Article in Address Journal for Fashion Criticism Issue Two (November 2013)
Writer Tony Pacheco / Photographer Mia Kirby
Dr. Blue Jeanns
4454 Van Nuys Blvd. Suite F / Sherman Oaks, California, 91403 / Los Angeles County, USA
Tony Pacheco, the good doctor of Dr. Blue Jeanns, has been fixing denim clothing for over three decades. His workshop, located on the north side of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, is the place for stars, TV studios and those who want to treasure their clothing. In a letter to Address he wrote about his life, career and care for jeans.
My first job after leaving the service (Air Force) was working as a driver sales for the Seven Up Bottling Company of Los Angeles. It was during this time that I took up Custom Tailoring as a hobby. I went to night school at L.A. Trade Tech to learn custom tailoring. I eventually made a custom made suit for the president of the company. Soon after I went on my own and opened up a small neck tie shop in the hope of providing custom made tailored suits with the help of a skilled coat maker. Well that did not work out to well; however, I got overwhelmed with coat and pants alteration work. I noticed that customers would bring in denim jeans that most tailors would not work on because of the technical construction and the expensive equipment needed to work on them properly. I got the idea that perhaps I could specialize on denim jeans. It was something that most tailors did not want to do. I slowly acquired the necessary equipment needed to do the work. I decided to call the name of my new business venture Dr Blue Jeanns. Because I wanted to get attention and provoke thought, I added an extra ” n” to the name “jeanns”. Well before long I was getting well know around town. I have been written up in the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Daily News and I have been featured in the television news a number of times. In the span of two years I have had two “drive through” incidents. Both times the person stepped on the gas instead of the brakes and plowed inside my shop. Both times it happened on a Monday, my day off. Had I been open serious injuries would have occurred. I finally put a sign in front of the boarded up window “no drive through service available”.
These incidents gave me more free television advertising in the news casts.
One day a customer came in and asked me if ; after shortening a hem, if I could distress it or sew the original hem back on to make it look original. Well I fooled around with the
idea for a few hours and came up with the re attached hem. That was back in 1977. Well it seemed to have caught on world wide. No body that I know of did this before me. Then along came the designer jean craze. Jordache, Sergio Valente and Big Star were hot items of the day. Well business blossomed and soon other tailors started doing what I was doing. Now there are denim repair shops all over town. I consider my self the pioneer.
I never really got to big because several divorces along the way have set me back.
When people bring in expensive jeans they want the work to look original. We specialize in denim jean alterations that keep them looking original. We do it all, patch, repair, distress, take in the waist, cosmetically let out the waist, convert fly zippers to button fly and button fly to zippers and so on. People mail them in for repairs from all over the country. In short, we are still jean alteration specialist. Our prices are reasonable and affordable. No fancy prices here.
Being next door to Beverly Hills, I get my share of television studio and celebrity work,
however the bulk of my business is from people who are a little more sophisticated about what they wear. They buy an expensive pair of jeans and need the waist taken in, they want it done properly and for the work to look as original as possible. Some of my clients have jeans that have been repaired a number of times and they began taking on a conversational look. They have invested so much money in a particular pair of jeans that they get hooked and keep bringing them in time after time. And I guess it’s all about character. When skinny legs come into fashion people bring their wide bottom jeans to bring them back in style. Some people don’t follow current fashion and if they want bell-bottoms, we add inserts; fancy or plain. Then of course, I get regular people who just come in to get a waist adjustment of pants hemmed.
Well, that’s my story.
Visit Address Journal for Fashion Criticism:
http://www.addresspublications.com
Article in *** Address Journal for Fashion Criticism*** Issue Two (from the U.K.)
November 2013
Writer Tony Pacheco / Photographer Mia Kirby
Dr. Blue Jeanns
4454 Van Nuys Blvd. Suite F / Sherman Oaks, California, 91403 / Los Angeles County, USA
Tony Pacheco, the good doctor of Dr. Blue Jeanns, has been fixing denim clothing for over three decades. His workshop, located on the north side of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, is the place for stars, TV studios and those who want to treasure their clothing. In a letter to Address he wrote about his life, career and care for jeans.
My first job after leaving the service (Air Force) was working as a driver sales for the Seven Up Bottling Company of Los Angeles. It was during this time that I took up Custom Tailoring as a hobby. I went to night school at L.A. Trade Tech to learn custom tailoring. I eventually made a custom made suit for the president of the company. Soon after I went on my own and opened up a small neck tie shop in the hope of providing custom made tailored suits with the help of a skilled coat maker. Well that did not work out to well; however, I got overwhelmed with coat and pants alteration work. I noticed that customers would bring in denim jeans that most tailors would not work on because of the technical construction and the expensive equipment needed to work on them properly. I got the idea that perhaps I could specialize on denim jeans. It was something that most tailors did not want to do. I slowly acquired the necessary equipment needed to do the work. I decided to call the name of my new business venture Dr Blue Jeanns. Because I wanted to get attention and provoke thought, I added an extra ” n” to the name “jeanns”. Well before long I was getting well know around town. I have been written up in the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Daily News and I have been featured in the television news a number of times. In the span of two years I have had two “drive through” incidents. Both times the person stepped on the gas instead of the brakes and plowed inside my shop. Both times it happened on a Monday, my day off. Had I been open serious injuries would have occurred. I finally put a sign in front of the boarded up window “no drive through service available”.
These incidents gave me more free television advertising in the news casts.
One day a customer came in and asked me if ; after shortening a hem, if I could distress it or sew the original hem back on to make it look original. Well I fooled around with the
idea for a few hours and came up with the re attached hem. That was back in 1977. Well it seemed to have caught on world wide. No body that I know of did this before me. Then along came the designer jean craze. Jordache, Sergio Valente and Big Star were hot items of the day. Well business blossomed and soon other tailors started doing what I was doing. Now there are denim repair shops all over town. I consider my self the pioneer.
I never really got to big because several divorces along the way have set me back.
When people bring in expensive jeans they want the work to look original. We specialize in denim jean alterations that keep them looking original. We do it all, patch, repair, distress, take in the waist, cosmetically let out the waist, convert fly zippers to button fly and button fly to zippers and so on. People mail them in for repairs from all over the country. In short, we are still jean alteration specialist. Our prices are reasonable and affordable. No fancy prices here.
Being next door to Beverly Hills, I get my share of television studio and celebrity work,
however the bulk of my business is from people who are a little more sophisticated about what they wear. They buy an expensive pair of jeans and need the waist taken in, they want it done properly and for the work to look as original as possible. Some of my clients have jeans that have been repaired a number of times and they began taking on a conversational look. They have invested so much money in a particular pair of jeans that they get hooked and keep bringing them in time after time. And I guess it’s all about character. When skinny legs come into fashion people bring their wide bottom jeans to bring them back in style. Some people don’t follow current fashion and if they want bell-bottoms, we add inserts; fancy or plain. Then of course, I get regular people who just come in to get a waist adjustment of pants hemmed.
Well, that’s my story.
Visit Address Journal for Fashion Criticism:
http://www.addresspublications.com
