Harajuku Streets: †

Visiting Ooe Yofukuten & Co.

Two weeks ago I visited Ryo and Hiro of Ooe Yofukuten in their atelier in Nagoya. It was an interesting experience, meeting two very dedicated individuals and see how they make their jeans and how much effort they put into it.

Their atelier is located in a small warehouse on the outskirts of Ichinomya. The house is shared with the family's box making business but once you step inside, there's no doubt that this is a house of denim.
Greeting you inside is a stack of samples of jeans they've made and various other things like an old shuttle from a wide loom and inspirational photographies.

Can you spot my gift?


There's also the custom built display frame that will be given to the winner of Ooe Yofukuten's first fading contest.

Walk a little further and you'll see the small brand's collection of vintage sewing machines. All of the machinery, except for the one used for riveting, they use for making jeans is vintage.
Most notable is a German Union Special chainstitching machine and a 1920's belt loop machine.
The latter is one hundred percent vintage, down to the spare parts and even the oil used to lubricate it!
With this equipment Ryo and Hiro makes the jeans all by themselves from start to finish, cranking out just one pair a day.


1920s belt loop machine.


Union Special on the right.


Attaching rivets and buttons.

There's also the rolls of denim and other fabrics. Ooe buys only deadstock fabric from a mill in Okayama which is why once one of their choices of fabric is gone, it's gone. The quantities they buy of each fabric is very limited and is enough for as few as three to twenty pairs of jeans.


I looked through most of their denim and have a few favourites. Unfortunately I can't disclose which they are as they might run out then, and I'm waiting to order one of the new models which are made available when Ooe has received their new machines.
The denims are fairly similar though, almost all of them are going for authenticity rather than innovation. It's hard to determine which fabric is 'best' by just looking at raw samples and since their not that different from eachother, I would suggest you make you decision based on something like weight or color(dark or light etc.)

The opportunity here to make you own custom jean is unique. Not only can you choose your own denim but you can also decide on which rivets and buttons to use. It's also possible to design your own backpockets and, I believe, get a customized patch.
It doesn't stop there. If you're not happy with what history has to offer you can even mix and match the decades--if you like tighter cuts but want the detailing of mid-century Levi's, it's possible to get a '70s cut with '50s detailing.

For inspiration when making more original products like the Double Knee overalls or the 1850s Logger overalls, Ooe has a large amount of magazines like Lightning, Free & Easy and old Boon.
They also have rare books like "Denim", My Freedamn! and old American catalogs from as early as 1900 and 1902.





The 01XX, 1947-1951 501 model, cut is made with an early '50s 501 as a base. The cut up original was used to get the pattern for this model.



The backpockets are shaped slightly differently.

I compared my pair of 1101XXs to the once again sewn together original of roughly the same size and the result was pleasing. There are a few millimetres of difference here and there between the two, but all in all this is a very good replica, especially considering that there were large variations between individual 501s at the time.
As for the denim, it's very close too. It's very toned down and not trying to be innovative as some other Japanese brands. If innovation is good or bad is for everyone to decide by themselves but right now I'm personally more interested in a vintage type denim that will work together with my real vintage garments(I can't afford to buy real vintage jeans just yet, so I opt for reproductions).
The No. 11 denim has more slightly more vertical unevenness or striation than the original, which in my mind makes it look a little more like a mid-to-late fifties pair, but it does not bother me.


All in all, I'm very happy with my pair. Ryo even showed me details I had no knowledge of before, like how the fabric for the backpockets is cut and folded before attaching the hidden rivets. This is different between WW2 501s and the '47-'51 era 501s and is replicated correctly on the 01 model. The correct type of UFO rivet is also used here.


I find that the backpockets even wear 'realistically' thanks to this. See the comparison below of the area around the hidden rivet:

'

Here's my pair of AG1101XX compared to a new pair. I've worn my pair for about 4.5 months and washed twice by hand, twice in machine.



As you can see there's not much in the ways of honeycombs, and I have no hopes of them developing either. Defined honeycombs require infrequent washing and stiff denim. You pretty much need to wear your jeans for 4-6 months between each wash to get sharp honeycombs and I'm washing more and more frequently. This denim is also not very starchy and 'just' 13.5 ounce.
I've barely seen any vintage Levi's with pronounced honeycombing though and I attribute this to how they were treated, basically washed a lot.

The all-yellow stitching brings my thoughts to Levi's jeans during the WW2 era. It will be interesting to compare these jeans to the ones Inoue was wearing.


Ryo and Hiro have worn their jeans a bit longer than I have. Ryo on the right is wearing the 402XX and Hiro is wearing a pair made from the #11 denim. She's worn them for about 6 months and washed them once every or every other week. The denim certainly doesn't get ruined by washing, it actually just gets better with wear and washing. Washing fairly frequently is also necessary if you want to get a fade that looks authentic.

Old Ooe samples. The right-most picture is of a sample in unknown denim next to the original Levi's. The denim is very close to the original.

Harajuku Streets: Coverall

Another vintage lover I've met on the streets of Harajuku is Hide. As I've come to expect now, he only wears vintage. This day he was wearing a Can't Bust 'Em, an old sub-line of Lee, denim coverall and a leather backpack of unknown make. So simple, but it hardly gets better than this.


Hide is 26 and has been into vintage for about 5 years. He's also a hairdresser, a common profession for people who get their picture taken because of what they wear here. Hairdressers are actually some of the biggest trendsetters here!





Thanks Hide!

TAROCK with ricco, Ura-Harajuku

It has suprised me how high and consistent the level of the vintage stores here are, in terms of both goods and the atmosphere of the interior. In many stores there's literally a thousand little things lieing around for you to look at and they all create such an intriguing world.

TAROCK with ricco is one of those stores that maintain a high level in all areas. Pretty much every shop here carries American vintage from the first half of the twentieth century but they all have a slightly different profile.
This shop does have some workwear pieces but isn't focused on it. I'd say it's more of a casual and sometimes dressy store that also has small odd items and accessories. TWR also has many quirky one-off items that you won't find elsewhere.

One of the owners, Kentaro, is also a person who has inspired me a lot here in Tokyo. He wears mostly vintage but a lot of the time in his own way, like very oversized workpants and a workshirt with unpatched holes like shown below.
Akiko is equally great as an inspiration if you're a female.

Akiko and Kentaro.

I feel that this makes vintage even more interesting since it's a way of making it your own based on how you wear it and with what. The looks are not what you could find in a photo of the '40s and I appreciate that even though I'm also a fan of authenticity. There's just so many people into vintage here, it is a 'trend' or maybe rather 'style' for sure, so I like to see individuality and creativity.
Kentaro also wears designer stuff like that of Margiela together with these old pieces. I'm not a fan of designer clothing in general but I find that it works for Kentaro.
Partly because of him I now not only like vintage but also find myself appreciating more ecclectic pieces and ways to dress.


Let's have a look around inside TAROCK with ricco!





A thousand lil things!







The women's side is just as good as the men's.




Wonderful flower print Lees on the right. Items like these are why I like this shop so much.




More traditional Americana items can also be found here.

There really isn't any reason to buy replicas when you have vintage shops like this. The deadstock flannels are great and can generally be had for less than a new shirt. I prefer worn out ones though and they're even less expensive! They can usually be had for 3000-6000 yen(which used to be $30-$60, but now it's a bit more. I don't even want to think about how much the price has changed for us Europeans..).



A one wash denim workshirt from the early '50s and a brand that I had never heard of before-- Fly's. The tag alone makes me want it.





It seems that robes are coming out big this spring in vintage Tokyo. I want to wear one too when it gets warmer and this is the one I want!

By the end of this post you probably got it--if you go to Tokyo, don't miss TAROCK with ricco! I will keep posting my favourite vintage shops here, next up is ZOOL or 3DAM.

Short stories

Hi, I'm alive and well(well..). This time I have a few interesting tidbits to share.

Samurai wallet progress
Some of you might remember that I won a very nice wallet from Samurai a year or two ago. It was produced in a very limited number, 3 for customers of Samurai and one for the boss of Samurai(his name escapes me).
The interesting thing is that it has a denim in-lay, something which I hadn't and still haven't seen before.
Mine is still completely untouched but Mr. Samurai has given it infinitely more wear-time than I have.
Here is a photo of his wallet from Lightning Magazine no.1 2009.


Edwin Vintage Collection
Do you remember the new Edwin Vintage Collection that debuted this fall? Did anyone get a pair? How do you like them?

In the Meiji jingumae(Harajuku) station there is a poster showing off the collection. I found that to be a little amusing. If you happen to see the poster you should also visit the Edwin store since it's very close by. They also carry Lee Originals and Wrangler Blue Bell, which are both made by Edwin.


