Joe E Taleo

We went to Dr. K's Vintage shop in DC yesterday, and spotted a tiny pair of unworn Levis behind a glass countertop. We asked to see them, and they were this adorable pair of 18" waist jeans for kids. They had a zipper and selvage, and the leather patch was almost worn out of recognition (could still see the 18", though). We inquired on the cost, and after a quick phone call discovered they were kid's jeans from the 1940s, and were on sale for $500! Which I might have actually considered if my kid wasn't so darn chubby, and probably would never be able to fit in them...

My nephew's epic fadez!

^^ i went tts for my 555 and experiencing the same for the waistband too. i can easily size down one but the thighs and crotch wont be too comfortable though..

anyway here are a couple of fit pics after 23 days?

excuse the sloppy sandals, was just kicking back with friends at my parents place

Looks good. The LVC contest should have tons of interesting evos.

^I know, their prices are high. But, the pair I was looking at came in at ~30% lower than cultizm price.

Damn, nice one.

These days I mostly drink Jameson. It's pretty cheap enough, and tastes delicious.

:confused:

That's pretty funny. I've been drinking Highland Park 16 yr. lately.

I'm REALLY enjoying my 15s as well. What replacement buckle did you end up going with?

I went with the antique brass utility buckle. I actually bought the gun metal one as well, to see which one I liked better (obviously I liked the antique brass better, but it's certainly a taste thing).

quick question:

What is the website people use to purchase their replacement cinchback hardware??

Thanks in advance.

http://www.riverjunction.com/

Yep. I received mine a couple of days ago, and have now been wearing my 1915s daily. I had to undo the stitching to get the cinchback in place, and my very kind wife sewed it back in, copying the stitch as well as she could.

These jeans are great- I'm finding that I don't miss wearing a belt, and the denim is unusual. I think it's because it has a familiar purplish cast to it (similar to my 1947 Sugar Canes), but the texture is completely different; it's not hairy at all, and it feels slightly rough and uneven. The denim definitely feels lighter-weight as well. I can also tell that there is shrinkage left in the jeans, but I'll let that happen as the months and years pass.

they shrink alot... and it takes 5 or 6 machine wash and machine drys to get them all the way down.

some better 660 pics... last ones were blurry as hell.

Awesome. Thanks for these photos- it's definitely given me ideas on how I can repair my pocket bags.

well i'm a modern man, and i don't wear suspenders...

I figured if they did it back then I can do it now....

+1. Gotta appreciate the period specific customization.

Neither here nor there, but I remembered something that Airfrogusmc wrote a while back (can't seem to find it using supersearch) about how crappy the cinch for LVC1915s are. Well- yeah, what the fuck. I almost can't believe how bad the design is. The denim and the jeans otherwise I'm loving, but the buckle is stupid. I did find a link for river junction, so I'll pick up a buckle there. Should I get the 1", or the 1 1/4"?

Checking in.

Can't wait to get started on the contest myself- I received my jeans (1915s), but I haven't had a chance to soak or even upload photographs. Eh, what's a couple of days over the course of two years?

I'm in. I'm considering this an early Christmas gift. I went with a pair of 1915s!

Great. I'll definitely keep my eye on this. I'm big enough, but I'm too flaky to participate.

I'm glad this thread is going strong, too. I haven't worn mine in a little while because my pockets are totally frayed, and the crotch is on its last legs as well. I'm planning to send them to denimtherapy, I've just been lazy lately. The jeans themselves really still have a ton of life left in them, and they've faded beautifully.

mine are looking alright i guess...

I'm impressed with how well your front pockets are holding up. My pocket bags are clinging to dear life now. I guess you've done some repairs on them?

Love these jeans, it would be nice to see how they look in fall after two years of wear.

http://www.slate.com/id/2209693/entry/2209723/

This article talks about a visit to the Kosoen dye works, why they chose to dye with natural indigo, and also the kind of unbelievable cost of dyeing in this old way.

Here is a quote from the article about why they dye in this way, despite the fantastic cost: "Why take the risk? Hiroshi's answer is that this work is okufukai—it presents a profound, almost existential challenge."

This is a job I want to do. If you go through the photo gallery, the guy's fingernails are dyed an unbelievable shade of blue.

