partytaco

is the left front pocket stitching ripped???

Looks great Cobblers and Grant..

have a Good Wear seal 27752 due in 2 weeks as well. Photos when it arrives.

Looks great Cobblers and Grant..

have a Good Wear seal 27752 due in 2 weeks as well. Photos when it arrives.

Alden for Anatomica Cap Toe. A few months after a trip to Alden Restoration because the shoe separated from the sole.

many years later.

nobody makes more interesting aldens then Anatomica.

it's an indigo double gauze shirt. a standard 45rpm item, produced yearly often with a contrasting color/pattern for the inside layer.

disco......

What went wrong with the U.S.?

one of these transition Riders jackets with the Cowboy buttonns popped up in a size 34 on Ebay for a buy it now of $300 about a year ago. Gone before I could finalize the sale.

Also Larry from Heller's Cafe had one at his auction a few years back.

Sorry I dont know how to link properly, but if you go onto www.amazon.co.uk, go: books, go: vintage denim, You will see a copy of David little's: DENIM: an American story. On the cover is a photo of the Lee Riders jacket (circa 1945-46) but with Lee COWBOY buttons (you'll have to enlarge the image). I've only ever seen one of those. It's another overlapping Cowboy/Riders version. In David Little's 'vintage denim' book there is also the same pic(inside the book)

i'm happy at least one person besides myself notices the obvious difference in the texture/color between the actual vintage 40 -60's Levi's denim and the LVC line reproductions. it's amusing to me that most are defending the authenticity having never handled and compared side by side an actual pre-60's pair of Levi's vs an LVC repro....they are going to solely on what Paul T who has a possible bridge burning relationship with the two companies (Levi's and now Cone) in question has to say or in one instance what they remember from 40 years ago.

I do appreciate the effort that Levi's puts into the collection and it's a great buy at the price point however until they can fix a few of the details (on the 40's-60's denim....I can't speak for the earlier pieces.) which I doubt they will (see below) my money will keep going to Japan.

***Paul T wrote "But I absolutely disagree with the premise that Japanese companies in general do a better job"

How can you disagree when the Japanese pretty much are solely responsible for inventing and perfecting the reproduction denim (and workwear/military) market and reinvigorated the niche premium denim market. They picked up a craft that we threw away. This is an actual competitive money making industry in Japan that is taking very seriously unlike here where companies like LVC/RRL are hemmoraging money for their parent companies. Levi's has absolutely no incentive for taking the line too serious here (where is the LVC store in the US??? They have no interest in reopening Selvedge... I have already had that conversation.) and they I believe they know the average customer here isn't as focused on the details and can get away with cost cutting on things like sourcing correct red tabs, incorrect leather/denim. America is an impulsive throw it away onto the next culture. I spent many years working high end retail for a company all of you on here know and love and I can tell you it's night and day between American clothing consumers and Japanese. The average Japanese customer would take the time to really get to know a garment and study every detail before purchasing. An average American would look for their favorite color and throw it on the counter and pay for it. enough....i am tired.....

sorry to rock the boat.

bravo!!!!!! was starting to feel like everyone checking this thread is on Levi's payroll.

I agree with partytaco about the LVC denim. Especially the 47 is odd because it is like mentioned too shiny, almost like the cotton was mercerised. The 55 is better but I don't think Cone does a good job of replicating Levi denim at ALL.

those look great!

I took a look at a friends well worn and well washed 47 from 2 years ago to get a fresh perspective and i'm sorry the denim just doesn't compare. The denim is too flat, almost too glossy and without a lot of the "vertical falling" that the originals possess. maybe the more recent Cone denim is better but the denim on his reminded me of APC.

back to the tab......what changed that keeps the current tabs from curling up and fraying like the vintage ones???

I just washed my 1947s last night. Maybe I don't get what you're talking about, but I'm seeing a lot of really grainy wear and I think they look pretty damn good. I looked at that website and I don't really see that much of a difference.

big:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3465998278_967890ba6a_b.jpg

big:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3604/3465185455_e677a76315_b.jpg

big:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3589/3465186295_910cb40769_b.jpg

most color accurate is the first photo (its close but not perfect. as best i could get it with my girlfriend's point and shoot). check out the links for large size images.

*notice the graininess of the lower leg

502 started in the late 60's......67 i believe. by then the Levi's denim IMO had already changed.

rise looks very long for a 502 especially for such a small pair.

only have a minute....

I posted the link to Marvin's because it's the best reference I can provide here on the net. I do think it shows the differences in the fade of denim clearly especially at points of little wear like the lower leg. Look closely. Obviously these are photos and can't compare to a side by side comparison which I have done with many originals from the 40's/50's/early 60's. A couple which I mentioned were worn in from unworn/deadstock.

The 60's denim you provided is a 701, correct? These are a totally different denim then you see on the 501. Much lighter and in my opinion something happened in the 60's (I believe you said it was the introduction of Sulfer) that changed the denim and it lost that grainy look I like.

yes, we could argue this forever........i give up...

