frideswide

It's part of the Ameyoko street market -- you cannot really miss it if you walk out from Ueno station Shinobazu exit. Just cross the road and head down the street that has a curved arch over it saying Ame Yoko. It's an interesting area (although not considered a 'hip' part of Tokyo) -- used to be a black market after the war and still has a bit of that feel about it.

Quote:

minya-I"m just asking for some suggestions. I probably will have her try it on before buying it. I don't want to get her the wrong size obviously.

DJ Flame-thanks I saw the replies and it seems like Rock and Republic are the jeans of choice there. I'll see how it looks on my girlfriend this weekend.

frideswide-My girlfriend isn't a whore so I don't give her money.

--- Original message by gqb0y on Jan 9, 2006 09:19 PM

LOL --- I'll remember that the next time my wife asks me for some...

rule #2 for buying shit for girls:

2) don't.

Give them the money instead.

I'm sure Paul's book is great, and he is a valuable contributor to the forum.

Another book I've been looking for is David Little's "Vintage Denim" (1996). Can anyone comment on it?

Also here: http://www.yenjeans.net/onlineshop/index.html although they don't have too much.

What jeans were you interested in, by the way?

I have some Dry Bones, Samurai, Yen, and Iron Heart.

All excellent, all somewhat different -- very hard to rate one more highly than the other in terms of denim quality. Just comes down to what you like (weight, slubbiness, colour, stitching), and the cut of course.

Warehouse, FullCount, StudioD'A, are all great too, although I don't own any, I have handled them and they look quality.

I stand corrected... They are indeed the 17oz model (they were in the "19oz Report" section of the d-stock site, hence the confusion). Apologies.

I think they're a follow-on from the Paul Smith "Red Ear" line.

Edited by frideswide on Jan 4, 2006 at 02:58 AM

15min... sorry mate, but those jeans are rubbish

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I believe the roll is twice as wide.

Traditional "full selvage" comes from a narrow-width shuttle loom which produces a roll of denim 28 inches wide. The jeans pattern (for straight-leg jeans, at any rate) is laid out on the roll so that each of the 4 leg pieces lie along one edge or the other. (Some other small bits, like the coin pocket, sometimes a beltloop, etc, are often laid out along the edge too).

However, double-width shuttle looms producing rolls 56-60 inches wide have been introduced at various times in the past. -- it's cheaper to produce wider denim than narrower, and gives greater flexibility on how the patterns are laid out and cut. Obviously with these double-width rolls there's half the actual 'edge' to go around, hence the 'half selvage' feature to the leg outseam.

Since Lee used this denim extensively (although not exclusively) in the 1950s and later, it became a kind of Lee hallmark, and nowdays some Japanese Lee repros deliberately use half-selvage as a design feature (e.g. the Edwin Lee 1952 101Z) to maintain authenticity.

I agree with wild_whiskey: I think it's kind of cool, and certainly unusual.

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Edited by frideswide on Dec 29, 2005 at 05:13 AM

Mmm... yes "momo" = thigh, and I think the above interpretation is about right.

Sometimes this measurement is also called 'watari', and is measured like this:

or rather twice this measurement (if you imagine the tape measure looping around the back of the leg to join up at the crotch. Note that the tape measure in this case is not parallel to the waistband, so that watari measured in this way is not exactly the redline above, but slightly more than it (although very close)

Neither of these is the same as 'hippu' (i.e. hip), which is this:

or sometimes twice this. This is a straight measurement across the broadest part of the hipbones, the line of which is somewhat higher than the crotch.

Edited by frideswide on Dec 28, 2005 at 09:32 AM

Terrific pics, PLUSsung.. really useful. I'm sure everyone here appreciates your taking the time and trouble to do them. It has inspired me to try to do the same (although I don't have as nice a collection as yours...). I hope it has for others too!

Some general impressions:

- The Eternals look great.

- I'm a bit surprised at how ordinary and in particular how un-slim the Julian Red Cali's look (although there's nothing at all wrong with them)

- The Edwin's look great for a baggy jean

- I hesitate to say it, but I don't think the hipsters suit you.

Happy Holidays!

Take my advice, don't go spraying them with water, wearing them while damp, scratching them, scraping them, or any other artificial way of trying to break them in.

Just wear them mate, just wear them.

Terrific jeans like that will develop their own look on their own without any 'help' from you.

Just my 2p.

Freshly washed and just off the line:

Quote:

I think in terms of buying Japanese denim in the U.S. I agree that the buck stops at 45 rpm. I haven't seen anything that tops it. At the same time, Japan has a lot to offer.

