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Another type II just popped up, this time in a larger size (44). The body length would never work for me, but I'd love if someone here was able to make it work. https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k1140652142

@julian-wolf I think the Yahoo listing is just referencing a FW lot number that doesn't exist. The bag looks authentic and in good shape for how old it is, but they're asking for 50% more than the original price (16,000¥). I'd like if they reran the Kingfisher at some point as it would make for a good work bag, but not plans currently.

The rise on SDA jeans does seem a little short compared to most repro brands. I think the 502 may be 50s inspired but isn’t classic 50s. I wore the 101 in a size 32 some years back and if I remember correctly the front rise was about 11” or so, maybe a little more (that’s after much wearing and washing) - another inch and they’d have been perfect. Those 502s seem to have an even lower front rise. interestingly, I also have a raw pair of (out of production) SD-001 in size 31. These are a 14oz LHT pair rather than the 15oz RHT 101s. They have a higher rise, bigger waist and thigh measurements than another raw pair of 101s I also have in size 32, although both are supposed to be based on the same cut. The 001s seem to be a more authentic 50s cut.

SEUVAS MATCHA-DYED CAPSULE COLLECTION Seuvas brings us a new match dyed capsule collection taking their three best selling garments and presenting them in a subtle green by garment dying them in matcha. We also have a new "wing collar" jacket with a nice side tied gusset detail. Seuvas is a brand dedicated to the art of producing canvas of all weights. They own their own canvas looms and factory which produces their canvas exactly to their specifications for the right look and texture. They even cut and sew all the garments in their own workshop in Kurashiki, Japan using vintage sewing machines so that the canvas reacts with just the right amount of puckering at the seams. The only exterior branding on their garments is a single hand-made porcelain button made from clay ore (Amakusa pottery stone) mined in Amakusa City, Kimamoto prefecture, Japan. Amakusa pottery stone is a historic pottery stone that is a raw material which has been used in Japanese pottery since the 17th century. These porcelain buttons are designed by Seuvas and made in the traditional way in Amakusa. Shop Seuvas Online: https://www.selfedge.com/seuvas

Freewheelers x 2 / Mister Freedom / Hollows / Lofgren

Bump $850 cmon get at me

I wouldn't say the handsewn is inherently higher quality. The resulting look is slightly different. I have a pair of Alden shell tassel loafers (from shoe mart factory seconds, with possibly fewer imperfections than my first quality models -- that's a tale for another time), and I like the machine stitch on the apron. It's a bit "neater" and that makes it a bit dressier than the handsewn, which works for what I wear them for. Of course, if you are going for something more casual, then that won't be an issue. I think there is a place for both.

Got some new stuff in Tokyo and since my trip too: koverall jacket and painter pants ivory herringbone work trousers linen/cotton work trousers black sports jacket Java rayon shirt

Long time no log in… I moved from the UK to South Carolina earlier this year, spent 7 weeks in Japan in between and now settling into southern life. here’s a photo dump: Shizuoka - home in Japan to Tokyo, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Okinawa…then to our new home in South Carolina. And a trip to Katz’s deli in NYC

Seems like an extremely low rise for a 50s fit. Or any fit for that matter.

Phigvel made a moccasin

After a long period of deliberation and remeasuring my slimmest pair (a modern day 501 that I still keep as reference and which is slimmer than the Kyotos), I finally scooped these up today. There aren't too many older pairs that pop up in both my waist and inseam (31/33, 31/34) so I figured that this was my chance. Worst case they will fill the 60s repro void in my closet

I know that the big Alden-heads really hate the mechanically sewn models, but I have not seen them in person so my knowledge is all secondhand. They could actually be bad or it could just be frustration at change. I've never really dabbled in Alden loafers because my feet make loafer sizing very difficult and I'm never in a place with an Alden stockist for long enough to get properly sized. It's also relatively hard to find secondhand pairs in long and narrow sizes to take a quick sizing flyer. Alden Model Project compiles all the second hand listings too if you can find a pair in your size. I would not pay much more than $200 - non-shell loafers don't hold the same resale value as their boots. https://aldenmodelproject.com/

No experience with shell moc-toes, but good point of reference! The Shoe Mart actually has my size in stock for the LHS but not for the factory seconds unfortunately. I've kept an eye on those in the past, might be worthwhile.

I like the softer lines and toe bump of the LHS but the wait time can be huge. If you have a pair of non shell Alden Indy’s, the faux moc toe stitching will be machine sewn so you could imagine that on a loafer. The shell Indy’s are hand sewn. Have you checked The Shoe Mart for factory seconds of the LHS? You should be able to get some for 30-40% discount

^ congratulations to your not so lil one, you and Mrs Ooms!!

