mikedbt5

http://74.125.79.101/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.paleface.co.jp/shopping/SUPER_VINTAGE/SP_VINTAGE96/SP_VINTAGE96.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpaleface%2Bvintage%2Blevis%26hl%3Den&usg=ALkJrhhIGgklJxXChsT3y_C3fTJQzxMaLw

The above link is for a pair of 1930s Lee cowboy , not the same as te great pair posted but hopefully worth discussion .

Hey Fardin , man you must not have anything better to do than read and post here , just like me !!!! LOL .

386 , neat jcket !!! has to be a keeper .

Following are some pics of '33s I've had for a while - worn only a few times. I know I bitch a lot about LVC, but only for good reason. However, these '33s are a nice pair of G'damn jeans. I've even had comments from a couple of young women while in public -- they freak out like, "hey excuse me, where did you get those jeans...they are so cool!" Smooth 10oz. (Cone?) denim w/crisp finish, yet very 'slubby' and soft turned inside out. Colour is beautiful gunmetal blue w/ a dazzling luster that you can even see in pics. Comfortable as hell w/nice detail - the highly stylized Levi's eagle arcs are a great touch. No defects to speak of other than NRA tag missing. The cheap metal anodized patina-wash modern buttons stick out like a bad afterthought though -- pissed me off (almost tryed to sell them for that, but now glad I didn't) otherwise a super pair of threads. Worth the $123 (ebay)price ? I think so -- considering the apparent quality of the denim. Will see how they hold up to mild breaking-in. The flare is a bit too wide for any type of heavy work- at least for me:

Nice jeans , great pics . cheers . However as much as i like pre war Levis (and Lee etc..) I just never dug and never will dig suspender buttons !!!

I

...It might be that they're pulling the line from the US and that this is known at the retail/distribution end. But I haven't heard a word about the line being pulled.... /quote]

It should come as no surprise, since Levi's misrepresents their LVC products on their online store by consistantly listing the denim weight as much heavier than it actually is. Not to mention the inconsistant quality, sizing, construction and ridiculously high prices ($501 being one of the more extreme examples) coupled with piss poor customer service. Apparently the EU and Asian markets are much more gullible than the US market. (?) That's not to say that Levi's does not offer some neat quality stuff (ex., the 201 just posted by 'PaulT' appear extraordinary as well as a pair of '33s I have that are very fine), it's just a timely and costly hit or miss game trying to find the right LVC jeans and I think most folks don't have the time, patience or wherewithal to deal with all of that crap.

...well done .. again ... yawn.....

why dont you surprise us somteime , honestly the negativity is jut so ..... wasteful .

Hell's Angels were founded in 1950 ruling out the 40's and for the denim on the left they could be any number of brands that were around at the time that didn't have arcs. Pocket placement also maybe a little high for Levi's. Remember that people (especially broke ass Hell's Angels) tended to wear their clothes until they fell apart and stores held onto stock until it sold so it wouldn't be unlikely to see 30's or 40's clothes on someone in the 50's or 60's.

Lack of a death's head patch and sleeves still intact makes me think this could be a Hell's Angels copycat club..many of which popped up in the mid-60's wearing bootleg Angel's colors...it's a stretch....guess we will never know the truth.

Let us know how Sonny's book is. Been thinking about reading it myself.

Just finished the book , its worth a read . The 50/60s period is great reading and the characters and anecdotes amazing . The last third of the book is about his law problems and jail time .

He does confirm the HAMC first chapter was formed in 1948 in Berdoo and had women members , though he doesnt mention that they had the deathshead insignia although others he met in 57 by luck did sport it . He formed the Oakland chapter in 57 and in the early photos in the book he looks cool as fuck , tight jeans , greaser hair and a goatee... timeless .

Mike

sorry mike , i thought it was sympathy, was to lazy to check , but your right of course.

about the pics i postedd not, there was no date on these, thats why i also guess they must be from the late 40 beginning of the 50s.

No sweat . I think the 506xx jackets and what appears to be ww2 501xx (guy on far left ) probably date the pics to late 40s . The couple in the colours are wearing post ww2 501xx too .

I have also been reading up on the Hells Angels also , I have just bought the Sonny Barger book of ebay . The 50s/60s counter cullture fascinates me and clothes were amazing . However , regardless of era , the pics posted recently on this thread are great . Thankyou to mainly SFTD and yourself for taking the time to search and post these .

interesting cash, thanks

actually i was just reading the hells angels story again.

so that must be the original chapter then , right. they were founded in san bernadino county.

funny thing is that there was this other pic of sympathy from last week with the dude wearing a white jacket over his leather one, and they are the same chapter just a decade later.

Thats the pic I posted of the guy in the dirty Lee's . He's an 1% MC member , Iron Horsemen , from Southern California . The series of pics shown in Life are from 1965 and appear to show a meet/ride of HAMC and Iron Horsemen from So Cal , Berdoo , Fresno to/from Bakersfield. Some great b&w and color pics of Levi 507xx , 501xx, 506xx and the people themselves are fascinating .

Cash is right about the girl wearing the Hells Angels colours and the lack of winged deathshead insignia. Lokks like a late 40s/early 50s pic , if its a Life photo it should be dated .

Trawling the google / life image resource again . Great pic of a hells angel from 1965 in what seems to be a 507xx and Levis , love the colour of the jeans !!! Included the google / life link , enjoy .

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

With respect , admitting to being a denim snob (or any type is of snob) is pretty self depreciating . Most here may get a kick out of wearing a quality pair of jeans but would not denegrate others for not wearing the same (saying that there are some major arseholes who post on this forum) However , if you want to appreciate denim then check out what the long term players on the forum say , you will find appreciation of what is good ....the rest is irrelevant .

