dutil. – The Quintessential Denim Haven

dutil., the no-nonsense-nothing-but-denim shop founded by Darrin Kenigsberg and Eric Dickstein, has had a hella busy last 5 years.  After debuting in 2006 in Gastown, Vancouver, the boutique has quickly become a denim haven offering premium labels such as Pure Blue Japan, Momotaro, rag & bone, and Naked & Famous; and gone on to even bigger accomplishments.  They launched their very own denim line – The Quintessential Series – in May 2010, and expanded their operations 4,400km east to Toronto just two months ago.  Breath in…

With respect to their new digs, the dutil. team chose to open shop on the trendy Queen Street West.  In a recent interview, co-owner Darrin Kenigsberg explained that they “wanted to be exclusively denim [as] it’s a commodity no one focuses on exclusively” and claims that they “want to be a friendly place…we’re totally against stores where they don’t even say ‘hi’ when you walk in the door.”  Although we didn’t have a chance to check out the shop and meet the duo in-person, we can attest to their denim dedication (and friendly approach) via back-and-forth emails/calls and of course the hard photographic proof (source: blogto.com, Dennis Marciniak):

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As for their special denim line, The Quintessential Series, though specific details were unavailable on their site, co-owner Eric Dickstein was nice enough to shed some light.  The inspiration for their denim is found in their North American pride and strong desire to create an item that is both fashionable and practical.  In his words,

We wanted to create a pair of jeans that had a balance between being fashionable and utilitarian.  While the sterling silver halo is for people to have a place to hang eyewear, the contrast stitch pays tribute to the heritage of denim, and tonal presents a more sophisticated look. We developed our own denim blend with the world famous Cone Mills denim, which is 13.5 oz (but technically 13.48 oz) and uses red line selvedge.

We decided to go the Cone Mills denim route as many brands tell the Japanese denim story and tell it well.  We felt because we are a North American brand it would be more appropriate for dutil. to tell the story of Americana heritage which we are very proud of.

We’ll only profile one piece from the series, but feel free to hop over to dutil. and check out the entire line.

Details

  • The Quintessential Series – Slim Straight Raw
  • Weight: 13.5 Oz
  • Denim: Cone Mills Denim
  • Selvedge: Red
  • Fit: Slim Straight
  • Price $258.00 – $298.00
  • Dye: Indigo
  • Other Details: a sterling silver “halo” ring for hanging items (e.g. sunglasses)

Photos (source: justalilhype.com)

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Additional Resources:

Stay Raw!

-Nick
tw: @heddels | fb: Heddels