for your personal frame and look really sharp is often a function of wealth more than taste or "technical" knowledge of clothing. You go to a high end tailor and let them make you "bespoke" clothing that looks great on compliments your body size/type and skin/hair/eye color. The buyer is little more than a mannequin with a wallet and with some room for taste that is probably influenced by trend and peer conformity.
Oddly enough the cost of a fine men's suit has roughly equalled the cost of an ounce of gold. It was true in Rome and it holds true now: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110819005774/en/History-Shows-Price-Ounce-Gold-Equals-Price
My guess about the 40 inch waist is that most young Mexican men are smaller than that and a 40" wasit leaves enuough fabric for a tailor to cut the wait to the eventual owner.
-
This works for all kinds of shit - you see your boy in with a baby seat in the back ot toys or any sort of clue at all - go for it: "hey bro u got a kid? You wanna trade for clothes or formula?" (fuck anyfuckingthing). Dude a dealer with kids is a score for a booster, the only thing that out grows kids out grow or eats everything in sight quicker is other kids. Definitely worth asking if that's your hustle.
I had an old guy I'd trade for certain kinds of caviar and canned fish, some other fancy and expensive foods. He'd give me a list from the store. I found him through another boosting friend, gems like that don't come around often, but they're out there.. I got the impression that guy had been in prison awhile.
For awhile I sold the instant-process type like water proof-ish cameras back to azn M&P style camera and development stores, usually to the really small stores. They'd pay me pretty good for those things under the counter most times, was a decent hustle for awhile but shit that had to be like 90s.. Nothing lasts forever, I I remember at one place the buyer just disappeared one day. Another buyer I sold to - poor old lady I fetl bad the day I went in and could immadietely tell she had figured it out, and that I'd been lying my ass off to her.
Sorry lady, but a junky gotta junk, ya know? It's not personal..
-
Have any of yall read dreamland I wanna check it out
-
Straight guys may or may NOT know how to dress, what's stylish, et cetera, but ALL gay dudes, without exception, know these things.
It's just a well frickin' known fact, man.
-
Straight guys may or may NOT know how to dress, what's stylish, et cetera, but ALL gay dudes, without exception, know these things.
It's just a well frickin' known fact, man.
That's not necessarily true. I do think, overall, gay men tend to dress better than straight men. But I've seen my share of hideously dressed gay guys. Some gay men just aren't interested in fashion, what looks best with what, what colors work together, what fits and cuts suit them, etc.
It's not as if this stuff is genetically encoded into men according to their sexuality. Some gay men have the fashion knack, some don't. Some straight men have it, some don't.
I think whereas the majority of gay men tend to be fashion conscious, and a minority of gay men aren't, the opposite is true for straight men: most straight men aren't fashion conscious, whereas a minority of straight men are. Ever hear of metrosexuals?
As for straight men, I think oftentimes they're content letting their wives, girlfriends, and female friends dress them. Not all the time, but a lot.
And if you see a well-dressed, male celebrity or athlete, whether they're straight or gay, 95% of the time a dresser or stylist is going to be involved. Image is too important in PR for a famous person to risk dressing themselves. And if they don't have someone helping them, their agent is going to strongly suggest they get one.
-
Considering this got a lil derailed
My comment is kinda lame
But...
My first pair of jeans were Levi's
My Mom still has them!
I wonder how much
A pair of *vintage* child's Levi's are worth?
-
With out a doubt
501s button fly
Are the best
Only Jean
I will wear
Don't ever get my stuff
Caught in the zipper