These oxford derby boots are approx 25 yrs old , found them in my dads house last year (owned them when i lived there) Started wearing them again last year , see recent pic with 101zs .

Just bought these of ebay for £65 inc postage , they are made in england with goodyear welted sole and are also sold through http://www.sowerbysofstourbridge.com/

Changed my mind on the cut off - think its a Levi 70519 - big E mid 60s , just seen one on the marvins-jp.com site .

The pic came from a search on Hells Angels on google/life , some amazing pics from I guess the early/mid 60s . Some great Levi fit pics from that era too .

Can anyone work out what the cutoff is ? I think its a Lee Westerner but I'm not sure . Goes well with the hat !!

Found a new look (lol) Jeans dont come more distress...ing than these Lee's . Pretty cool photo !!!

Fardin , you using the google life magazine image search ? some cool photos in there under cowboys !!!

My '66 Lee's turned up just before xmas and were found under the tree (a gift from me to me).

soaked them last night and have spent my first day in them. So far am pretty pleased. The denim seems a little shiny but i'm sure that'll change with wear. The inner tag says made in Poland, plus there's no hem chainstitch. Are the ones I got a cheaper lee europe repro?

Mr B , I have had two pairs of these since Lee Europe introduced them and they have always been assembled in Poland . I remember having a gold label booklet which detailed the codes listed on the inner wash tag which identified the source of the denim as Japanese . The quality of these is a lot better in my opinion than the standard Lee Europe gold label range , which is cheaper (£80-£90 rrp) and uses lighter weight denim .

As I said in a previous post the detailing is not great , eg , no chainstitch . I think this is probably more by design as I doubt Lee Europe are as intune with denim/retro heads as Lee Japan would be . There probably is not the demand/market for the detailing, as in Japan , also . I had mine rehemmed (no chainstitch) and the leather waist tag and black inner waist label redone in a heavy yellow thread and they look great .

Cold soaked my 551zxx from 1997 . Quite happy with the way they turned out . Not much happening at te back , bit of ass wear . I have been wearing them for a while , again , but will semi retire them . They have faded as much as I prefer and think I will get the 501zxx when it arrives online in the new year .HJJxs' blog hints they are more straight cut which sounds good .

Thanks . A w32 would be too tight and I wouldnt want to take a chance on a new pair and the waist not stretching . I had a pair of 52s a while ago but the w34 is too full a cut at the leg on me, I have short legs !! The McCoy 101b looks a possibility as it appears a slimmer leg cut than the Edwin 101z but its expensive at £200 .

Fardin , what size do the waist size do your 52 101z measure laid flat , ie are they 16 inches or more ? I am thinking of downsizing on these to a w32 but it might just be too tight a fit even at 16 1/2 inches wide (w33)

Mike

Mr Black - pics as promised . Unfortunately these were taken in poor lighting but they should give you and idea of cut if not colour. The 47s are relatively new and might shrink a bit more (hot soaked once ) However they are a 2008L3 model and seem a slightly fuller cut than previous models in my opinion. Also included a pic of the patch with yellow thread , when you get your pair from Oi Polloi you will see the difference the redone stitching makes !!!

I will post some comparison pics this evening .

The 1966 comes in an inch oversize but they do shrink to size after a first wash , or do as I did and keep hot soaking/drying the waist band .

The denim is great but hard wearing so doeant fade quickly , that not a bad thing in my view !!! I must say I wouldnt part with these , particuarly since I had some of the detail stitching redone by a friend . The pair I have also sport a Scovill zipper unlike the model form a year or so ago which had a Universal . Great repro and probably more akin in cut to the 101z James Dean wears in Rebel ...than the Edwin 1952 which is too loose a cut .

Mr Black -The 66's seem to have a much higher rise than the others. Is that just a proportion thing? Thinking of getting a pair but it's just the high rise that's putting me off. I'm so used to wearing LVC 47's but i think it's time for a change.

I have a tagged W34 L32 1966 101z and W34 L32 (after shrinkage) 1947 501xx .Both measure 12 inches from crotch to waist band at the front and the 101z is a quarter inch larger to top of back waist band (meaures 16 1/4 inches) Not that much of a difference . If you want I will post some pics .

Mike

Had to paste in your comment and some threads need refreshed to show latest posts . still be playing up !!!

Cheers , this is the site i picked them up from . Good value bearing in mind the exchange rates !!!http://www.substancedesignerclothing.co.uk/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=801

They have gold label 101bs on sale also .

I hate trying to get fit pics , however got an ok one today of my 1966 101Zs from Lee Europe . These are a W34 L32 hemmed to L31 . The detail finishing could be better so I had a friend take off the waist patch , overstitch the internal black label and restitch the patch back on in heavy yellow thread . Unfortunately she cant do a chainstitch but it doesnt matter as I double cuff my jeans usually . Dont wear these that often as they are a bit slimm for my liking but its horses for courses I suppose .

Nice DDML!

Another 'group' from the 80s...non-Brits may not recognise who they are but those of you who've seen Blade 2 should take a look at the lad on the right (and no, it's not Snipes in a former life...):

And they were iconic in their own way here, especially for the ripped 501s...

Get the fuck out of here , even if you are takin the piss . If you seriously consider this relevant , in fact I dont see how this is plausible , well get the fuck out of here again BIAOTCH . LOL !!!!!

Started wearin my 551zxx again in the last few weeks , lost some weight !!! . Pics of them new and today . Also pictured with recently purchases Levi Europe products with roots 1967 505 (non selvage , double chain stitch hem , late 60s/early 70s pockets/arcs and small e tab) Apologies for the poor quality inside pic (camera spots , jeans are unmarked)

after

before

with 505s