thirdhand

Can someone translate the patch on then okinawas for me? Would like to know exactly what the 5 symbols mean.

Perhaps you should try Sugar Beet. The final consumer product is similar to Sugar Cane, however, it's more likely to be found in temperate rather than tropical climates.

LOVE THIS.

Sugar Cane Slack Denim SC40601. These came into my possession a little while ago, I've never worn them. Just wanted to throw these glamour shots on here for posterity's sake before they go off to the bay. I feel like the weft side is just as pretty as the warp side.

Can I no longer post flickr images? I feel like I've forgotten how to do everything since my daughter is born. Here's a link to the gallery.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewtolson/sets/72157632856847641/with/8508117203/

Tender Co. Type 200 Belt First Run size 4

Retail $245 ----->$120+sh

Tender Co. Type 130 First run of this cut size 3

Retail $365 ---->$150+sh

Tender Co. Brass Keyring

Retail $24 ----->$10+sh

Buy jeans and belt and I'll include keyring for free

Many pictures in this gallery

Thanks for looking.

^^It's amazing how many colors show up in that denim. I thought it was the weft threads that were rainbow. Is it actually the warp that are rainbow, then dyed indigo?

Correct! They did a collaboration with an okinawa brand called "begin" where the weft was the rainbow thread without indigo dye. There's a guy on flickr with lots of pics of his -- totally different look!

Post-wash pics and my ruling on the effectiveness of the Sugar Cane soap:

http://www.countryboybigcity.com/sugar-cane-soap-results/

^

Do you get your waist true size?

@thirdhand

don't have any 30s style lvc lying around, plan B?

Thanks for the response guys!

I'll post some comparison measurements later :]

How do you size for the rainbow Okinawa, tts or down 1-2?

(really tempted to add this to the queue, the denim does look really good...)

These are a serious workwear fit. Gotta wear them high up on the hips or else you'll get anti-fit diaper butt from hell. Measure at the navel and experiment with 30s styles before you buy (especially if you have a gut like me). Best bet is to try on a pair of some 30s stye LVC post-wash and measure based on that.

Are rainbow okis still in stock anywhere online? Need a 32.

Not that I know of. I got mine at Craft Workwear before they closed. Try calling History Preservation and see if they can get you a pair -- seems like a long shot though.

I'll keep my eyes open.

D.

enjoyin your blog drew and thanks for the pics

Thanks Lance! I'm doing a series on my blog this week where I test out the sugar cane vintage wash and premium care soap on my hawaiis and okinawa rainbows. Check it out!

http://www.countryboybigcity.com/sugar-cane-vintage-wash-premium-care-enzyme/

quality.

helo guys, i want to ask..

in one of mister freedom shirt, there's something interesting,, the blue fabric behind collar .. what is the name of that ? and what for they use it ? is it just for some aesthetic or any function of that ?

I presume this is to give the collar point some extra heft so that it resists curling upward toward the face -- Just an educated guess.

^^ indigo dying in the back yard - beautiful - do you have a natural indigo vat - need some pics pronto!!

Synthetic indigo -- maybe in a few years when I know what I'm doing I'll splurge on the natural stuff. For my purposes, synthetic is just fine (and chemically identical, so NBD for me).

Here's a picture of my Okinawa Rainbows -- I still haven't given them that wash I promised.

The shoes are vans authentics I dyed myself over the course of 3 days. More pics at my blog.

Lance,

I've been wearing them pretty rough the last few weeks but have mostly pampered them. Lately they've been what I wear when I'm doing indigo dying in the backyard. When they start to get too much, I'm going to treat them with sugar cane soap and take lots of pics.

Drew.

I haven't worn my rainbow okis as often as these and washed them far less often than Lance has. The paint on mine is almost all gone but all of the scales are in place. I've washed mine ~6 times, cold or hot water soak, dr. Bronners, line dry.

Keep this in mind: The patch is only sewn on at the corners meaning you can pull it away from the fabric. It looks like Lance has tacked his down with some extra thread.

If you were insistant on preserving the integrity of the patch, I'm sure you could find some way to wrap it in plastic wrap when you wash it.

My opinion, not that you asked, is that you should not be too fussy about it. It will age and change along with your jeans. I think Lance's patch is one of the best parts of the overall look -- especially with the additional hand sewing. I love it because the jeans look like they've been worn like normal people (I.E. People not on superfuture) wear jeans. Go to a flea market and look for some little e shrink to fit 501s and this is what you'll see a lot of -- Big overall fade and busted up patch. Beautiful.