Cuff
I found an interesting post on The Fedora Lounge regarding trends and cuffs in the 1950s.
Here's what the user Warbaby said;

As someone who was in high school in the mid to late 50's, I can give you the straight skinny on what was cool in jeans style - at least for one particular region and culture. It wasn't a hip place like L.A. or N'Yawk, but a small town in Arizona (which should give it a certain cachet for jeans style authenticity).

New, dark blue jeans were definitely not cool, nor were deep turned-up cuffs (only the dorkiest of dorks wore them that way).

The usual treatment for breaking in new jeans was to wash them every time your mom did a dark wash and when they were dry, lay them on the bed and beat them soundly with a baseball bat or big stick til they softend up. Hanging them out in the Arizona sun certainly helped the fading.

As for the cuffs, some kids wore them plain and uncuffed, but the really cool guys, the ones with DA haircuts and their cigarettes rolled up in their t-shirt sleeves, reverse-rolled their cuffs like dress trousers. You bought them with legs a lot longer than your own, turned a deep cuff under, then turned the cuff up on the outside about 1" to produce a narrow cuff that matched the rest of the jeans. The first few times you had to iron them that way, but eventually they'd stay. Being unwilling to take unnecessary chances with my coolness, I sewed mine...

Don't know how it was elsewhere, but this was the style in that one place and time.

It made me think of this post at ethandesu. I may try it one day.

Reading material
One of my treasured readers, The Buzzard, was kind enough to post a link to an interesting article vintage hunter Brit Eaton. A kindred spirit.

Vintage blog
Another dear reader, Dana, has a great vintage blog herself. Check out her leather jackets.

Harajuku Streets: Daisuke

Yesterday I did my first real 'vintage snap outing'. The two previous people I've shot have been more coincidental but now I've started thinking that it's really interesting to see vintage items actually being worn and coordinated with other vintage pieces. (Would be great to hear what you think about it.)

Omotesando dori is still packed and might not have what I'm looking for anyway, so I set up my tent on Harajuku street. As I've mentioned before, this is where most of the vintage shops are located so it's logical for me to go there.
I'm now learning how take street snaps and it's a little more difficult than it seems and takes a little more time, too. Capturing the spirit of a person and place like The Sartorialist can is very hard.

What I do now is that I hang around on a parking lot, leaning on a vending machine all day. It's really a very relaxing thing to do for me, it gives me a lot of time to think, about clothes but also everything else in my life, and looking at people is fun too.

Daisuke was the first one I shot yesterday and he was a real easy catch as he works at ZOOL, one of the absolute best vintage shops, right next to my spot and was having a break when I saw him.
He's 26 and has been into vintage clothing for about 15 years. They certainly start young here, I'm just a rookie in comparison!
His favourite garment is '30s and '40s leather jackets. He collects them and has about 50 jackets!






He's wearing a '30s-'40s Brown's Beach jacket, a '50s shirt, WW2 work pants and '50s engineer's boots. The only item that isn't vintage is his Dapper's, a brand that makes reproductions as well as new but vintage inspired designs, cap.

The Brown's Beach jacket is a very sought after item and quite rare too. What's special about the Beach jacket is the speckled wool fabric, it's like a blown up salt and pepper fabric.
Go here to look at better pictures of an identical Beach jacket.

I guessed that his pants were U.S. Navy and so did he when he first got them, but he was then told by a U.S. vintage dealer that they weren't. They're just work pants, but they are very similar to Navy pants.

What dates them to the WW2 era is the laurel leaf button that can also be found on Levi's and many other brands of the same era.


Thank you Daisuke!

Harajuku Streets: Patches

Today I tried to repeat my last successfull vintage spotting by going to Harajuku to take pictures. My initial plan was to go to Omotesando street, where a lot of people pass and where pretty much all streetstyle photographers hang out because of this.
However, the streets were literally crammed with people and even though there wasn't really any space at all to take a photo, there were photographers everywhere. Outside H&M the line was also almost as long as before the Comme des Garcons release.
I've never seen Harajuku like this and I couldn't fathom why until I sat down to write this--it's Christmas, I just remembered! Christmas spirit is non-existant for me here, but I don't really miss it much.

Anyway, I gave up and decided to head further into Harajuku, to Harajuku street where there is a cluster of at least 10-12 great vintage shops. This is one of my favourite places for vintage shopping and I highly recommend spending time there, but going through the shops will take at least 30 hours if you actually try stuff on.
Incidentally, I went to Lost Hills to look at a nice, thin Wrangler denim jacket that I was going to wear as a shirt. This shop is the one that Inoue showed me.
While there I saw another fine gentleman and asked to take his picture.

His name is Shingo, he's 30 and a 'salaryman'. Salaryman is a loanword that is basically used to described the millions of identically looking, black suit-clad office workers in Tokyo and Japan.
Today he looked nothing like a salaryman and I bet he appreciates his weekends when he can wear what he likes the most, vintage.
Here's another guy that wears only vintage, there's quite a few of them here and it makes me happy to see.

He's wearing a '70s-'80s Powderhorn Mountaineering jacket, a '70s-'80s women's wool cardigan, LL Bean Boots and unbranded, beautifully patched, light denim work pants.

This type of pant has been produced by many different brands like KEY, Big Smith and Boss of the Road. The UFO rivets are iconic for this type of pant and era.
I would date these jeans to somewhere around the 1940s, but they could also be slightly later or earlier. Shingo bought them in this worn and patch state in nearby shop VOICE.
I have personally been looking for pants like this with bright orange stitching in a one wash state that I can break in myself.






Thanks Shingo!

LVC 'Wrath & Dust' S/S '09: Men's **

It's hard to find a nice white t-shirt today, especially one that isn't cut too modern. I wear a lot of white American Apparel tees because I could get them for $7, and am sort of happy with them, but the cuts are too tall and slim in my opinion.
This spring you'll be able to buy LVC tees by themselves, not just packaged with jeans like earlier seasons. There's a lot to choose from in regards to fit and era, but they don't come cheap. I think they retail for $60/EUR60 or so.

We can now choose from t-shirts from the '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s.



1920s Sunset t-shirt


Off-white cotton t-shirt with ribbed hem sleeves and shell buttons from Levi's higher-end label Sunset. I guess it was for those who'd finally found their gold.

1930s Bay Meadows t-shirt


Thin, white cotton jersey with un-ribbed neck and short sleeves.

1940s t-shirt

Short and boxy. The ribbed neck returns.

1950s t-shirt

Now slightly slimmer and taller, with a neck that is slightly wider.

1960s t-shirt

Tight and short, small neck.

1970s t-shirt

Tight and short. Ribbed neck and sleeve. Mix of cotton and polyester.

1980s t-shirt

Loose fit, resembling the '40s shirt, with a wide neck.

'I love you' is still my favourite.

Collared shirts

The shirts of Spring are a pleasant mix of denim, chambray and brushed cotton, in distressed states that I actually don't mind.

1902 Sunset striped shirt
The original was found in a mine in the West. Made in a soft, striped brushed cotton fabric, with a hidden button down collar.
It has the peculiar small left chest pocket that you'd think was made up design, but it's actually true to the shirts of the time, and the design was used by brands other than Levi's too. I wonder why a small pocket would be smaller than a full-sized one, though. This is why vintage is so interesting.




1907 Sunset chambray, Last Rain
As promised, here's the men's version of the wonderful chambray in the women's collection.
I think the aging process and patching is well done. I would have no problem wearing this, like I do with most pre-distressed things.
e-Workers is a small Japanese brand that remakes vintage pieces in a very limited quantity, and they have a Sunset shirt in their collection. They also have a shirt with the small chest pocket from an unknown brand that you can look at.






Levi's Make, 1910 Chambray shirt
The original was found in a bunkhouse in Sierra Nevada. It had started out black, now it was worn, faded and torn. It has a hidden button-down collar and is kept in style by a Levi's arcuate on the back yoke.






1950s Western Check shirt
It doesn't really fit with the theme of this collection, but I guess Levi's felt it was a nice enough shirt and put it in. This shirt comes from Levi's old line Western Wear, a very descriptive name I must say.
This shirt is heavily washed and very soft. Comes in a Western Wear box.




1955 Sawtooth denim shirt
Another inquisitor, but a classic one. Pretty much the same shirt as above but in a heavily washed denim. The last two seasons it's been available in unwashed denim but now we only get it washed. Again, the distressing is done well and something I can live with, and in.



1920s Sack Coat
More in the vein of farmers and laborers than the usual denim jacket, which was perhaps the choice of the cowboy instead, is the sack coat. With its many and big pockets its made for utility, not for style, and it was usually worn together with the Lot 66 overalls.




