Alec Leamas

How are these coming along @vIGGiou riou? I know you're in your 220a's all the time at the moment but I just picked up a pair of these 1000XX 25th Anniversary DSB as Hinoya had another restock, so I was interested in how they looked now. Can I just check on your thigh measurement above also, is that Hinoya style (10cm from crotch seam) or right up at the top??

@smoothsailor superrep for the hat!!!! 💥

Awesome write-up thank you!! It might be 11.5 for warm summer days then! (not that we get a tonne of them here!!!)

Yes I imagined that was going to be the answer, how mysterious and tantalising it all is! Very, very good answer also. Maybe I do just have to have both.

Do we have any concept of when the WW2 / 47 and 54's will arrive? I've been told by Bears that they have no idea about WH production schedule, but does anyone have a feel for when it might be? Wondering whether to hold my nerve for the 47's or just go 220A right now!

Does anyone have any experience to share on the new 11.5oz super smooth denim yet? I am keen to cease denying myself the comfort and dimensions of the 0105’s and I’m unsure on whether to go with the classic 13.7oz or this new lighter fabric (which might work out lovely for summer) or heaven forbid even the ecru version!

I personally fall squarely into the bracket of people who did not know any better so bought from both for a little while (and still would buy some things, and use for hemming etc). Once I realised that there is a whole world of options out there I stopped. They were a gateway I suppose, I imagine a number of people go through the same process. I have never personally been into either, but I can imagine the customer service being great (it usually has been over email/phone). If you have the level of income that allows you to freely pay 3 x over the odds for something and enjoy the customer service component too then good luck to you, enjoy!

Thanks dude! I actually meant the DSB 1947 or 1953’s but given they’re the same DSB denim I imagine the shrinkage would probably be the same, unless someone can enlighten me otherwise?

I've been looking at getting these or the 1953 DSB's - what was shrinkage like in other places? Across the thigh for example?

@JDelage Thank you! I do like the fit, it's a bit different to the rest of the collection but that's a good thing I think

Oh great, thank you!

Awesome thanks @beautiful_FrEaK, I’m not in a mad rush, so I might wait for that.

That’s a good question, and I suppose it would vary depending on the rise/how high the design intends them to sit on a person. Maybe that’s why it’s never available. I guess like some thigh measurement approaches it could be a set distance down from the waistband.

Denime heads! I require some advice.. Where is the most cost effective place to source a pair of 220A from to the U.K.? The good people of Son of a Stag have some in still, and that would also be knocking the cost of hemming off in the end, but I wondered given the yen <-> gbp situation, whether there is another viable source at the moment?

100% agree, a hip/seat measurement would really help me out! It’s more of a constant than rear rise measurement as well I feel, given that the stitching up the centre of the rear rise does contract significantly on most pairs when going through the first few washes.

Some fit pics on my Cats Drive pair, for illustration of the fit on a different body type. I put them on again today to find that actually, they're not so uncomfortable and maybe I will put some time into them - the fabric is already softening and I imagine will become very comfortable over time. I actually did the same thing, I compared the size charts beforehand to my DD-1001XX (1947) (essentially my North star fit-preference wise, granted the waist is a bit big for me, but overall as yet unbeatable) - and the comparison of the measurements I need to know about looks like this: DD1001XX (34) // TCB Cat's Drive (32) Waist (flat): 42cm // 40cm Front Rise: 31cm // 32cm Thigh (my KEY measurement): 31cm // 31cm Hem width (at unhemmed inseam length): 21.5cm // 20cm Given that, I imagined I was going to be in for a spacious pair - as you can see - I was indeed not! As mentioned above it was truly a lesson in a set of measurements not giving the full picture. It wasn't the fit I was after, but maybe I'll get along with it anyway! They certainly won't be getting my usual treatment of regular wash and dries.

I’ve had some clothing stored in vacuum bags for a few years before, took the items out and they still smelled freshly washed. Not sure how new denim would fare but I reckon it’s a safe bet. No air = not much in the way of bacteria / fungus / moths / whatever else would soil your clothes in storage, right?

I see @Broark’s pic from today..

Very slim indeed! Looking good on a taller slimmer frame though!!

A couple of detail shots just so it wasn’t all waffle and no content, including a shot of the pocket bags for illustration. I’m sure the size of them is accurately reproduced from Lee pocket bags!

Interested to see / hear your thoughts @yung_flynn, I received my pair early last week and I’ve been mulling over the fit for the whole week since. They have potentially rung the final bell on my foray into slim taper fits, I’m just not sure they’re my game, or whether I’m made for them. I could of course got the fit entirely wrong and needed a size or 2 up. It’s a shame as I do love the details on them so much, perhaps a tight top block is the James Dean vibe I was subconsciously yearning for. Two things I will say though, the pocket bags are INSANELY small, which feels very strange. And, as all in this thread know, TCB are an amazing company. So good in fact, that I ordered a pair of 50s the same day I received the cats drive and they arrived yesterday, fit is much more my thing and I know those will be a long term wash and wear regularly pair for me.

Me too!!

Great photos, thank you!

Ahh that's amazing, I did not know that, by the looks of it it's all gold!

photo from Black Ivy, by Jason Jules & Graham Marsh