Broark

So at current Yen / USD exchange rates we're talking about a ~56% price hike for any JP retailer selling to westerners.
Add another nail in the coffin for Full Count if you ask me. Plenty of other brands out there making product just as good (if not better) at a better price.
Hell, even one man brands aren't charging ¥40,000 for their jeans.

I know I've been pretty outspoken about my stance on all of this, but there's not much of an angle I can see for debate in support of this.
They're probably trying to protect some of their international retailers, which is completely understandable. But I think most potential customers will likely start to look elsewhere.

Yup there was some imagery of bombs on the inside of the jacket (it's reversible).

Yeah...that was in poor taste to say the least.

14 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

What a fucking horror show!

Sincerely hope this look doesn't make a resurgence. Also the Native American imagery is still fairly prevalent in a lot of Japanese brands, always thought it was very strange.

See, we’re just ahead of the curve…but is that possible when the curve is a circle? 

No worries, I'll be on the lookout for more info in April!

@beautiful_FrEaK Are these the jeans you were hinting at? Interested to hear the scoop on the 714 cut if you're allowed to divulge.

Time for an update to my list I suppose. Did a pretty good job selling a lot of stuff since my last update, but I still own too much.

At Last & Co
Lot 126
Lot 147

Bootleggers 601XX
Boncoura XX
Bridge Of The Times MT824XX
Conner's Sewing Factory 46 1st half

Freewheelers
601XX 1937
601xx 1943
S601XX 1944-45
661XXZ
661XX
601B
601RB

LB Denim 40s

Ooe Yofukuten
1702XX Contest Jeans
Boss Overalls
DB01
Mechanics Overalls Ecru
Mechanic Overalls Indigo
OA01XXC
OA02XX
Saddle Pants
OA01-BS
OA-1927BS

Roy
All Duck
Big Bro CB1
Indigo Lovers
Kinda Special" KS1001
Memorial Jeans
R01 Test Lot
RS01SAIL
RS02 Nihon Menpu
RS04
RT1002
Roy Test Lot 00
XX20
XUVS

Warehouse
1001
1001 Inazuma
Lot 1202 USN trousers
S1001XX 46 25th Anniversary
Hinoya 1001HXX

YM Factory Army Trousers

For Sale
Self Edge X Dry Bones 19
Sugar Cane Junky Special 1946
Warehouse 1004XX 1936
Warehouse DSB 1001XX

SOLD
45rpm Sorahiko
Denim Base GBG001
Denime Shins
Fullcount 1101
Fullcount 1101PH
Iron Heart 634s-b
Left Field Greasers
LVC 1976
Mister Freedom Lot 64 Okinawa
Mister Freedom Lot 674 Golden Pique
Momotaro 1705
Old Hands OH15-9
OrSlow 105
Pure Blue Japan XX-009
Pure Blue Japan XX-019-BB
Real Japan Blues 105BSP
Real McCoy's 991
rebuilt.jp 1922 repro
Resolute 711
Rogue Territory Stanton
Samurai 16th Anniversary 710OG
Self Edge x Iron Heart 22 663s
Stevenson Overall Co. 714 Valencia
Stevenson Overall Co. 737
Studio D'Artisan D1538XX-B
TCB 20’s Contest Jeans (returned)
TCB 40’s Contest Jeans
Sugar Cane Kakishibu
Sugar Cane Black 1947
The Flat Head 2111
The Flat Head 3009
The Strike Gold 2105
The Strike Gold 5105
Warehouse 1001 Natural Indigo
Warehouse Lot 1002

5 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

@Broark what's the brand and details on these? 

This is a pair of Libra Pontus (or LB) denim made by Isamu Ono, he is the one-man-brand behind the rebuilt.jp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebuilt.jp/
He also makes the items for YM Factory, like the Army trousers I have linked here.
I had a pair of his 30's cinch back jeans a few years ago but sold them to Volvo as they were too small.  Do you still have those jeans @volvo240thebest?
Will get some more details up once they arrive! He has been working on the 40's pair for a few years now so I'm excited to see the finished product.

Looking at my year over year list of jeans owned / sold  I'm actually doing better than I used to, so I'm trending in the right direction.

So much for that New Year's resolution...but I have something cool coming soon, several years in the making!

@MJF9 I think I might get thrown out of the country if I'm seen wearing that setup...

4 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

New Year's Denim Resolution 2023 anyone?!

...But I got some information about a special release and I will probably get that one as well if it is different enough.

Echoing others here but buying less, enjoying what I own more and selling a few odds and ends are all on the list.
I've sold most of what I'm not wearing anymore, now it's getting more difficult to sell more. I'm overdue for an update to the "how many jeans do you own" thread.
b_F, what's the special release? Can't leave us hanging!