1930s Menlo Leather Jacket
A very soft brown leather jacket. The leather has been oil washed and then rubbed with newpapers to achieve this state.









Lot 66 Overalls
Yeah, we got an overall too, good gracious! Ours is from around 1912 and are the hand-me-downs of an engineer. Cut extra full for Christmas time, with a cinch to secure them if the elastic suspenders won't cut it.




Worked-in, not worn-out.





JEANS
Wow, I kept you waiting for so long, and bored you with all this above text when all you wanted to see was jeans. Omataseshimashita!
This season there's a few new faces, and some unfortunate losses.




We start with the first 501 in 1890, gain a pocket in 1901, are awarded in 1915-1917, gain weight in 1927, Act to help the Nation Recover in 1933, take a deep breath, adjust the cinch one last time and prepare for war in 1937, paint our pockets in 1944, invent the Classic in 1947, find zippers to be faster in 1954, can't at all seem to find the '55er, expose our ankles in 1966, Buy Our Exact Size in 1967, go back to the roots in 1978 and finally make our last selvedge jeans in 1983, now in 14 oz redline denim.

1890 XX 501

Made of the best 9 oz blue denim made, sewn with Saddler's linen thread. $0.75

Before 1890, the top of the line Levi's jeans was simply called XX, referring to the strong denim used. Now, it became the 501. This is also the year when the 1873 patent for the riveted waist overall ended.
You can get it worn or not.






I'm very sad to announce that I do not have product pictures of some of the normal, raw denim jeans that have appeared before in the LVC line. I simply ran out of time looking at the new items. I apologise and promise to do better next time. I hope that scans will do for now.

1901 501

It wasn't until 1901 that the 501 got its fifth pocket(so much for '501' having anything to do with the five-pocket jean!). I'm not sure why it took so long, maybe people really liked the diaper-look.
I wonder when the six-pocket jean will be introduced, the designer will surely be declared a genious.

1917 501
The 'XX No.1 Indigo dyed' received an award in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and the 501 hung on to its award for a few years, imagine how proud it must've been.

Of all the new additions in this collection, it's definitely my favourite vintage. What I like the most is that not only are the arcuates different between the two backpockets, but the shape of the actual pockets are different too. I think that they're more aesthetically pleasing than the 1901's backpockets because they're smaller and more rectangular.
I also very much like the short length of the stitching, at the coinpocket for instance.
The original was made from Amoskeag natural indigo denim, but the re-issue is made in Kurabo denim, which is pretty nice too.








1927 501

You've seen this before. For more pics, have a look at the 2008 A/W LVC post.

1933 501

The little white tag is the National Recovery Act tag. Levi's followed the rules set by Roosevelt's National Recovery Administration and were therefore allowed to use the tags on their garments.
Ironically, this act deepened and prolonged the recession.

1937 501

The Last Cowboy. The suspender buttons are gone but the cinch remains even though it would often-times be cut off after purchase. Suspender buttons were still handed out on request, though.

1944 501

This is my favourite year together with the 1944. I don't own a pair of either, but my Flat Head 3003XX are a '44 replica and I customized them by putting on suspender buttons, so I sorta own both, kinda.

1947 501

The most iconic of the 501 versions. I'm not sure why it's so popular, perhaps it's the cut, because it can easily pass as modern, compared to many other years at least.

Frayed Dry wash
This is a heavily washed pair with dirt and paint specks embedded in the light denim.



1944, 1947 and 1954 501 compared. Slight variation in denim.

1954 501Z

The '50s was when the jeans first became an item of style, not just utility. It's evident if you read On the road(written in 1951), where blue jeans are referred to simply as 'levis'[sic]. Levi's and jeans were pretty much synonyms at the time, much like Rollerblades meant inlines and vice versa some years ago.
The 501 got a larger audience and some of them really, really had to go, so the 501 Zipfly was introduced. The regular 501 was still sold however.

The Rootless wash



Nils thinks he's quite fit so he wanted to model these.



Unfortunately, the 1955 501 is not in this collection. I think that's a shame as it leaves a gaping hole in the line, fit-wise. The '54 is much more similar to the '47 if I recall correctly, just a little tapered instead of straight.

1966 501

The rivet-covering effort in 1937 wasn't enough, saddles still got scratched. From now on the rivets were replaced with bartacks on the backpockets.
The backpockets are some of the more iconic ones in the 501 history, very rectangular with a shallow arcuate.

Roadside wash





1967 505

The first sanforized jean made by Levi's was the 1963 551ZXX. In 1967, the 505 became Exact, too. The sanforized denim suited the zipfly on the 505 much better, since it didn't twist or shrink and thus wouldn't make the fly bulge like the loomstate denim had.

Golden Ochre wash, Customized fit
The leg is even narrower on these than on the normal 505. The indigo has wandered off somewhere, perhaps it was scared away by the mudd that now takes residence in your pants.




Jilted wash
The guy who wore in the originals sure wished he had a sixth pocket, 'cause his pockets were full!



1978 501

Levi's was deemed more pleasing to the eye than was LEVI'S, so this red tab has a small 'e'. It's still made from selvedge denim, 14oz at that, and the cut and detailing is much like the 1947 501.
I'm not sure if that's a conscious design decision or if these proportions just fit the time best.




1983 501
The Last Selvedge. The First Open-End. Endorsed by Bruce Springsteen~~


Side by side with the '78.


If you have any questions, ask them in the comments section and I'll make sure Nils answers them swiftly.

** Added some more scans from the lookbook.

Interesting eBay

Even though I'm in one of the worlds greatest cities when it comes to shopping, eBay remains my number one stop shop. It's great place to get older for less, and if you let what pops up on eBay dictate what you wear, you're bound to have a very interesting style after a while.
Please note that I'm only talking about the Vintage section, the rest I couldn't care less about.

You already have replica jeans, so why not get another piece of history to match your 1873 XX? It's actually possible to purchase a high quality copy of the original 1873 patent for riveted waist overalls, given to Jacob Davis and later passed on to Levi Strauss.



Go here to purchase your copy. Then, carry it with you at all times, in your cherished single backpocket.

Lots of Levi's lately, ne? Let's continue the streak.


Women's Levi's are ridiculously inexpensive on eBay, regardless of condition. I've seen deadstock 701s go for $70. Right now there is a pair of deadstock 1947-1951 701XX in size 34x32(31x29 after wash) up for grabs, current price is just $100.
It's cheaper than the reproductions, if you could even find a pair of them, and even if they weren't, they'd still be worth it. But could you bring yourself to wearing them? I personally intend to get at least one pair of deadstock vintage Levi's to break in, but I don't know if I could sacrifice a pair of jerky tag ones just for my own pleasure.
I'd probably get a pair of '70s 501s from Fake Alpha, Harajuku, instead and keep the old stuff for display purposes. I'm such a softy.




Good luck shopping!

Harajuku streets: WW2 Levi's

Yesterday I was riding the subway to Harajuku and I noticed this fine gentleman who was exquisitely dressed. He was wearing a heavy sweatshirt that looked like it could be vintage, even though it was in great condition, together with some mid-blue jeans that were vintage Levi's or Levi's replica.
The jeans had not so distinct fading but very nice texture and a few stains and repairs here and there.

He got off at Harajuku too and while standing behind him in the escalator I got a chance to have a closer look at his jeans. I noticed the crooked stitching on the backpockets and the curved shape of them and that there was no trace of an arcuate at all. They were real World War II Levi's!

It's a rare sight to see these worn, even though it does happen from time to time in Harajuku, so inquisitive me stopped him and asked to take his picture.


Mid picture: notice the crooked stitching on the coinpocket. Also, look at the long vertical yellow stitch that connects the back piece with the front piece at hip level. Ryo from Ooe Yofukuten & Co. taught me that you can use this seam to date Levi's--on pre-50s Levi's it will reach below half the height of the backpocket, but on later Levi's it is shorter and ends at about 1/3 of the backpocket.




His name is Inoue Satoshi, he's 24 and a carpenter. No, don't be afraid, he doesn't wear these jeans to work!
He had been interested in vintage clothing for about ten years, since he was a little kid. Nowdays he wears vintage almost exclusively.
In his bag he had another pair of Levi's, 1947-1951s, in a similar state as the jeans he was wearing, and a vintage leather jacket and some other vintage garments.
The sweatshirt he was wearing was 1950s vintage.

His favourite vintage stores were BerBerJin(likewise), Santa Monica and Lost Hills, which I actually hadn't been to before since it's on a small street off Harajuku street. It's a nice store that deals with 50s-80s, mostly American but also some European, vintage clothing, with fair prices.