I didn't think the spirit of this contest was to see who had the best fade, but also to see all the different types of fades and to, in a sense, catalog how each wore their jeans. But if only 10 people actually give enough of a shit to submit pictures, regardless of who wins then it says something for the rest of the people who just didn't submit photos who thought the end of the contest was only about winning a pair of jeans.

In my imagination I saw an entire magazine dedicated to this contest with a page dedicated to each pair, with detailed photos and fit shots. This could potentially be ground breaking for denim heads to get somewhat data on how denim breaks in based on fit, washing methods, and consistence of wear.

Look at me getting all philosophical on denim. What a geek!!

Well, shit. I wasn't going to photograph my jeans for this, but I might as well. My jeans aren't seriously worn (Even with near daily use), but they are truly my favorites, and I guess not every pair has to look like yours.

Great thread. I definitely will pony up the dough when I have kids for a pair of kids japanese denim jeans and jacket.

great jeans!

Nice, I bought a pair of the 062's a couple of years ago in Tokyo. I love the tag!

The whole quality thing is ofcourse subjective, but I would much rather go with a pair of 45rpm's.

Also something to be said, however weird it sounds, I'm not here (here being Tokyo btw) looking to buy another pair of jeans, I don't need it and can hardly justify it to myself. Also my taste in jeans is currently so specific that not much I've seen here so far has excited me.

If I were ever to buy another pair of Evisu's it'd be the 2000's in No.1 denim, either blank, ecru or black, or maybe with some Kanji. And if I were to really start collecting denim it would be one of the first pairs I'd get.

There's no denying how much of an classic it is, and for me too Evisu is where all of this started, however I was disappointed by the store and by the brand as a whole, I was hoping that they would have regained a bit of their cool, and I had my hopes high from the Tateoti book, so it was sad to see that a big part of their store was filled with Bape like mulitcolour treebark camo matching jeans and jackets.

What they were doing with the Yamane brand reminded me much more of the experimental early days of Evisu, just a bit too loud for my taste now, but there was fun in it, Evisu to me seemed to still be riding on their "Hype" image, I'd personally rather see them go back to their roots, and forget about the whole "fashion" thing.

There were numerous jeans in the Tateoti book that I would have picked up in a heartbeat...

Don't get me wrong, I think it is because of that soft spot I still have, that I was disappointed...

Interesting- granted, I did not go into Evisu stores in Tokyo, but in Osaka the Evisu store (the one with raw jeans; there were something like 5 Evisu/Yamane stores right next to one another in and around Shinsaibashi) was really down to earth. They had tons of 2000s and 2001s in no 1, 2, and 3, and Lee repros everywhere, and the staff was cool.

I ended up buying a pair of 2000 No 2, I couldn't pull the trigger on the No 1. They were just too expensive. Did I make a mistake? I couldn't reconcile that the No. 1 denim was worth $100 more than the No. 2. I also got red painted gulls, but on reflection I should have gotten the light purple gulls that were that store's trademark color.

I also picked up the Tatoei book. Fantastic.

lildavid,

love the fit- it's refreshing to see a more vintage fit for sure!

are you talking in tagged sizes or actual sizes?!

The tagged 34" fits my 35" waist. These jeans are capable of some serious shrinkage if you do hot washes and hot drying. I noticed that with distressed Warehouse duckdiggers, too, which are tortured to death. They don't stop shrinking until after a few washes. All the same, I think I would have preferred a tagged 33" waist; I don't think I'd have to torture them so much to get shrinkage.

I think the waist stretched to just about 37" but they shrink a good bit after a wash or soak and stretch back out over the course of about 10 wears.

Yeah there are fit pics somewhere in this thread, but here's an older one:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=1275260&postcount=3553

I've had the same experience with mine. My waist is 35" right now, and I actually have 34" 660s. To get it to fit for me I had to do a hot wash and hot dry. It was a little loose after the first hot shrink, but after the second hot wash and dry, they actually fit snug, which amazed me. As long as I wear a belt, the waist doesn't stretch out. If I didn't wear a belt, the waist would just stretch and stretch.

Though, on reflection, 33" would have been better.

Good job, guys. I enjoyed following the adventure!