Lance -- how is the crotch? Can you take some pictures from outside and inside?

Is there a stateside source for the Sugar Cane vintage wash soap? The only thing I can find on google is a $75+$25sh at amazon from togged.

wgmds, thanks so much for posting up, and they look great on you! i kind of liked the 132s on you as well, but these are definitely a better fit for you. very glad it worked out.

personally I can't get my thighs into 129s at all, and the 130 is a fairly slim fit for me. I alternate pairs of 130 with 132s. Right now I'm on 132, as comfy as can be:

I presume this is the Tender watch you mentioned... Any details at this time?

working on shirts the last few months.

it's a work shirt made of 11oz denim, single needle felled seams, mother of pearl cats eye buttons.

worn three months or so...

thanks for looking.

That's fantastic.

I wonder, does Sugar Cane have anything new coming down the pike? I know there's the Mister Freedom stuff, but are there any rumblings about what they're up to these days?

Nothing wrong with doing what they're already doing (and doing it well), but after making rainbow denim, recycled denim, green tea/persimmon/mud denim, I'd love to see what they're kicking around these days.

Looking to buy Sugar Cane size 34 Green Tea or Persimmon dyed jeans.

Lightly used OK.

p.p.s. Show me some indigo seersucker trousers and I'd be on it like that. These, however, would be a misguided purchase without a doubt.

so loose weave = cooler because the air passes through

and tight weave = hotter because the air is trapped?

or

loose weave = hotter because of all the hot air hitting your legs

tight weave = cooler because it blocks heat from getting close to you

how does one know how tight the weave is in their denim?

Looser weave fabric better than tighter because humans cool themselves by sweating. Sweating cools the body through evaporation of moisture. Air circulation speeds up this evaporation (that's why a fan works, even in a hot room. Fans don't cool rooms, they cool people by increasing the amount of air moving around your body). Tightly woven fabric will not feel as cool because air has a harder time passing through to the skin. Surface to mass ratio also plays into it.

How tight is the weave? Hold it up to the sun. Can you see light through it? How easily does water pass through the fabric? Does it look more like cheese cloth or a wash cloth?

If the goal is to be as cool as possible while wearing jeans then you, ideally, should look for jeans with the following criteria:

• All natural fibers (not a problem in the high-end jeans world).
  
• Fabric woven from fibers that "wear cooler" than cotton -- linen, hemp, silk, and sugar millet.
  
• Cuts that don't cause the fabric to cling to the body - Think 30s/40s 501s. Not 511s/510s.
  
• Lighter color fabric.
  
• Fabric with puckered texture like seersucker or shijira-ori because the puckered nature of the fabric means less of it is in contact with the skin.
  

All that said, looks like Naked and Famous makes a number of jeans that hit several of these marks. Hemp/cotton denim, linen/cotton denim, silk/cotton denim all in lighter weights than your run of the mill Japanese selvage. I can't personally vouch for them because I've never owned any of their N&F though. I do, however, wear Sugar Cane jeans and can vouch for their Sugar Millet fabrics. Okinawa Rainbows are ideal summer jeans for me because of the workwear cut and slightly lighter weight. This summer I'm trying out a pair of Hawaiis -- heaver fabric, so we'll see.

Final tip: High waters keep you extra cool. If you have stacks on stacks, no air is getting up into your crotch. Hem and cuff.

Doctor Denim Science signing off.

P.S. To the heavyweight champs in 18oz+ all day every day: I salute you. I tried an 18oz tighter weave denim last summer and I could not hang here in Southern California.

more indigo loss than i expected with a hot soak

MOAR PIX

It won't pucker as its canvas woven with the sashiko in it. The same fabric is used in kendo gloves and uniforms it's super strong. Almost all the fabric they use is made by Kapital, their pride is that basically everything they make is OEM so they can do stuff with their products few companies their size can do.

Always a fountain of knowledge. Thanks for this!

http://www.hickorees.com/brand/kapital/product/indigo-sashiko-early-pea-coat

That fabric is so interesting, it leaves me with these questions:

How is such a fabric made? Does kapital mill it? What kind of machine do they use to simulate the hand stitch?

What does this fabric look like after it has been washed several times (I've seen the pictures of it on the hill-side / stanley and sons bag)? Will it pucker like the fabric seen here? -- that would make for one cool coat.

Old Sake sack and Indigo Bag -2 by aya*studio, on Flickr

Old Sake sack and Indigo Bag -3 by aya*studio, on Flickr