FeloniousMonk

Since I'm pretty excited about the upcoming contest pair and have been wearing my OA02XX from last year ever since the weather turned warmer, here's a little detail from after the most recent wash. No real change to the rest of the jeans from when I put them away in the fall, but I've always loved the bit of oxidization on Ooe's copper rivets. Plus, until I took this shot, I hadn't realized that Ryo and Hiro put their initials on the hardware.

 

 

Huh, I had to turn my pockets inside out to check if the material is different, and sure enough! Those neps in the photographed fabric seal it. Will be curious to see if they use the selvedge in all the pocketbags...

 

Looks like they're about halfway done!

Well, 18 months will give even slower faders a chance to get pretty full evolution, while people who trash their jeans pretty quickly can just throttle back and rotate more as the contest nears its end. I'm on board with that. If we go any longer, attention is sure to wander.

Their 527 fits more like a 60s cut - a true mid/high rise with plenty of room in the thighs and butt, plus some taper from the knees down. Definitely not a slim cut. That's what I tend to prefer, so I actually sold off a pair of Onis that I had in the 546/517 cut and got the same denim in a 527 cut instead.

 

546 isn't their skinniest cut, I would call it more of a slim-tapered. Samurai's 710XX felt very similarly proportioned to me, if that helps.

 

If you're looking for a skinny cut, it looks like Oni now makes an even slimmer cut called the 506. But I've never seen that cut in person.

I've found Onis to run quite true-to-size, so if you are used to wearing a 32 in similar cuts then a 32 tag size will be the best fit. My jeans all tend to end up in the vicinity of a 31.5-32 waist after wear, and I wear tag size 31 in Oni.

 

I will say that the 546 fit feels like a bit of a lower rise than I had expected. Probably to some extent because the thighs and top block of the cut are on the slimmer side - Oni tends to have slightly smaller back rise on their jeans than most mid rise cuts I've tried.

The customized patch is a wonderful detail, so psyched to see my pair. Amazing effort for Ryo and Hiro to go through for this contest!

 

FWIW, calling it #TheDenimContest seems a little... presumptuous. #OoeContest sounds pretty golden though, and short. Brevity is the soul of hashtagging.

am i the only one who doesn't wear a belt? after 1-2 months the jeans usually start drooping down too much, which is my cue to wash them and this keeps me on a regular washing schedule

 

No, not the only one. But I pretty much never wear shirts tucked in, which is why I don't wear a belt. My t-shirts are all quite fitted, as are my flannels and any other button-down shirts I wear, and I'm a pretty thin guy. The bulge of a belt around my waist feels weird and seems like it might interfere with the lines of untucked shirts. It's not just jeans - when I used to wear wool slacks to work each day, I had them made without belt loops.

 

Still, if I'm going semi-dressy for meetings or a nicer dinner with a jacket and jeans, then I will tuck in my shirt and wear a belt. The waistband of jeans definitely looks off if it's visible and doesn't have a belt around it.

I like their standard denims, the 14.5oz and 16.5oz XX. Sure they use a lot of loom chatter and slub, but it's no crazier than PBJ or Strike Gold denim. Hell, the new Strike Gold collaboration with Self Edge is going to be even more ridiculous than anything I've seen from Oni. It's fun, though I definitely understand it not being to everyone's taste.

 

Not gonna argue the construction though. Oni definitely isn't up to snuff with the better brands on that point.

 

They seem to be hitting a cashing-out point though, with the flood of supply they've dumped on the market in the past year. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the brand now that they're quite obviously no longer a super-niche player.

Honestly, given the measurements you're talking about (post-shrink waist around 33", thigh around 12" or just under, and smaller knee/hem measurements), you should look at the 3002. You're definitely in slim-tapered territory with those measurements, and it looks like a size 34 would work based on these size charts.

The Self Edge measurements are going to be more accurate, at least by my experience with them and versus what others have said about Denimio measurements (certainly they differed from "typical measurements" on the one pair I've ordered from them).

 

Though if you own the Momotaro 0305 - those are a tight tapered, right? The Flat Head 3005 is a pretty wide straight-leg, and will feel huge compared to your 0305s. The leg on 3005s feels big for me, and I can't even pull on Momo's tight tapered fit. If you want to get a looser thigh and top block, but keep some taper, you may be better off looking at the 3009 (some taper) or 3012 (lots of taper) instead.

