Samurai S0500XX 8 Months & Wash

I've now worn my jeans for eight months, effective time. I have soaked them with detergent several times before but never actually washed them. The soaks didn't remove any color but unfortunately not much else either, so I had to give the jeans a wash.

Please note that the color is not as blue as in the outdoor pictures.





Perhaps the most accurate representation of the color.

Compared to 8 months APC.


I think that the Samurai denim is clearly better than that of APC. More shades, more color, heavier weight. The APC denim gets a nice, grainy texture after a year or so and several washes, though.

After wash. I only washed them in 40*C so they didn't lose much color at all. The biggest difference is the thighs, they were more greyish before the wash.
It's a big plus that they don't lose much color from a wash, that means you'll get almost all fading from actual wear and not just from washing. This is why Japanese denim is famous.







I have repaired the backpocket many times. The snap on my wallet has almost worn through three layers of denim.
The denim of the backpocket is getting thin in many places, so I have put a patch covering the whole inside of the backpocket. I made the patch from the cut-off denim I got when I hemmed the jeans and I hope to get a nice change of shade in the most worn places, from light blue back to dark blue, and then to light blue again!

Not denim, still wonderful

I just got this in the mail, a Levi's Saddleman gingham shirt, turquoiseXwhite!

I sort of collect vintage gingham shirts and this one my best shirt so far, in regards to the condition, age and details. I'm trying to get one shirt in every color and turquoise is definitely a must, the only color that could top it is orange!

I bought this shirt through eBay and it was sold as a 1950's shirt, but I wouldn't put too much trust in that. I'm having troubles dating it myself, because I don't know much about the history of the Saddleman. My guess is that this shirt is no later than mid 1960's, judging by the cut and general details, like the shape of the collar.
I wonder if the sawtooth pockets gives any information about the age?




This is great! Funny that Levi's put so much effort into the tag - look at the cowboy's jeans, they've tried to replicate the denim twill! Theres also a 'red tab' and backpockets with arcuates. This is too much!



Stamped inside the bottom part of the shirt. What does it mean?

Help me date this shirt!

Denim shoes

A different kind of denim on denim, that won't necessarily make you look Canadian.

First out are the Dubbleworks 9605 deck shoes. The inspiration comes from the 1970's and you've seen this model before, it's also produced by Keds and Vans.

The upper is a very fine denim, a very soft left-hand twill woven with very thin threads.
Comes in blue(I'm not sure if it's actually indigo) and grey. The grey denim, referred to by Dubbleworks as black, is dyed with sulphur. I wonder if they will fade.

Some of the inside is lined with leather and the part around the lacing is suede.






Next up is a pair of 1996 Keds. You probably recognise this model as well, at least if you're Swedish. A great simple and good looking model that I would very much like to wear, but unfortunately these are too small for me. They are actually women's shoes, so I got them a couple of sizes bigger, but apparently not big enough.
They'll be great as decorations, though.





I love this, almost a play on Levi's patch, like the Japanese brands. The blue tab also adds to this feeling. The two details combined makes me think that Keds actually tried to imitate Levi's a little, so great and so fun!



Look at the difference in the denim, the Dubbleworks denim is very fine while the Keds denim is quite heavy and coarse.

How do you like your Samurais?

Samurai is going to make a completely new model for 2008, and they want our help to decide how it should look!

If you have any ideas, go to ringxring and discuss the new model for 2008. We've already been able to get a reissue of the famous S0710BK but this time in 17oz or 19oz denim! As long as your suggestions are fair and sound I think there is a big chance of getting your way with Samurai.
Then you could brag about how you designed your own Japanese jeans! ;)


You've seen this picture before and you love it.

Personally, I'd like to see a model very similar to the LVC 1947 501 in fit. I'm very much missing it, with its high rise and slightly slim legs, in the Samurai lineup. It's the most popular LVC model, for good reasons.

What do YOU think?

Quiz resolve

The suspense of the denim quiz is killing you, no?

Here are the answers:

1. Thailand, denim from the infamous fake Levi's jeans.
2. Japan, Samurai S0500XX Texas cotton denim.
3. China.
4. Japan, The Flat Head 3000-series denim(wet dog-series).
5. China.
6. USA, Cone Mills. Levi's Vintage Clothing 1963 551ZXX. Supposedly the darkest denim of all LVCs, not sure if it's true.
7. Japan, Samurai S0505XX.
8. China.
9. Europe(Italy/Turkey?), Denim Demon Aajja second edition.
10. Japan, Studio D'Artisan SD-103.