I think the special version of the Hawaiis is sold out, but there are still other versions (granted my ability to navigate japanese web pages isn't great), but the SC40500N look just as good (its got a great denim tint). I would buy these:

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/hinoya/119706/256094/356860/

Personally, I bought a pair of Samurais (SO110XJ) instead of a pair of Old Sorahikos (Indigo with Black Overdye (which I still want)) mainly beacause I wanted a heavier denim for winter (17oz vs 14) and the fit on paper matched a pair of jeans that are more flattering to me (Earnest Sewn Rollos).

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/d-stock/so110xj

Sidenote - You may mean Studio D'artisan 101xx instead of the Samurai 1001xx.

Edited by Roland on Dec 20, 2005 at 09:26 PM

--- Original message by Roland on Dec 20, 2005 09:16 PM

>> Personally, I bought a pair of Samurais (SO110XJ)

I compliment you on your good taste Roland -- VERY nice left-hand-twill Lee repros (although heavier than the original and non-sanforized) -- I'm sure they will wear wonderfully. Any additional pix, and any general comments on the sizing, would I'm sure be appreciated by all.

>>Sidenote - You may mean Studio D'artisan 101xx instead of the Samurai 1001xx.

He may also mean the Warehouse 1001xx

With 36-inch waist, leg length is not usually a problem, even on Japanese jeans. It's when you get down to 30 or 32 inch waists that some brands tend to make the leg lengths shorter to compensate -- difficult for people who are tall and slim.

I would suggest Samurai. All their jeans, of whatever waist size, come in a true 36-inch length. And there are a variety of styles in different weights, up to 19oz. I don't think throwing them in the washing machine is a particular problem, as long as you turn them inside out, use a cool setting, take it easy on the detergent, and don't put them in the dryer.

Of course, you will have to use an onshore bid-service to obtain them (assuming you don't live in Japan), since they don't export.

For your first pair of quality jeans, you may just want to consider LVC (Levi's Vintage Collection) instead. The Cone Mills denim is not to be sneezed at, although some people on this forum have said they have trouble getting decent fades from them. The great advantage is you get to try them on first...

5010 -- I believe they are: https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/redmoonob02a/13001

I was in Cinch in Newburgh St this evening, and they've a new stock of LVC in (trousers, no jackets, unfortunately). 1880s, 1933, 1944, 1947, 1955, 1966.

Notable is a new run of 1955 501s. Curiously the paper patch does not say "501XX" in this run, but has the stock number 5550116 (I think it was). Good news, because we thought this model had been discontinued.

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Offset back belt loop ?

I think they're very good (and quite a cool brand), although I haven't handled a pair personally.

They're made by a smallish clothing company called FabFour:

http://www.fabfour.co.jp/pages/jeans.html

By the way they have their own online shop where you can see their whole line:

http://www.fabfour.co.jp/netshop/babe/showcase/list_btm001.html

The 5000XX is their 'flagship' model, a 1955-type 501 repro, which might be too baggy for you since you chose the "slim straight" 5507. (There is a 'super slim' model, the 5010, which you might look at as well.)

doesn't sound quite right. are they still unwashed? I have a pair I've been wearing fairly regularly for 6-7 months (daily for the first 2 months) -- rinsed once about a month ago -- and they don't show signs of producing holes. What other things might account for it? Is it quite humid, or do you sweat a lot? Do you starch them?

Quote:

Duffer in Covant Garden, Selfridges & Liberty.

--- Original message by ringring on Dec 14, 2005 01:12 AM

Speaking of Duffer ringring (not to hijack the thread...), what do you think of the Duffer Chinese selvege?

>>While they were soaking the water turned into a rust/brown color which

>>i am assuming is probably the starch that was on there originally

Yes, during a first cold soak (without detergent), you will generally see the water turn a yellowish/greenish/browish colour, which you won't see in subsequent soaks. This is the starch/sizing/paste coming out.

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Good stuff... thanks for posting it

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Interesting point that it was the rise in interest in vintage jeans (in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when they became scarce because companies like Levis had abandoned selvage some years earlier) coupled with the Japanese economic downturn which led Japanese textile companies like Shinya to consider doing small runs of specialised denim for 'boutique' jeans manufacturers like Studio D', Full Count, Evisu, etc.

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Also interesting that, contrary to what has been posted elsewhere, selvage is not solely produced on antique shuttle looms, of which no more are available (the old stories about Cone Mills' shuttle looms finding their way here and there...). New shuttle looms have been and continue to be made, so we can expect an increase in selvage production in the future.

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Edited by frideswide on Dec 8, 2005 at 11:08 AM

Quote:

those jeanslook wicked on you love the leather patch, i am a little concerned by this

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6104/01inseamnew3yy.jpg

seems kind of cheap. why not flat felled?

--- Original message by haptronic on Dec 7, 2005 03:12 AM

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Flat-felled inseams (while a nice feature) are quite rare on selvage jeans, in my experience. I own quite a few and only one has it (and not the most expensive one at that).

I don't think they are indicative of the quality.