Yeah, the real reason to buy some of the known (often Japanese) brands is because, well, this is difficult stuff. Making a pair of jeans correctly requires lots and lots and lots of practice, plus often a close degree of supervision by someone more experienced as you get better and better. Then you need either tight quality controls or a rare degree of discipline to not have days where you go "ah screw it" and let a few details slide.

 

Since there aren't that many people or places capable of making great jeans, I think the top denim brands have mostly locked up that relative handful of small factories and artisan groups. It's simple as that. Anyone else with that same level of discipline and dedication may have started a solo brand (like Ande, Roy, Viapiana, etc.), but is still pretty well-known.

 

I'd personally say that it's the same with suits. There really aren't that many people or factories that can make a top quality suit, and most of them have trained together at one point or another. A typical tailor can get the right material, but there will almost certainly be discernible differences in the silhouette, the way it hangs open, and stitching quality. But, just like with jeans, you need to be kind of an obsessive nerd before you would notice

i still think there's still something to be had from top end bespoke from Savil Row or Neapolitan Houses. House style, impeccable materials and fits, all play into it. But then those cost like $5,000-10,000.  

 

There's definitely something to be said for them, but the Savile Row tailors also don't cost all that much unless perhaps you are talking about one or two of the extremely fusty blueblood names (like Gieves & Hawkes) or some of the very fashionable names (Ozwald Boateng). They're more around $3.5-5k, which admittedly is still a damn hefty price, but it's also the cost of the finest tailoring in the world.

 

What I find really funny is that the big fashion names, who I would probably characterize as lower quality than the good Savile Row houses or other top bespoke tailors, actually charge more. Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren are definitely charging $5-10k for their mostly handmade suits, it blows my mind.

Ordered!

Sorry, DhaDha. I think you're sort of stuck with off-hours and weekend/holiday wear then. Corporate banking and consulting will probably be the last two holdouts for any sort of dress code when all the rest of the working world has gone to a free-for-all of hoodies over tube tops and cargo shorts.

 

There's a lot of fun stuff to be done with tailored clothes, but unfortunately it's also a waste of a good suit to sit around in it all day. I've got a few made-to-measure suits that are an absolute joy to break out for random occasions, but when my boss suggested he would need me in a suit each day, I quickly picked up some cheaper-but-decently-fitting off-the-rack options to bear the brunt of indifferent wear (SuitSupply was great for that).

 

The one glimmer of hope is if you work in a small office. In that case, the boss tends to get laxer and laxer as time goes on, and you can probably get to the point where you wear jeans for "normal" days and keep a suit at the office for client meetings or the such. Worked for me, at least.

Thanks again for setting all this up! Good pricing too, that's pretty much what I paid after shipping to get my pair direct from Ooe.

 

So Aho, since this is a denim that none of us knows, do they have any guidance on the approximate shrink from initial raw state to smallest post-wash? Does the #17 tend to shrink a lot (like the OA XX fabric) or less than usual, or is it about the typical 4-5% shrink? Also, any idea of whether it's particularly stretchy or stays snug? Just trying to figure out if I should size up 2 or up 1 from normal.

Ooooof, and there goes the 2016 resolution to beat up my existing OA XX denim pair... This seems like a new record.

 

Please sign me up. The #43 looks great, but I would definitely not be sad with a slubby LHT denim ending up in the mix. What I don't get in that picture of the #17 above: how is there no whiskering? Does that person only stand perfectly straight in their jeans?

Thanks! Sounds like I would want a bit more rise and taper than the S0500s tend to have, which seems like a good excuse to put off yet more denim purchases. Pity though, Samurai always does have amazing fabric and nice details. Would love to find a cut that works well for me.

Oh, and b_F: Those S0500 look good, and seem like the best Samurai cut for my preferences. Just wanted to ask how they feel and look compared to your OA02 and Full Count 1101 pairs?

2015 was the year I finally gave up on typical slim cuts, as I just grew tired of fighting my thighs into them and needing to think before stepping up high curbs. Sold the last of those jeans this week and won't be going back (except for the Ande Whall SR11 Mustangs... Those I couldn't bear to part with).

 

For 2016, I'm looking forward to spending much of the year beating my OA02XXs into a super-light, truly faded pair. Would like to do that with my 18oz Momotaros, too, but they're being stubborn as a mule so far. Really just a year of wear and tear, enjoying the amazing denim already sitting on my shelf.