And yeah, in case you wonder about the prices of vintage Levi's in Tokyo, these jeans cost 300,000 yen or about $3,000.

Thanks, Inoue!

LVC 'Wrath & Dust' S/S 2009: Ladies first

The year of 2008 is nearing its end, and with it the LVC 2008 A/W collection, if there's anything left of it in stores! It's an entirely good thing, and I'm sure the fall items will be loved for many years to come, because with the new year comes a new collection from Levi's Vintage Clothing!

It's time to present what is decidedly, most definitely, without a shadow of doubt, money back-guaranteed the best LVC collection ever!!
I looked at it in August and was overwhelmed. Until now I could only remember my feelings and impressions about the collection clearly, and not so much the actual pieces.
When I looked through my photos again, it was the same thing over again.
I don't mind hyping this collection because it really is this good, with a few exceptions.
The 2008 A/W was the first time I really felt that Levi's could compete with Warehouse and other Japanese brands in terms of finishes and fabrics, and this spring Levi's is doing it again, but on a larger scale and maybe even a little better.

I'm fairly sure that my readers are mostly male so I decided to start with the women's line. Completely nonsensical, you say! Later I'll show you the men's line and the newly introduced Orange Tab collection.

The collection is based on the Depression era and the 'Dust Bowl' time that followed it and continued to plague farmers in the U.S.
Might as well just have you read Levi's own story, I've got a headache:


Okay, let's go!



Lot 66 Bib and Brace Customized, Haystack
Based on an original engineer's garment from around 1912. Comes with seven pockets, including a ruler pocket.
Elastic suspenders and donut buttons.




1933 501 Short short, Hard and Angry
A wonderful pair of men's jeans that were worn hard and then taken over by the girlfriend, and repaird with the cut off denim after the jeans had been transformed into shorts.




1937 701 Onewash
The 1934-37 701 was the first Levi's jeans made specifically for women. It has a high-and-tiny waist and a cinchback.
The wash looks like a pair of jeans that was carelessly washed right-side-out and has many different indigo hues.







Here's an original of roughly the same age for comparison:




1944 701, Frayed Dry
During the second World War, cotton and copper was scarce. Wartime restrictions made Levi's remove the rivets on the coinpocket and the famous arcuate on the backpocket temporarily.
The cinchback and crotch rivet were removed permanently. Buttons were also changed to cut down on copper use.
The red tab and linen patch are both missing even though the originals carried them, because many women preferred unbranded jeans and removed these themselves.
Note the yellow selvedge.






1950's 701, Shut Tight
The 701s of the fifties came with a zipfly, unlike the 501 that had a buttonfly, and a pink selvedge. The pink was actually not a Levi's initiative, but a decision made by Cone Mills to change the color of the line in the woven edge.
These jeans come in what I'd say is roughly a 3-to-5-wash and I really enjoyed the look of it, please look at the detailed pictures of the denim!






1950's Denim Family Culotte
The female counterpart to breeches. Features a Talon sidezip and one backpocket.




1960 701, Rigid
The 60's 701 had an even narrower waist and wider hips than its predecessors. Indicative of the female want to leave their behind unbranded is the paper tag that replaced the linen tag.
The Long, Lean, Levi's Look.



Used my Flat Heads as a reference when looking at the denim.


1966 501 Customized, Baked Ground
It wasn't available for me to see at the time, but it is too good to be left out.
There are small repairs on this was and this model comes with a shorter inseam as these were worn short.





1919 El Real tops Long sleeve, tee, vest
Cotton rib with satin and lace detail.





1930's linen vest, Scattered Mist
Made in unbleched linen. With button front.


Sunset Chambray Shirt Customized, Last Rain
Originally a men's shirt in XL. Worn out, cut off, pleated for femininity.
Repairs don't get much better than this. Thankfully, there's also a men's version of this!







1930's Dress, Last Rain
So, it turns out the best piece of this collection belongs to the ladies. This one has it all--washed out and repaired chambray, red and white polka dots and a different kind of blue at the bottom.







1940's Tee
That I love back. I actually tried it on and it fit me very well in my usual size. I'm getting this one for sure!



1940's Tee, EAT DUST
Same model as the tee above, but with different colored fabric and a print.



1950's Tee, Mud Blue
The 50's tee was slightly longer and had shorter sleeves than the 40's tee.


The last lookbook from Levi's Vintage Clothing won an award and this one is on the same level, so I'm including some inspirational shots.












Please keep itching for my next LVC update!

Ooe Yofukuten & Co.

Since coming to Tokyo, I actually haven't bought more than one pair of jeans. There are a few different reasons for this, but the biggest one is Ooe Yofukuten & Co. I bought a pair of their AG1101XX jeans and am now participating in their first aging contest and could not be more satisfied with my current denim situation.

Here's my pair of AG1101XX;

Delivered in this box and came with a chart specifically for this contest.


You can order these from Ooe Yofukuten & Co. free of charge, I think.







Tag inside left backpocket.


Contestant No. 13 /20; Black selvedge.

The AG1101XX is a 1947-1951 501XX replica and fits pretty much exactly the same as the LVC version and is sized the same--it starts out at tagged size and shrinks 2".


The denim is 13.5oz and has quite a lot of excess fibres, making it look 'hairy', just like it should. It's not very starchy after the initial wash that I gave my jeans before wearing them and it stretches quite easily.
The texture reminds me a lot of the Warehouse 1000XX denim, but it is a tad darker in color.
This model is very barebones and simple, but the character comes after the wearing process, and I expect the jeans to look a lot like the ~50s worn-in Levi's I've seen in shops in Tokyo.

If you're interested in acquiring a pair, you can't, but you can instead get the same model with slightly different denim and details at the Ooe webshop. You can get the sanforized or the unsanforized flavor.


Ooe Yofukuten & Co. is one of my most pleasant findings here in Japan and perhaps also the biggest surprise because of their background.

The brand consists of Ryo and Hiro who started making jeans only after meeting eachother. They did however start out a long way from this business.
When they met, Ryo was working for his father's construction company and Hiro was a programmer.
Hiro had no interest whatsoever in vintage jeans, but Ryo had a huge interest since childhood and went through highschool with empty pockets, because he was always saving up for vintage jeans. His grandfather had been a tailor and an inspiration for Ryo. Ooe Yofukuten & Co. was the name of his shop and is now used as a tribute to him and means 'Ooe Clothes Shop', where 'Ooe' is the surname of Ryo and now also Hiro, as they are a married couple.

After they met, Hiro also started working for Ryo's father's company. After a while, though, Ryo's passionate talk about jeans started to get to Hiro.

But how would they make the jeans? They had no way of obtaining the machinery and materials required, so they started out with just a simple all-purpose sewing machine.
They had no skills in sewing nor patternmaking before this, but as time passed, they got better and got to know people who helped them get a hold of machinery and fabric.
Today, their craftsmanship and quality of materials and machinery is second to none.

The couple researches their new products by buying vintage pieces or looking through turn-of-the-century catalogs, from which Ryo makes patterns, using which Hiro sews the garments. The result is then promptly shown on their blog and sometimes they also display their pieces at fleamarkets.
Ooe Yofukuten & Co. is still such a small operation that all garments are sewn by Hiro.

Ooe is not represented in any store, only sold on their website with their enthusiastic blog as the only advertisement. They are residing in the small city of Aichi on the Japanese countryside, where they have an atelier and 'updated' machinery that today consists of seven different Union Special sewing machines.


In my opinion, Ooe Yofukuten & Co.'s product is on the same level as that of Warehouse. In some ways it's actually better, because I prefer their early reproductions to Warehouse's.

1902 Double Knee Overalls



1850 Logger's overalls

The denim they use is always strictly authentic in its look. Many other brands choose to use more innovative fabrics, like heavier or more slubby ones, and it is merely a matter of choice which you prefer, but I do know which is my favourite nowdays.
I think the most vintage-looking denim comes from Levi's Vintage Clothing, Warehouse, Ooe Yofukuten & Co. and Fullcount, and by that I mean specifically their standard 13.76oz denim.

Two weekends ago I went to Lightning magazine's denim festival in Odaiba. There I met Takashi of Denim Gallery, Ryu of Let go as you like and the owners of e-denim and Jeans Pavilion, and many of their friends.

Amongst this group of people, the only brands worn were Warehouse, Levi's Vintage Clothing Japan, Edwin-made Lee Originals and Ooe Yofukuten & Co. I think this is a testament of how great their product is, not only in terms of quality but also in authenticity and spirit.