20 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

With this itinerary the Broarks are going to love their year in Europe!

It does feel overwhelming! It's really tough to only pick 2-3 places because I want to go everywhere...
If anyone knows companies hiring Americans for overseas stints let me know, I've got a strong business analyst background.

39 minutes ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

what exactly are your plans? Cities or landscapes?

Good point to consider, I would say a bit of both where possible. Typically we’re more city people but we do enjoy a light hike or the beach when we can. Been thinking about Porto or Lisbon as I’ve heard great things. 

Really appreciate all of the suggestions so far, keep ‘em coming! Also for some reason I’m interested in Copenhagen, never been to that part of Europe. I really enjoyed visiting Karkow and Prague when I was younger.

An open ended question for my European / UK friends: if you were to spend 2-3 weeks traveling around the region where would you go?
Trying to make some travel plans for next summer, my wife has never traveled internationally and now that we're married we're looking to celebrate with a longer trip.
We'll fly into Heathrow since there are direct flights available and spend a couple of days exploring London (maybe we can grab a pint if anyone is interested!), but after that I'm open to any ideas.
I've personally visited quite a few larger cities in Europe, so I'm open to some more under the radar locations.

Not a fan of Jodhpur boots at all, a little too pointy for my tastes.
Whenever I see pointy boots / shoes it makes my feet hurt!

I used to prefer the JP variations on arcs in my earlier days, they were unique while still paying homage to Levi's in some way.
I felt like I was in the know somehow, wearing niche brands that people didn't know about.
But now I prefer repro arcs or plain back pockets, as most of the other options out there are too flashy for my tastes these days.
I like that repro arcs blend in, no one really needs to know that I'm wearing fancy pants except for me.

@Cozzie I like the shirt, the longer front felt a little odd at first but the hem curves a bit and doesn't look overly long when worn untucked, at least not on me.
I probably wouldn't wear it untucked with a shorter length jacket, but outside of that no complaints.

There's likely a lot of grey area and conversations that none of us (outside of maybe Volvo) were privy to.
As a participant it left a bad taste in my mouth. I actually cut the cinch off before sending them back and kept it as a keepsake.
It just seems ironic to threaten legal action against someone in the same vein as Levi's did to them 10-15 years ago. We've truly come full circle!
For me it's easy as there are plenty of other fish in the sea. FC's denim is nice and I'm sure the current product is still good, I enjoyed wearing the 1101s I owned.

I can think of at least one other brand that uses a similar mirrored arc a la WH (DryBones on a few models), I feel like I have seen others that I can't recall right now.
I guess the reason I took it poorly is that at the end of the day the goal was to try and bypass some copyright from an global retail conglomerate in the sake of historical accuracy. Why take shots at one another? This is a pretty niche hobby to begin with, so we're talking about a very small circle of influence.
Maybe I'm too forgiving / understanding, but given the limited nature of the contest, I feel like this could've been resolved with a phone call and a gentleman's agreement that TCB wouldn't ever use arcs like that again. No bad blood, no bad publicity, and no one ends up with mud on their face. I totally understand why FC would be upset, I just felt like the desired outcome was overkill.
Plus the cherry on top is that they end up ditching the arcs on their own jeans anyways...

@MJF9 I recognize that photo. Yes I picked off the tails of the arcs, so they did have runoffs a la Fullcount.
That being said the shape was slightly difference, since FC were based off of 50's arcs and these were shaped after the 20's era.

58 minutes ago, pomata said:

Wait what?? What happened? Can someone briefly enlighten? 

We had the TCB 20's contest a few years ago, on those jeans TCB used arcs that were very similar to FC.
FC wasn't happy about this, demanded that all the pairs be returned and destroyed or they would sue TCB.
TCB obliged, they then had to make new pairs with different arcs (or no arcs) and distribute them to the contestants.
Ever since that I've lost all interest in FC. This combined with the changes to the jeans (lower SPI, no arcs / tabs) and the recent anniversary cash-grab (hey let's put arcs and tabs on the same jeans and charge even more and call it special edition!) just left a bad taste in my mouth. Plenty of other brands out there fortunately.

@LazyS the Deck Worker parka is great, especially for the climate here.
It's not very insulated, meaning I can wear it more regularly since it doesn't get all that cold. But the jungle cloth is pretty wind-resistant, so it acts as a nice outer layer.
The collar area design is a little clunky during the first few wears while the fabric is still stiff. Now that it's settled a little it doesn't stick out or lay down awkwardly if that makes sense.

@LazyS Seiichiro hemmed my pair to ~34.4 in. with the intention of them shrinking to 31 in. and he was right on the money.
You might be able to get a little more shrink with a subsequent wash if your pair was raw initially.