Also,I think looking at photos, like at Marvins, is totally useless as far as comparing finishes.

And These are a pair of early, mid 60s originals that passed thru my hands recently:

I don't, in short, think there's a huge difference between them; the overall look of the farbic on the 55 is incredibly similar to that on the early 60s original. Any differences in the colour is really down to the photos (the LVC has come out way too pale, I'm still trying to learn how to meter and expose manually properly on my Canon G9)

In terms of graininess, it's the 47 version of LVC< rather than the 55, you need to look at.

Edit: I do agree re the stitching on LVC. I think they get too many of the colours wrong; the orange, in particular, doesn't seem to fade correctly. Some (the 33) are better than others, in particular the 47 and 44. Some of the 40s originals have lovely pale stitching which is a big part of their look, LVC don't seem to make much of an effort to get this right; some of the Lee repros do a much better job of reprdoucing the look.

As you might know, I love Warehouse and would love to get some as a project (in a couple years maybe); I have seen som, like their early Lee repros with the arcuates, get close maybe closer than Cone, to a vintage-style look. Do you have any photos to link/post?

great fades for sure but they just lack that grainy look/texture that makes the 50's denim so cool. Look at the Marvin's site and take a look at all the late 40's/early 50's pairs and look at the areas that typically don't receive alot of wear like the lower leg and compare that with a similarly worn LVC piece from 47 or 55.

one more thing...the yellow and orange stitching on the LVC line doesn't come close to fading down the same way as it does on the originals. not a problem on most japanese repros.

i agree but most are not trying to be accurate repros. I do think that while the denim doesn't have the same hand (it's far too soft because of the Zimbabwe cotton and weave is too loose) i think the color is fairly accurate to the originals same with the warehouse 1000x denim which is even closer IMO...maybe just a little bit too slubby though.

The denim on some Japanese denim is its to heavy and to slubby as compared to original Levis. I'm not saying its not great denim, it is, its just not accurate as compared to denim on original Levis. If I'm not mistaken on 501s if the denim was overly streaky on slubby it was rejected because most folks at the time didn't want that type of denim on premium work wear. I've seen RAW original 50s denim on NWT mid 50s 501s laying next to a pair of NWTs 55 501s from a few years back and the weight and texture were very close.

look at the way the denim fades on any pair of 40 or 50's pair of Levi's and then look at the repros.

for originals

http://www.marvins-jp.com/

for LVC look at the evolution thread or at any of those featured in this thread,

the LVC lack that grainy look when faded that made the pre-sulfer 40's and 50's originals IMO look great. i don't know if this is Cone's fault or whoever they are having indigo dye their yarn.

If you're happy that's all that matters.

let me rephrase.....far from accurate. and the red tabs aren't even close. look at any pair of washed vintage...the red tab is always curled and usually fraying. the LVC tabs take forever to fray and don't seem to curl.

lousy denim? i've heard people complain about the 47s denim before (which i dont really understand) but I've heard nothing but good in regards to the 44 and 55...

what makes the denim lousy? I like the denim on both of my 47s. and my red tab is beat up, dirty, and semi fraying.

anyone else have a problem with the how the red tab on the LVC line doesn't fray and curl up like it does on the originals or even the Japanese repros? My girlfriend has worn in deadstock 40's and 60's Levi's and on both the red tab curled up and started to fray within the first month and all on just about all the LVC line jeans no mater how worn the red tab still looks close to new. I am sure it's due to a material change but that along with the lousy denim on the 40's and 50's cuts keep me from buying what I would love...an American made jean.

i believe The Smile in the Noho neighborhood will carry them soon.

i have actual vintage Levi's in the same size from both the 47 (single sided red tab, outseam stitch extends to the bottom of the rear pocket, rear belt loop attaches on seam) and 55 (every garment guaranteed paper patch) period and while the difference is minimal the cuts are different. The 47's have a slimmer leg, narrower hem and a longer seat. The difference doesn't show up as much in the measurements as it does when they are worn.

Here are measurements for both if anyone wants to compare vs an LVC of the same size. These were taken after a wash, unstretched.

47

waist 33.5"

front rise 12"

rear rise 16.5"

hem 8.5

55

waist 33.5"

front rise 11.5"

rear rise 16"

hem 9"

Lvc Wartime 501's aren't too bad in reference to original cut though (..is this more confusing now?).. as the '44's are originally slimmer, which I thought was more to do with material conservation. Maybe there was a gradual change for the first few (post war) years, which may account for some slimmer 501's? But the bottom line is: They're not originals - they're repros, so wear 'em and enjoy them.

Anyway, I'm happy with my 1955's only 'coz I'm not skinny enough to fit into the 47's !!

can't wait to see some pictures of your Good Wear Monarch. I still have about 2-3 more weeks on my Good Wear Rough Wear 27752.

a real piece of work

http://cgi.ebay.com/1890s-Vintage-Denim-Button-Fly-501-Buckleback-Old-Jeans_W0QQitemZ170318241708QQihZ007QQcategoryZ52383QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

look again. stitching is different.

looks like an ordinary 405?

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