After the festival, I left for Harajuku where I met Ryo and Hiro who were visiting Tokyo for the first time in 15 years. We went to various vintage shops for inspiration. I was very proud that I got to meet them on their first trip to Tokyo in such a long time.
They told me about their background, their philosophy and their ambitions and of that I have told above. Most of all, we just had a good time together.


If Ooe caught your interest, please visit their wonderful blog and look at other products at their official website.

Warehouse Ebisu [Tokyo Vintage Find #1]

Warehouse has three stores in Tokyo; Harajuku, Ebisu and Machida. The store in Ebisu is the biggest, and I'd also say best, but if you're like me, you'll be going to all three anyway.

I prefer the Ebisu shop because it has the largest selection of current, and old!, jean models and because they had a 'vintage festival' going on when I went there.
So far I've almost only bought vintage clothes in Tokyo, with the only exception being something from Warehouse(more about that later). I much prefer getting vintage over replicas as it's usually cheaper for the same type of garment(jeans not included), the distressing will be decidedly authentic and, well, it's the real McCoy.

Warehouse is the number ONE Japanese brand when it comes to denim and workwear reproductions. They don't only make extremely accurate 501 replicas, they do exact replicas of jeans(and everything else, for that matter) from brands that no one has ever heard of before, or of unbranded ones that can be fully or partially handmade.
Their shops is where you can find one of a kind garments from the late 19th century reproduced.
The best thing though, is that you can also buy some of the original garments that they've based their reproductions on!
Their stock of vintage originals is big and rivals any other vintage shop in Tokyo.

Have a look at these pictures from Warehouse Ebisu. Pretty much everything you see here is vintage and not a replica.

'20s, '30s and '40s boots. '50s is too trendy!


Cook&Dunn, KEEP SMILING ALWAYS. I want this shirt.










I did get myself a little something-something. A 1960s sweatshirt that is beautifully, or disgustingly depending on who you ask, distressed and stained.
It was used as an original for a kids' sweatshirt that Warehouse made.








The back really sealed the deal. .




The fit is just what I wanted--boxy and short with broad shoulders and a collar that is pretty much a boat collar.

If you can't make it to a Warehouse shop, you can buy some of their vintage collection at their website. Have a look at these WW2 and '50s 501s for example:






arigatooooo gozaimashita!!

Pure Blue Japan

One of my first stops in Harajuku was Pure Blue Japan's store. PBJ is akin to UES, 45rpm, Kato, Kapital etc. in that they use old dyeing, weaving and sewing techniques but then come up with their own patterns and designs, which may or may not be inspired by an original vintage garment.
So, if you really dig retro style but can't go all the way with the high waists and so on, the aformentioned brands are perfect for you!

For example, have a look at the jeans from PBJ.


PBJ has three different cuts, all available in three different denims. From left to right is a denim with an indigo-dyed weft, a vintage-type denim and the slubby denim that sets Pure Blue Japan apart from other brands. All of these denims are equally slubby, and to be honest, it's a bit much for me right now as I've already tasted it in the Samurai S0500 Texas denim, but it's just a preference. If the dark, tight weave is boring to you, go ahead and try PBJ!

The fits are regular straight, slim straight and slim bootcut. I do however feel that the regular cut could pass as slim and the slim as skinny, but it depends on how you size the jeans.
The rise is medium to low, proportionate to how full the cut is.

PBJ keeps a collection of vintage Levi's in their store and it shows how their jeans make you a modern cowboy.



Two of the jeans shown above are actually from Pure Blue Jeans. Can you guess which? And, which ones do you prefer the look of?

Okay, the answer is that the two pair on the top in either picture are PBJ's own. The first pair is the vintage-type denim in the regular cut, please compare it to the vintage 1940's Levi's below them!

The other pair is the regular cut with the standard, slubby denim. I was surprised that it was possible to get such a good vintage-look with it!
In the coming month a new type of denim will be introduced. It has an indigo warp thread but a purple weft. It is quite subtle and not at all in your face. It's practically impossible to decide which is nicer, the indigo or the purple warp, so you'll have no choice but to get both. So shifty..

Pure Blue Japan also makes things other than jeans. Take a second and look around their shop!








Very nice shirts. One of my go-to brands for tops, because of the nice fabrics and fair prices.



I don't believe the price of this pair is fair, though!!

Pure Blue Japan fading samples at J-Fabled

UES

UES is a small, just two shops big, and interesting high-quality Japanese brand. I went to their store in Daikanyama today after looking at their homepage and used gallery many, many times.
I was not disappointed, the store is as cozy as the website and I found the best denim shirt I've seen so far in Tokyo, and I've looked at many, for example Flat Head, Warehouse, Studio D'artisan, Fullcount, Omnigod.

UES makes four models; 400R Regular straight, 400S Slim straight, 400B Bootcut, and A401XX Classic, which resembles a 1937 501 in details, but the cut is regular with a normal rise.
All models are unisex and therefore the rise on all models is medium height.
The denim used is a dark and stiff 14.9oz denim for all models except the A401XX which has a lighter shade but still stiff denim.
UES will repair all UES jeans and in their shop they had jeans hanging, waiting for repair. I looked at them and the one that caught my eye the most was a pair of A401XX.
It had been used for over a year and repaired many times all over, and I could tell that it had never been washed. I could knock on the denim and it would make a sound, like it was made out of wood. It was so incredibly stiff from all the built up dirt and starch!

And contrary to popular belief, cellphones in Japan are huge! They are in fact so huge that you have to buy them their own bib, and so I did at UES.


Tetsu thought my new jeans were too long, so he hemmed them for me.


He hammered the folded hem before he sew it.





UES website
UES FACE of DENIM
UES goodies
UES at J-Fabled
UES fading samples at J-Fabled

Change of scenery

I arrived in Tokyo yesterday, and this is where I'm going to stay for the coming year.
Of course, I managed to check out some stores even on my first day.

I found a pair of Evisu 2001 No.1 Special in a used-clothing store. What's interesting about them is that they had Levi's arcuates stitched on the backpockets, not paint and not the usual kamome gulls you normally see. Only problem was that the inseam was very short.
I'm going to look around if I can find more of these and also hear what they are and when they were made.

I also went to the Ralph Lauren store in Harajuku. It is of course awesome and I think they are the best American brand to do amekaji, american casual style. Better than Engineered Garments in my opinion.
I liked the Polo line, which is a little bit more dressy but still casual, as well as RRL. The prices were a bit ridiculous though, a one-wash pair of RRL jeans were 34,000 yen while Pure Blue Japan and Eternal jeans are 18,900 yen, for the same quality.
RRL also makes a very nice distressed and patched pair, but they cost 72,000 yen. Also worthy of notice is their waist overalls and the books they had in the RRL section, one called Rebel Style, displaying Marlon Brando's, James Dean's, Paul Newman's and Jack Kerouac's style, and a book with images similar to that of Library of Congress.

If you're on a budget, though, you can just go to the store next door, GAP. They're concentrating really hard on amekaji now too, and they have very nice blazers, oxford buttondowns and baseball jackets. The cuts are slightly updated and quite slim, too slim for my taste, but might be great for someone else.
Of course, they're also making jeans. They have one line which is made from Cone Mills denim in the U.S. The one-wash jeans cost 6,000 yen and the nicely washed ones slightly more. The denim is a bit thin, though.
They also have a premium line, also in Cone denim. It's more expensive at 20,000 yen, but uses heavier and slightly nicer denim and it has all the 50's details, but it's still not worth it compared to Japanese brands.

Nearby is a Lee/Wrangler store. I saw some 1964 Wrangler Blue Bells and 1942, 1959, and 1930 Lee Originals. Apparently they shrink more than I thought, because I've tried on several used pairs, which are perfect in 28, but the unwashed jeans are always too big.
One of the staff gave me his umbrella when I was leaving because it was raining. I'm going to return it today.

Almost next door is a Levi's store. The Japanese LVC range is slightly different. The 1933, 1937 and 1944 all look slightly different. The '37 and '44 look better to me, especially the denim.
I was expecting it to be just the same, so I was actually surprised to see this!
They also have a 125 model and a 1922 501 and bunkhouse shirts in other fabrics.

And lastly, I had my first Japanese ramen, it was cheap at 550 yen and very good! Let's get fat!!

The Flat Head 3003XX 3 months

After the Samurai contest I needed a break from jeans and wore a pair of 1940's Blue Bell chinos a lot, and occasionally my LVC 1920 201s. After some months of just wearing what I felt like for the day, I finally got around to wearing my Flat Head jeans and have been doing so for three months.
I had seen pictures of the Flat Head 3000-series denim so I knew that it held its color well through washes. Lucky for me, because it didn't take more than three months before I really needed to wash my jeans.

This is before the first wash.