It was hard, wasn't it? It really isn't possible to tell the origin of a piece of denim nor is it easy to pick the 'best' denim when you don't have a brand name or country of origin to go by.
I wanted to illustrate this and the prejudice against, for example, Chinese denim and of course that from other developing countries.

The only thing that matters is to which specification the denim is made. It is certainly possible to get denim from China that's as nice as the better Japanese denim, if you ask, and pay for it.
Cone Mills and Kaihara are big names and it's somewhat of a selling point for jeans with denim from these mills, but you should always try to look past branding and all types of labels.
Cone and Kaihara make a wide range of denim and I've heard that Nudie, Uniqlo, Levi's(for some jeans in their Vintage Clothing collection) and many Japanese brands get their denim from there, but they also make lower-end denim and I doubt that denim is any better than something from Turkey. It's evident that Kaihara makes many different types of denim, Nudie's denim is quite different from the Japanese stuff I've seen, and LVC's is quite different from both of these parties.
I think that a famous mill and brand name doesn't necessarily guarantee a high quality product, but will to some extent guarantee you won't get a really low quality product.

If I were to start my own brand today I would actually prefer to have them made in a relatively low-cost region(I think it'd be easier to enter the market with jeans that cost less than $300, but perhaps I'm wrong), if I could find a mill that was cooperative enough and easy to communicate with - I think this would actually be the weakest point of Chinese factories, some of them probably aren't all that dedicated to their work. I think that for the absolutely best in denim and workmanship, like exotic natural indigo dyes and autistic attention to detail Japan is the only choices, but jeans of good quality can come from all over the world.

For example, Filippa K's selvedge jeans and Cheap Monday's Latjo Lajban Vintage-line are made in China and while I'd never say these are top notch quality they're much better than some people would have you believe. They're easily as good as Italian-made goods(Italy feels a bit overrated to me by the way, I've never really seen great stuff from Italy).

The Chinese denim in this quiz is not the best I've seen and it was dyed with an indigo/sulphur-mix dye.
This is from China too and looks even better I think;




This denim is also from China, it's from 1996;



I hope this post made sense. If this topic interests you, come and discuss it at ringxring.

Studio D'Artisan SD-103 5 months

Repaired, thanks Anton!


Compared to 6 months S0500XX.


This picture doesn't belong here, but anyway, it's the S0500XX compared to Rickard's S0510XX(15oz version).

I like the denim and detailing of these jeans a lot but I'm not a big fan of the fit, in fact I think that's the biggest flaw that Studio D'Artisan has, the cuts aren't that inspiring.
In my opinion he SD-103 is unproportionate, the rise is too low compared to the width of the legs. The rise should either be higher or the legs should be a little slimmer and perhaps taper.
But this is only in regard to how they fit me, they might be perfect for someone else.
If I bought another pair of SDAs it would be the SD-101 which is a 50's fit with the same great denim as these have.

I had to get these repaired after four months but don't let that I scare you away from Studio D'Artisan. The denim is/was quite starchy and coarse and I wore the jeans fairly snug, which was also a contributing factor.
The quality is definitely there in every part of these jeans and you need to remember that you are in fact not buying jeans that will last you years and years, you're buying jeans that will wear out beautifully.

If you're European aolhnd like Studio D'Artisan I have great news for you. You'll soon be able to buy the brand's products in stores in the UK or order from there, which is easier and might feel more comfortable than having the stuff shipped all the way from Asia.

Want to know more about Studio D'Artisan? Then ringxring.com/Studio D'Artisan is the place for you!

S0500XX 6 months

6 months and 5 soaks later, things are starting to get interesting.

At first I thought this denim would be too slubby for my blood but now I'm liking it a lot. I couldn't take any more though.









Big thanks to Rickard for the great pictures!

The Flat Head notice

If you're curious about The Flat Head, have questions about the brand and products that you can't quite find answers to on the Japanese websites or want to get your first pair of Japanese jeans, ringxring/The Flat Head is the place to be.

You can talk to The Flat Head's man in Europe, browse the Fall/Winter collection and even have a say about which items should be stocked. You can also buy jeans and apparel directly from him, which is easier and might feel more comfortable than ordering from Japan.

Worn jeans and shirts:

Denim quiz

I'd like to try something. These are denim samples of different origins - Japan, China, Thailand, Italy and USA(Cone Mills). Can you tell which is which?

Write down your guesses and which denim you think looks best on a note, as a comment here or discuss it at ringxring. I'll give out the answers in a few days.

1.


2.


3.


4.

(Oh my, this denim looks like a wet dog up close.)

5.


6.

Look at the small "grin".

7.


8.


9.


10.