peter1

Seeing these vintage sweats selling for big money reminds me of the haul that got away...hindsight etc...My high school was still using old school athletic gear up until the mid-1980s. Around 1985/6 they transitioned to "modern" fabrics like nylon and current (for the time) Nike shoes. So out with the old Onitsuka leather spikes and Chuck Taylors and in with Nike waffle racers and Jordan 1s...and also out with the thick 100% cotton Champion sweats, with the xtra long cuffs etc. At some point the school district must have thrown away 1,000 pieces or more with the school logo and cc/track & field/field hockey/tennis etc emblazoned on the the chest, with the sizing etc. If you figure a vintage Champion sweat is selling for, what, $200-400, then do the math...of course no one knew they'd be worth squat so that's why vintage is pricy...and it was no fun to train in those old Champions -- heavy, restrictive, baggy etc...

Ah, didn't know they did that but haven't tried to buy direct from TCB in a few years. I know their e-commerce site seems to be improving and adding features. Anyway, these days with covid/Brexit etc and shipping being more costly and uncertain it's best to have pre-shipping verification.

I went the other way around. 32 in black, 33 in indigo. Although caveat is that black were unwashed and indigo were one-wash. Same measurements...so definitely check if you can; maybe buy from Denimio and have them verify actual measurements...

This Colimbo jacket is fabulous, especially in blackwatch: https://masuya1997.com/pickup/colimbo-croaker-field-coat-2 But too rich for my blood. IIRC it was about 500 euros plus proxy etc... Masuya has a great selection of brands. I check it for inspiration now and again. Edit: not as expensive as I thought: Around 39000 yen plus shipping/proxy. So maybe a total of 450 euros...

Ah, ok, cool...it's a bit esoteric if you're not a roundy-round racing fan...

ARCA is one of the oldest auto racing (stock cars, that is) sanctioning bodies in the U.S., dates to the 50s. It was a competitor to Nascar at one point and now, apparently, is owned by Nascar. https://www.arcaracing.com/ https://stockcarracing.fandom.com/wiki/ARCA https://www.smartmotorist.com/arca-racing That T is really cool by the way. I got the ARCA reference immediately but if you're not a US racing fan of a certain, shall we say, regional orientation, it wouldn't register. (to complicate things a little bit, there apparently was also another ARCA series in the 50s that involved sports cars, as the current ARCA was once called MARC, the M standing for "Midwest" and became ARCA in the mid 60s...)

His answer on Zimbabwe was hilarious. I'm also just excited to know how to pronounced Ues.

What's been anyone's experience with Moonstar? The Gym Courts look great -- they have more padding than Gym Classic, whic seems to be what most non-Japanese retailers stock. Seems like they're often on sale at various places for under 100 euros. How do they fit? I'm guessing size down half for sockless or thin socks? TIA

One more Lee/VF tidbit: In the early 70s my parents bought matching reversible leather tuxedos from Lee -- I don't quite know how to describe it except the tops were Rider jackets in smooth/suede and the pants were basically jeans. The leather was unlined, very thin, dark brown with white contrast stitching... AFAIK they bought them for a costume party -- even 45 years ago it was a bit much. I'm sure they've long been tossed out but what a find if they weren't.

@Duke Mantee Hope it goes well -- I'm sure it will. I've had heart problems for years, and a number of procedures, and I'm always impressed by the absolute competence of cardiologists and heart surgeons.

^^I definitely remember my first pair of Levis. they were orange tab as red tabs were 10 bucks more! They didn't fit as well as Lees, which had a pretty forgiving cut.

Hmm. Ime either 31 or 32 should be good and probably won't make any real difference. My 33s are an inch bigger than the tagged size, bought thru Denimio who recommended it and the waist is pretty stretchy. But note that the rise is quite low. I also have a pair of raw black slim 50s in 32 and the post wash measurements are identical to the indigo one wash 33s, hence I can't be definitive...

I like the EU Lee line but just can’t wear Lee, for a possibly silly reason. I grew up in Reading, Pa., the home of VF Corp., and the site of the first real factory outlets. In the 70s and 80s everybody wore Lees because you could get them at the huge (5 stories) Lee outlet for $10 a pair - fancy-pants Levi’s were $35 or maybe $40 at the time so once we were old enough to get summer jobs we all saved our money to buy 501s. Lees were for the poor slobs who couldn’t afford Levi’s. Of course now I wish I’d bought 500 pairs of those Lees and stashed them away...jackets too...i think much of it was still miUSA until the mid 80s...VF offshored all production at some point but not sure when.

I've been eying a number of their pieces, but I'm a little afraid to order from Japan right now. Their shirts look fabulous and they're often on sale over there. Might be worth proxying. Not convinced that jodhpur pants are going to make a comeback, however, and some of their T-Shirts are racially cringeworthy.

It's interesting that US brands like RGT, Tellason, Left Field, Railcar, Raleigh etc don't get much action here anymore. I really like Tellason and Left Field. I suspect it's because it's too easy to find -- and I say this as someone who has played shipping roulette from Japan plenty of times. Or maybe because it's "boring." I'm sure this subject has been flogged to death but I still find it interesting. But I can't really see much material difference between, say, Tellason and TCB, and I have stuff from both brands. Roy, of course, is an exception among US brands.