Compared to the Samurai Texas denim, the Flat Head 3000 denim is darker and less slubby, but it still has very pronounced vertical threads.

I washed the jeans in 40*C with a phosphate-free and of course also bleach-free detergent.





As you can see, the color didn't change much with the wash and that's the mark of great jeans.

At the time of writing this post I've actually wore them one or two more months and am waiting for them to dry after their second wash. They won't be getting much more wear after this though, because I'm getting another pair of contest jeans in just a week or so.

Levi's Vintage Collection A/W 2008

The LVC collection for Autumn & Winter 2008 is bound to confuse anyone looking at it the first time, because it has an 'Oldest Oldest' jean as well as a 'XX First Blue' jean.
Let's have a look at them so we'll be able to tell them apart from now on.

1873 XX First Blue Jean





The 'XX' is a reproduction of the oldest pair of Levi's jeans found. The original is from 1873 and pre-dates the '501' which is the name the XX would later be replaced with.
The reproduction is made in 9 oz natural indigo denim from the Japanese Kurabo mill.
The pair shown above has been washed once to bring forth the different shades in the slightly streaky denim.
This pair will cost about 350-400 Euro.

Here is Nils of Levi's wearing them the Levi's way - using one of the suspender buttons as the top button;



This is the Oldest Oldest. It is based on a pair, dated to 1875, that was recently found in a mining town in Nevada. It is not the famous 'Nevada jeans', though.
It comes in a raw, synthetic indigo, 9oz Kurabo denim(200 Euro) and distressed in a celebration package with a bag and a tee(500-600 Euro).





The raw version.




Levi's is big on packages this season. The 1927, 1966 and 1978(the card says otherwise but that's because it's from the SS08 collection) 501s can be bought together with a white tee of the same era. Just like the jeans, the tees have different cuts, fabrics and details.
Here's the 1933.



The 1927 501 premiers this fall. It's significance in Levi's history is not obvious, but it is a big part of Levi's marketing campaign. 1927 was the year when 'This is a pair of them' on the oil cloth tag was changed to 'This is a pair of LEVI'S'. Levi's pioneered brand building and managed to distinguished themselves from other workwear brands, some of which even had the now trademarked Levi's arcuate on the backpockets!
The 1927 is also the first replica that has belt loops, they were introduced in 1922, and the 501 was produced in 10oz denim instead of 9oz from this year.





1937, or 1936, was the year when the red tab was introduced. Again, it was a part of the marketing strategy.



The redline denim is all from Cone Mills while the plain white selvedge denim is from Kurabo.

Another newcomer is the 1978 501. It has a small 'e' on the red tab but still carries the selvedge on the outseam.
In 1978 the cut of the 501 was changed and made slimmer. The denim is now 14oz but still not sanforized.







The 1950's Shorthorn denim shirt is carried over from last season. Now without the red tab that shouldn't have been there in the first place.
7.5 ounce denim, mother of pearl buttons and a fairly slim fit.




Comes in a Shorthorn box.

More effort than usual is put on the tops for this collection.
Here's the 1910 Sunset wool shirt that was previously made in chambray(the Bunkhouse shirt) and a 1950's check wool shirt.
The collection is inspired by the lumberjack which is why there is a lot of heavy wool used here.
All the wool shirts come in Saddleman box, regardless of which era they're from.








The 1912 Sunset Sweater Coat is another example of the use of wool.


You probably heard of Levi's No.2, as in the 201, but did you know there was also a No.3?
The No.3 was the cheapest type that Levi's offered and it was made from leftovers and lower quality denim.
In order to replicate the denim of the originals, Levi's looked for a suitable loom on all continents and after some years of searching finally found one in Russia.

This is the 1911 340 Open Front Jumper. It was used as a shirt or a jacket when the weather was colder, perhaps with a wool shirt underneath.




Rusted buttons, only one color on the stitching, a very grainy denim and and almost quadratic shape.


This is also the first time there is a real focus on womenswear in LVC. Finally, they have made a 701, the women's version of the 501.

The 701 was considered leisure-wear even from the launch in 1934. Therefore it's made from lighter denim that is quite soft even in its raw state. The real workingwomen would wear the men's 501 instead.

Below is a comparison between the original and the reproduction of the 1950's 701.


Original



Reproduction





Original on the left, reproduction on the right. 10oz pre-shrunk denim is used in the 1950's version.

There's also the 1937 701, in a washed state. The '37 is slightly slimmer than the 50s version.


And last, a few washed men's jeans.

1927, 1937, 1966.











Washed 1967 505s, 'Butterfly Flat' and 'Clay Dipped'.

KATO A/W 2008

It's finally time to present Kato's collection for this fall and winter season. Unlike with other brands and designers, trends like cropped pants with contrasting socks, black ("is the new black"), no rock band influences are not present here.

Image from thesartorialist.com

There's simply no black and therefore nothing to contrast your socks with, and that's why Kato is casual and why I like Kato.

I believe the biggest influence on Kato is Hiroshi Kato, which is why Kato looks like Kato and nothing else. This collection is similar to earlier ones but some patterns have been tweaked and new fabrics have been intruduced as well as a few new cuts for the bottoms.





The fabric of the above two shirts is woven on a 32" narrow loom and is made from a mix of Zimbabwe cotton and Egyptian ramie, which is known for its ability to hold shape and give a lustre to the finished fabric.
The blue color is based on natural indigo and while the yellow is a synthetic Monoazo dye.
Almost all KATO shirts have a single-piece color, as seen above.




These two shirts are based on a 1920's Japanese office/work shop pullover shirt. They have a cut-away collar and are made from a cotton/linen mix. Untreated linen threads are spun together with double harvest, potfermented indigo-dyed cotton threads to create the thread that the fabric is finally woven with.
The white stripes and collar are untreated made from only the undyed, natural threads.











A longer version of the jacket in the KATO AW07 collection is available for this season. It is based on a riding coat and just like the shorter version, the finish is done using a log dye and an air brush.
The log dye is made from the inner bark of a (to me unknown type of) tree, which is then put in a pot which in turn is burried in the ground and left there for 6-12 months so as to let the bark ferment.
The acquired liquid is then mixed with oil and applied to the garment with an airbrush.

The cloth used for the coat is a heavy cotton and the collar is a corduroy with color from plum husks.

Most of the detailing is done by hand as is much of the finer seams, and you should also notice the triple stitching that is done on all types of garments and always in the same direction as the weave of the cloth, to let it stretch freely.
I will not point out these things again as it would get boring quite quickly, but I just want you to know that with Kato you can expect natural dyes, hand-finished detailing and good sewing.
Remember to study the garments by yourself, that is the most important thing, and make your own opinion!

The same model is also available in boiled wool, shown below.




This greenish color is actually achieved by mixing different color wool, please have a look at the crappy close-ups!

There is also a variation of this coat, with a few different details, like slanted pockets. This jacket is also blanket-lined, much like old Wrangler denim jackets.
The lining is in fact made from a mixture of cotton, recycled wool and boiled wool.







This is a coat in waxed cotton, but the waxing process is a little different here. First, the cotton used for the weft is treated with a mixture of spring water and spirits, after which it is spun and then wax is applied to the threads.
Next, the cloth is woven with these threads together with untreated Zimbabwe cotton threads for the warp.
This is supposed to give the fabric the same characteristics as that in a Barbour coat but with a softer feel and no smell or stickiness. It also means you don't have to treat it carefully, re-wax it nor use special washing techniques.

Also available in a grey boiled wool.






This short jacket is based on a 1920's open cockpit inner jacket. The fabric is recreated by using a 1910's drop-loom and Zimbabwe cotton mixed with recycled cotton. This loom gives a very tight weave but the cloth remains flexible. The lining is cotton/recycled wool mix.

The dye of the outer cloth is made from green bark and it is once again finished with the same log dye technique.

Two nice blue jackets:






And a great vest..



.. that I know nothing about! Come on Neil, tell me about them! Are they indigo-dyed?


1920-1940's chino pant. Cross-loomed fabric made from Zimbabwe cotton.
Available in one-wash and in an engineered finish.




A traditional fishing pant, available in white, blue and khaki.




1930's construction worker pant. Heavy cotton fabric, once again with the log dye engineered finish.

(two different colors)




Also available in a double harvest indigo denim;




The distressing on the denim is actually done by hand using a bamboo ball!


What I've shown here is the selection available outside of Japan. You'll be able to get it in-store at SOLO and from 111vox's online store and superdenim.co.uk.

Discuss the collection at ringxring!

No McCoyXLVC!

