Hedi Slimane in the New York Times.

Credit: Pierre Verdy/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

When Dior showed the very troubled John Galliano the door, and there was so much speculation about who would replace him, I thought Hedi Slimane was the obvious choice. But unfortunately for those of us who pine for the good old days, Hedi is happily making photographs in L.A.

The Times has an article about Hedi, whom we still consider the greatest menswear designer of - at least - our era, here. And a gallery of images, here.

I don't intend to turn this space into one of those "what I wore today" style blogs. But in honor of Hedi, and for your viewing pleasure, I thought I'd share some photos of the first of my three pairs of Dior Homme jeans which I wore almost every day for 6 years or more. When they became too fragile, I replaced them with a nearly identical pair.

Just to be clear, these were dark, unwashed denim when I bought them. All signs of wear are a result of actual wear, not someone fiddling with them in some factory.

No exterior logo or label. Nothing embossed on the minimalist silver buttons. The only instance of "Dior" is debossed into the black leather interior tag.

The only "visible" logo is the millimeter-high "CD" on the tiny silver bar on the belt loop. Signature stitch detail extending from the side seam to the midpoint of the pocket. Orange stitch near center back holds the interior label in place.

Detail of the wear on the right knee (stitched back together by my tailor) and inside of right leg.