 

On a more personal note, I'd like to learn how to ski backcountry this year, so I'm trying to take a weekend-long avalanche and general winter safety course, then start doing some skills training on skinning, etc. After spending much of 2015 absorbed in my job, it would be great to pick up some older hobbies again, like frisbee league or some of the programming I used to do on the side. It would also be amazing to move to an apartment where I could fit a couch in the living room (ah, the modesty of NYC housing goals)...

Anyone have the 3012 in a 34? Wondering if this cut would give me the rise I want but worried the taper is too extreme. Based on the Rivet hide specs the leg opening is 7.6" raw. But that is based on a 39.5" inseam length. I'm wondering what the leg opening would come out to at about 31" where the bottom of my cuff would be...and if the taper would end up looking closer to what is on the 3009s.

 

The 3012 is noticeably more tapered than the 3009 (I own TTS 3012s, and have tried on a pair of +1 3009s), though the taper is not as extreme as it looks on the measurements or when you first try on the jeans. You will not end up with a modest but detectable taper like a nice pair of chinos, which seems more what the 3009 aims for. You'll end up with a more modern-looking taper like what I've seen from Samurai 710s, though with a bit more room from the hip down through the knee.

 

Just a forewarning: after the first wash/soak, they will look like a total carrot. But after a second or third wash the top block tightens up a bit more and they settle down nicely. It's still a more roomy top block than any other cut with a modern taper, but it's a roominess that you feel more than see. They're the only jeans I have that look relatively slim, yet I feel like I could go for a nice jog in.

^^ My impression is that it's rare, but not a one-time thing for Oni. Blue in Green had a pair of 22oz Kabuki selvage jeans with that same detail.

Thanks, everybody, especially for first telling me about this brand! As you guys have pointed out, the contrast on this denim tends to come out fairly subtle. I think it's because the darkness of the untouched indigo fades more than most with time and washes (it already looks noticeably more of a royal blue than an indigo), while there's enough graininess and dye penetration that you don't get very light patches even in higher-wear areas.

 

 

 

Also, I spy some of my favourite books behind the jeans and would plus rep you again for those if I could! 

 

Heh, lemme guess: The Feminine Mystique?

Just gave my OA02XX pair a final wash and put them away for the winter. They've quickly become my favorite pair: great fit (they've converted me to loving the 60s cut) and an incredibly comfortable denim that looks amazing with fairly frequent washes. But that light weight means that the winter breezes we've just started getting in town can cut right through them.

 

I've only had them since July, but they've been my most frequently worn pair and have gone through a fair bit of travel to London, LA, plus all the miles that get put on them in New York. Probably about 3 months of effective wear, and 4-5 washes including an initial hot wash. Next year, I'd like to wear these to the point where they look like Flash and Aho's incredible contest pairs.

 

Full-length photos were both tweaked for exposure and shadows/contrast since they came out very dark, all others are straight off the phone.

 

 

 

 

 

Loving the paper patch. It's probably only got a couple washes left in it though. It just started to rip in the upper right.

 

Traintracks just starting to peek through.

 

A close-up of the incredible roping these jeans get. There's a few repairs that are going to be necessary pretty soon, as some chainstiching is also coming undone on the felled seams through the seat.

It's speculation... but I think you called it...

 

https://www.weargustin.com/store/2524

 

Yeah, reddit is calling that the secret denim, but that's very unlikely. Too light (18 oz sanforized vs 20 oz unsanforized, which would be about 22 oz post-shrink) and it's missing the insane nep of the 20 oz secret denim.

 

However, it totally looks like Oni's XX BE fabric: beige weft, some nep (not much), lots of slub fibers in the warp and weft, and a thick pink ID thread. Plus, the XX BE fabric is 16.5 oz in unsanforized, so if they just sanforized it to get the shrink out, it would end up right around 18 oz.

 

It's a great fabric. If Oni had offered it in the 527 cut, they'd be in my closet now.

Am I the only one who thinks that thats super damn hot?

 

Yeahhhhhhhhh. That said, I'm now feeling like a filthy mongrel because I still haven't washed my FH flannel after a few months of sporadic wear. I only ever wear it over t-shirts and henleys! Hopefully it won't shrink much.