I'm afraid that my previous post was not accurate. I was contacted by Levi's and told that McCoy will not be making the '47 for them.
I'm very sorry to have posted misleading information, but I will make up for it by posting a look at the autumn/winter collection of LVC.

Also, I will try to get some general information about LVC and if there's anything you've been pondering, write it down here and I will forward it to Levi's.

The Real McCoy'sxLVC

I usually try to make my posts longer but now I've got to make a shorter one yet again(a lengthy report on KATO is coming), otherwise I'd have to wait months for more information.

I just heard from Lewis at superdenim that The Real McCoy's has just struck a deal with Levi's; they will be making the 1947 501 for the Levi's Vintage Clothing collection. There has been complaints about the existing '47 not being an accurate reproduction because it's so slim, but this should be the last say on the issue as the owner of The Real McCoy's has thousands, not kidding, of vintage Levi's to base the jean on.

I'm not sure when the RMCxLVC '47 will be available nor where it will be available. I do hope, but not expect, that this model will be sold in every country where LVC is sold.

The Real McCoy's has already made a few models for Lee, but I'm not sure if or how they are better than the Edwin-made ones.





The Real McCoy's at ringxring

Meet the Denim Demons

Image from somconcept.com

Anton and Oskar from Denim Demon will be DJing and talking to customers at Weekday Götgatan on the 23rd of May. Come by and get the full Denim Demon experience, personal service and talk denim, denim, denim!

See you!!

ringxring & Ironheart/FreeBee

The forum at ringxring has so far yielded a few new or re-issued models from Samurai Jeans and more are in the works from Samurai as well as other brands.
For one, Giles of Hidden Rivet/Ironheart UK is about to create a 14.5oz version of the popular Ironheart 634 model. He's looking for input on which denim to use, which details to incorporate and a design for the backpocket arcuates.

For me it's really exciting to see opportunities like these arise and take part in them. If you dig it too, here's the discussion and information about the project. There's even a small prize for the person who comes up with the winning design.

Let's make jeans!

Edwin Vintage A/W 2008

I'm a long-time fan of Edwin's Nashville model because of it's great quality, details and fit, especially in relation to its price. Apart from the Nashville though, I've felt that Edwin was always lacking something.
The other models have never made it all the way but coasted somewhere along the line. They're usually too much in-between modern and classic and while the idea to keep historic details on modern cut jeans might be nice, it never worked out in practice for Edwin.
The jeans were never designed well enough, to me, to fight it out with the more modern brands or never felt authentic enough to make them attractive for the vintage-loving kind of people.

Apparently someone at Edwin felt the same and created the Edwin Vintage collection which premieres this fall.
It consists of 3 men's models, 2 women's models and a skirt. All models come in washed and two of the men's models also come in raw.
The denim in the men's models is 13oz selvedge while the women get 12oz selvedge denim, 100% cotton, no stretch.

The washes are made by hand in Japan and limited to 150 pieces and therefore come with a hefty pricetag, but they're also some of the best washes I've seen.

Edwin has not intended to recreate old vintage pieces down to the last molecule, but instead tried to catch the spirit and general idea of the different times. If you're familiar with the old 501s you'll definitely find some interesting details in these jeans.

The real vintage pants are very valuable but it does no fit our body and are not reall comfortable. Maybe "classic" is a right word. That's why we come up with our Vintage Collection, which is a mix of real vintage taste and modern technology.
-Noritaka Imamura, Edwin Japan

The first men's model is the "Zip Tight Straight". Like late 1960's Levi's it has a zip fly, is fairly slim, has no hidden rivets on the backpockets and the seams that attach the pockets to the jean almost run in parallell.
Unlike 60's Levi's, which tapered below the knee, it's a straight cut.








The second model, "Button Fly Straight", is perhaps most like the old 501 from 1947-1951 that you can also find in Levi's Vintage Clothing collection. The tilted coinpocket, hidden copper rivets on the backpockets and the shape of them, and the top button in the fly is why. However, the donut-shaped buttons in the fly is definitely a detail taken from the wartime 501(1939-1945).

Needless to say, the rise is lower than that on either of the idols and the cut is more modern throughout.





These are the washed Button Fly Straight. Kind of speak for themselves.





So do these, but I feel compelled to talk about them anyway. The Original Straight is a mix of details from the 1800's to the 1930s. They remind me a lot of the "Nevada jeans", the oldest Levi's ever found was found in a Nevada mine, dating back to 1880-1885. I think this wash looks better than the LVC Nevada reproduction, actually.












The original Nevada jean:


So, while trying not to sound like a salesman, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this collection from Edwin. The quality seems good and the price is very good for the raw jeans, 1200 SEK. Definitely some of the best jeans in this price range.

What do you think about the Edwin Vintage Collection? You're very welcome to discuss it at ringxring.

Haberdashery

A haberdasher is a person who sells small, commonly used items of clothing via retail. These can include ribbons and buttons or completed accessories such as hats or gloves. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.

Stockholm's own Haberdashery just so happens to be dealing with the fine cotton product that is jeans. Hard to find and requiring a small trip outside the usual shopping districts, but it is well worth it.

The store carries the familiar brands The Flat Head, Iron Heart, FreeBee, Pace, BayIcon and the new acquaintance Studio Zero.
It is also the first and only place in Sweden to get your jeans chainstitched. We've so been waiting for that!

Herkulesgatan 24 is where it's at.




Iron Heart 21 oz type 3 jacket.




Sugarcane, models 1947 and Union Star, the jean that was originally produced for the U.S. Military.




The Flat Head 1005, a 16 ounce 50's model.


'
FreeBee 101, made from the same denim as my FreeBee jacket.


Studio Zero. On the left is the 100% cotton version and on the right the 40%/60% hemp/cotton version that Sivletto carries.


BayIcon's hemp denim that's coming out this fall.


Chainstitcher.


Pace limited edition.

Denim Demon A/W 2008

Their collection for autumn/winter 2008 is the Denim Demon brothers' first shot at making other garments than jeans.

The first addition and natural extension of the line is of course the denim shirt. This design is mostly inspired by one of Lee's old shirts, bar the pocket-flaps which are more reminiscient of 60's Wrangler shirts.





Another safe bet but always welcome piece is the sweatshirt. On the chest is a drawing by Anton of the type of drum that the Samian medicine men use. On it is doodled the demon, a drawing of their father's birthplace, traditional Samian symbols etc.
The cuff is extra wide for that 1940's groove.



There's also three non-denim shirts in this collection.


And, getting down to the nitty gritty, there are two new jean models for this fall.
The first one is Juvvie, 'belt' in Samian, and is decidedly inspired by Lee's 1930's Cowboy models, just look at the triple-stitch on the yoke. The fit is slightly looser than the Aajja.



One raw and two washed Juvvies.

There's also the new version of Sarves. This time it's a play on Levi's 1920's 201s, with the exposed rivets, cinchback and suspender buttons.
The cut is the same as that of the Juvvie and the denim is the same as the one being used in this season's Sarves.





The Aajja cut is of course carried over to the next season and is also expanded with three washes(Gunnar, Bengt-Erik and Anna-Britt) and a jet-black raw denim.









Denim chore jacket, Plaave. It will actually be made in the same unsanforized denim as Sarves but shown above is a sample of the coat in the regular Aajja denim.

Discuss!

Studio Zero

The latest Japanese brand to go international and join the fellow expats in Sweden is Studio Zero.

Studio Zero is a very small brand, even compared to other niche brand such as Samurai. A testament to this is the fact that every pair is sewn together by the same person. Each pair is also marked by hand - look at the left pocket bag.
Unlike Samurai the cut and detailing is not very close to vintage Levi's, but there is still some trace of heritage - (fully) lined backpockets, donut buttons in the fly and a 'Z' stitch at the top button which is a play on the 'V' stitch found on old Levi's.

The styling is not my cup of tea, actually it's quite far from it, but the build quality of the jean is very high, so I would not hesitate to recommend these jeans to someone who's more open-minded than I am.
The denim is 13.5 oz and will probably fade as well as that of any other Japanese brand.

Studio Zero can be found at Sivletto, where I went to take these pictures, Solo, Caliroots and Haberdashery.

Jeans for Europe

A new online store dealing with (Japanese) denim has just opened its doors. Even though the web is worldwide, jeans and trade isn't quite as globalised just yet.
This webshop is located in the UK, making it attractive to us Europeans as we will now be sure to avoid customs when buying jeans and can thus get the first good night's sleep in a long time.

The store is superdenim.co.uk and it currently carries Denim Demon, Studio D'Artisan and Kato, all of which you can get the background on on this blog.

Right now there is a also a special deal for members of ringxring.





And by the way, don't forget about http://www.ironheart.co.uk/, where you can find.. Iron Heart. This store is also located in the UK.