Good point Julian, hadn't considered applying those. Another point I should've mentioned is that I've also been considering the JM Weston 180 loafer in beechnut suede. The JM Weston seem a bit more dressy and my style is more casual, but I saw some in person in Paris and they were really well made.

I don’t know anything about Alden, but I’ve never had anything besides good experiences with Topy-style paste-on soles…

Getting a little in the weeds here, but looking to buy a pair of Alden snuff suede loafers. Is the LHS version (6243F) really that much of an upgrade over the machine sewn version (6221L)? The general consensus seems to be that the LHS version is higher quality, but I was leaning towards the 6221L given the rubber sole. Looking at photos online and it's hard to tell much of a difference. Might be easier to tell in person, but I don't have that option unfortunately. Generally I'm not a fan of leather soles, but most people don't seem to mind the flex leather one from Alden. 6243F: 6221L:

Anyone got the SD502? Looks like a straight and great fit. 50s inspired? https://www.dartisan-onlineshop.com/SHOP/SD-502.html

Your perception is the only truth. It is what informs your experience, and shapes tomorrow's truth in the light of new perception. Magic and meaning is everywhere, in everything, but it is entirely unique to the observer. We (as a collective humanity) often put to much external value on that truth, particularly when a collection of individuals experience the same truth, and thus try to enforce it upon others as a universal truth to shape their perception. Please forgive the philosophy, feel free to ignore it as well. Its my perception anyways, which doesn't mean its true.

To offer somewhat of a different perspective here that has little to do with old repros per se, nostalgia is a powerful drug. The search for “authenticity” is often a search for feelings one had as a youth, when everything was more exciting because one was young and because there is a sense of discovery at that age that there won’t be when you’ve lived longer, and seen more. It’s not to say that the pursuit of nostalgia is problematic, but one will simply never recreate the feelings of that age. It is a chapter in life. Now we are in a new chapter. There are plenty of brands here that I would contend exude the passion some probably found in the original Osaka 5 works. And maybe young people finding them today will have the same feelings about them twenty years from now. Tender, Freewheelers, and Ooe, (and TCB as noted) for example - all know how to do IG , yes, but they also clearly and patently make what they love and it shows in the clothes - those of us that have them probably appreciate them largely for this reason. There are things from the past worth holding on to, but we can’t completely. I also don’t mean to take anything away from collecting older models - if that’s your jam, by all means. It’s fun to go searching and find a treasure, absolutely. It just doesn’t mean that there isn’t something out right now that lacks that same magic. These are just perceptions. I use Leica digital Monochromes for my work. I use them because damn are the files so much better than a 35mm negative, and they make pictures possible that weren’t before. I’m stubborn and want the camera to feel like the sort I used for years, but that’s the irrational part of me. They are an objective improvement compared to the negatives you’d get from tri-x run through an analog M, and the prints (that I do digitally) have their own unique and beautiful presence that a silver print differs from (not better or worse). But, I came up shooting film for a good while, I shot it for work when I had the budget, had to turn around that shit on deadline for magazines stubbornly when digital was in full force already because 10 years ago medium format film still had a very demonstrable advantage - as of about the 36 and 40 mp sensors in the D800 series or the Sony A7R series, it was gone. And I was happy to let it go. I still have my Rolleiflexes and M6, beautiful mechanical objects but they sit in a case because as photographic tools they’re not as good for most purposes. (Some specific purposes - I’ll never tell someone what they need - I’m sure can be found). If one enjoys the process more, that’s great. Enjoying the process is the most important part of making things, most of the time. But careful not to hold an idea that it’s somehow something more real or pure because it’s older or slower etc. And there’s nothing that stops one from being deliberate on a digital camera. I get that the roll of film presents a hard limit on things, but there’s nothing stopping one from just shooting a few deliberately made pictures even if you can make 1000. Yes, we are awash in more plastic and more fakery and more advertising than ever, and it can make the good stuff hard to find, but it’s more out there than ever. Maybe this is because I work in the arts but there is great new work being made now, all of the time, and the idea of “the good old days” is a mirage that will never materialize because the way it exists in one’s head now is different than it was even then. Realizing this probably belongs in the “nonsense” thread - mods feel free to move, or delete even if this is too insufferable ha.

I'll let you know what I find out.

@Broark 2406006

@julian-wolf No, not that I am aware of. Do you have that code handy from the listing?