Samurai Contest end

So the Samurai contest ended some time ago. I finished second. Here are my jeans.

10 months effective wear, after one 40*C wash, before the second wash.







After the second, 60*C, wash.









Compared to my Flat Head 3003s.

Kato in Sweden

For some, 2008 is the year of the rat. For us Swedes, it's the year of Japanese denim.

SOLO has already been selling Sugarcane jeans for some time, just recently got Studio D'Artisan and for next year they're bringing in Kato.

I've been curious about Kato for quite some time and after meeting Neil at SOLO I like it a lot. Unfortunately I will not be able to convey the Kato concept to you as well as Neil could, but I hope that you will still get some feeling of the brand.

Kato is not your average amekaji or work wear brand but is strongly influenced by both of these styles. You could say that Kato is more of a casual brand.
This might sound funny because nothing can be more dressed down than work wear, but what I mean is that it's easier to wear than straight reproductions because of its updated cuts.
I would describe Kato as a, design-wise, cross between a reproductional brand and Levi's Engineered - curved arms and legs, loose, comfy cuts and distinctly different pocketshapes.
The patterns are actually updated yearly according to customers' requirements and likings.

Quality-wise Kato is every bit as good as the more traditional brands. One thing that you should note, though, is that the denim used is not ring dyed/rope dyed but hank dyed, meaning the threads of the denim are dyed to the core and take much longer to fade.

Attention to detail is very high and the threads used to sew the garments are usually of the same material as the cloth of the garment. For example, the thread used to sew the jeans is made from the same Zimbabwe cotton as the denim.
This means that you will get a similar ageing on the seams as on the denim. Polyester thread, that does not shrink much nor fade, would not look good matched with worn-in, unsanforized denim. It would be a clash of modern and old.

One of the most interesting things is that almost all colors used to color Kato's fabrics come from nature. This because they simply found that these colors yielded the best results and not because of some environmentalist fad.

Buttons, buttonholes and probably a whole lot of other things that I'm forgetting are handsewn.
I feel that there is a lot of thought and spirit put into these garments and some of them make me a little.. happy.



Neil J. Christopher of Kato. Passionate, to say the least.


Logg-dyed chinos. The bark from a tree is left in a pot for 18-24 months to ferment and then used to make the dye for these pants. The outer and inner bark give different colors.


"We want the inside of our garments to be as beautiful as the outside."(mis-quoted, but something along these lines.)


At the red dots, the core of the thread is dyed with indigo and then topped with red. It will fade to give off a slight hint of indigo.



Rivets are set by hand and covered with a citric acid, so as not to bother your skin(?).



Workpants inspired by those used in 1930's Japan. I think those were in turn inspired by Brittish or American workwear.


Jacket cut shorter in the back, pants higher. They make a great couple.



Freddie trying on another Kato jacket. I didn't get a picture of it, but the corduroy that's on the inside of the collar is dyed with the color from a plum husk.





These seams are actually singlestitched.


Finally, jeans.


The tags are attached to the garments with a certain type of chainstitch that is used in rice bags. It will unravel if you pull the loose ends.



Comparing Kato denim to.. something else.








Checked and striped herringbone.. ooh.


Slightly faded Kato jeans. Stubborn.

The showing wasn't centered around jeans so I don't have much to say about them, unfortunately.
Instead I offer you snaps from the Kato booklet to try and make up for it.

Audience with the King

A while ago I got the opportunity and pleasure to meet one of the founders of Acne (Action) Jeans, Jonny Johansson.

For those who aren't educated on Swedish denim history, I can tell that Acne's entrance into the clothing industry in 1997 and what gave them recognition was their first blue jeans with red seams and the flame tag on the backpocket.

They were originally made in only 100 pairs as a promotion for the Acne that was then mainly an advertising agency but when the jeans became popular, another branch of Acne was created and more jeans were made.

I have a pair of Acne jeans with red seams as well as a denim jacket with the same details.
Jonny helped me date them and as it turns out, they're both from 1998-1999! That means they're from the first or second rerun of this model but not from the first hundred pairs.


Jonny with my jeans and jacket.

I like these jeans not only because of their history and their significance but also because the denim is very nice. It's quite heavy at 14 ounce per square yard and has a slightly different blue hue, a little black-ish. It's the denim I like the best from Acne.

The story about when I found the jacket is quite funny. First I was talking to someone about how great the first Acne jeans were and right after that I went to an unsorted second hand store. I was very uninspired but decided to take a quick look anyway since I was nearby, and one of the first things I saw was this jacket!
When I rode the subway after making this great find, I sat next to someone with a pair of the same jeans and they had really taken on the dirty look that was discussed in the comments here.

The denim was produced by an Irish mill that went bankrupt not long after the first Acne jeans were made.














The jacket is like a skinny Levi's type 3 jacket.

If you too are a fan of these jeans you'll be happy to hear that Acne is producing them again for their tenth anniversary. The anniversary collection will contain the 'best' or most iconic garments that Acne has made in the ten years since 1997.
I truly hope that the denim will be like on the originals.

Discuss Acne jeans at ringxring.

S0500XX, repairing again

Time takes its toll. I've repaired these jeans a handful of times now, but it's mostly been smaller things, as a whole the jeans are still in very good condition.

This time I repaired the right pocketbag, the backpocket again and the area below the crotch.

Some of you remember that I had to repair my SD103s under the crotch after four months of wear. I attribute this difference to the fact that my piggies are and were much stiffer and coarser and that they were a bit more snug. They are great jeans and top quality, just wash out the starch before wearing if you want to avoid holes before six months have passed.


There was still some time before it would wear through completely, but I like preventive repairs.


Before and after.


I've been keeping my keys in this pocket.

Denim Demon spring collection

Denim Demon is extending their collection with rinsed and washed models as well as a pair of women's jeans this spring. They are also releasing their first limited edition, Sarves - Samian for bull caribou, this spring and that's what I'll be focusing on in this post.

The Sarves is very different because it is not singed nor sanforized and that's very uncommon for non-Japanese brands (except Levi's Vintage Clothing, of course). Garments that shrink two sizes just aren't attractive to most customers.
It's the same cut as the Aajja, ~50s 501, and is made from 15.5 oz selvedge denim. The denim is made in Turkey and is very nice, as you'll see.

The detailing is different from the other models; the leatherpatch is goatskin, the buttons in the fly are of the donut-type and there are hidden rivets on the backpocket.

Please note that the pictures are from two different Sarves samples and they're both a little wrong in different ways. That's why you might notice some discrepancies between different pictures.



Sarves and Aajja compared.


The yellow stitching won't be as bright as in the left picture. The cut is also wrong, the rise is way too low.


The horns of a caribou, upside down.


Coinpocket selvedge in the colors of the Jämtland province's flag.


"Made in Italy of 100% cotton. With inspiration from our [Samian] heritage."


Lady done in blue.

The right picture shows the yellow thread that will be used on the final version.


Sarves top, Kato bottom. The Kato jeans are one-wash, so you can see the blue coming through more on them. The lightning wasn't very good and therefore the colors are very dull in this picture.


The all-white selvedge is making a comback on the Aajja and Aahka.

I had pictures of the complete spring collection but I seem to have deleted them. Oops. Anyway, the other new stuff is a medium-dark Aajja, a very light Aajja, the Niejte(women's model) in raw and in a light blue and also a rinsed Aahka if I'm not mistaken. Actually, I probably am mistaken, but it's something along these lines.

I also had pictures of a denim jacket-prototype, I'll see if I can get some new ones.

Fienden jeans half price

Fienden is having a combined sale of old and launch of new stuff tomorrow on the 29th.
They still have some jeans left and they will be half off.

Barnhusgatan 4, code 4347, 11.00-17.00.

Julian Red D2

Julian Red has just released the first edition of their seasonally limited model D2.
The D2 will be released in different finishes, materials and colours each season, and of course in limited numbers.

The cut is a hybrid between the California and the late Detroit - a high-ish rise, fuller legs than the California and a straight leg below the knee.
The Julian Red-signature top block is, of course, still there and that together with the silhouette in general makes this model resemble the 1947 501. But of course, the D2 feels more modern and it certainly isn't a reproduction of the '47.
It is however as versatile, the D2 can be worn high, low, loose or tight and by almost anyone.

The debuting D2 models are Sorrow(black) and Otium(offwhite).
Both models are made from rock hard 13.5oz selvedge denim from small town in Japan with a long history of denim-making. Which, you'll find out if you buy a pair.

These jeans are great for those who appreciate high-quality denim and construction but don't like traditional cuts. I hope and believe that we will some day see an indigo-dyed D2, too.