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Freewheelers, Bootleggers Reunion, Bubo, etc.


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1 hour ago, MikeN said:

Freewheelers did jeans in the past with the Levis arcs on the back pockets, correct? When is the last time they made those? I'm assuming it's impossible to find a pair?

I'm not sure if Freewheelers did it but Bootleggers did and they are kinda the predecessor to Freewheelers. You can find old pairs on Yahoo Auction, like here:

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s1004628936

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@beautiful_FrEaK - that’s correct, Freewheelers have never put arcs on their jeans; Bootleggers however … all their models had arcs of some type. That company became defunct about 12 years ago.

As you said you can find the odd pair on Yahoo Auctions (at more reasonable prices now after the ¥100,000 rush), and I know some dealers are digging up bits of NOS

Edited by Duke Mantee
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13 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

I'm not sure if Freewheelers did it but Bootleggers did and they are kinda the predecessor to Freewheelers. You can find old pairs on Yahoo Auction, like here:

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s1004628936

These are actually exactly what I'm looking for. Is 601 always the same cut? I see 1947 601 and 1951 601, I'm assuming there's a difference.

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1 hour ago, MikeN said:

These are actually exactly what I'm looking for. Is 601 always the same cut? I see 1947 601 and 1951 601, I'm assuming there's a difference.

601XX is the denim - 1947, 1951 et al is the cut … pretty much the same broad approach as Levi’s 

What is it you are actually looking for?

Edited by Duke Mantee
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14 hours ago, MikeN said:

1940s cut with the arcs. That yahoo auctions link posted above could be a good fit, they look slightly slim though. 

The only ‘40s’ cut would be the 1947, which are not like early 40s, and which were a special by Bootleggers.

You need to look out for this style of arc:

 E74F061C-212F-4AF7-ADD0-812AE49E7975.thumb.jpeg.7ceba1e7ea7ca1930bb136b2f191ef63.jpeg

(two-tone stitching)

But in honesty these are as rare as hen’s teeth 

The majority of Bootleggers stuff was aimed around later decades and slimmer cuts.

What I was asking you previously about what you actually want, do you want Bootleggers jeans, Freewheelers jeans or jeans with arcs?

If it’s just arcs then you have the option of Warehouse, if it needs to be Freewheelers then you can get arcs sewn (or painted if you’re actually after the war cut), and if it needs to be Bootleggers then I guess it’s just down to having a bit of luck since the last production of any sort would be 12-13 years ago.

Edited by Duke Mantee
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4 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

The only ‘40s’ cut would be the 1947, which are not like early 40s, and which were a special by Bootleggers.

You need to look out for this style of arc:

 E74F061C-212F-4AF7-ADD0-812AE49E7975.thumb.jpeg.7ceba1e7ea7ca1930bb136b2f191ef63.jpeg

(two-tone stitching)

But in honesty these are as rare as hen’s teeth 

The majority of Bootleggers stuff was aimed around later decades and slimmer cuts.

What I was asking you previously about what you actually want, do you want Bootleggers jeans, Freewheelers jeans or jeans with arcs?

If it’s just arcs then you have the option of Warehouse, if it needs to be Freewheelers then you can get arcs sewn (or painted if you’re actually after the war cut), and if it needs to be Bootleggers then I guess it’s just down to having a bit of luck since the last production of any sort would be 12-13 years ago.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know which year these are? https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s1004628936

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2 hours ago, MikeN said:

Thanks for the reply. Do you know which year these are? https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s1004628936

No, you need the tag to confirm that

4E4DC3DA-5BAF-4C08-9FA7-FD002FC06286.jpeg.fe0b5d3c86a4448268003bc87a077f58.jpeg

The first digit tells you the year (first two digits after 2009) - so this example shows a pair from 2002 BUT it wasn’t uncommon in the early years for products to be re-issued and keep the original catalogue number instead of said number being changed to match the issue year - probably saved printing costs

Also, you need to be careful of fakes when buying from yahoo … which I think the ones in the link are

Edited by Duke Mantee
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12 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

The only ‘40s’ cut would be the 1947, which are not like early 40s, and which were a special by Bootleggers.

You need to look out for this style of arc:

 E74F061C-212F-4AF7-ADD0-812AE49E7975.thumb.jpeg.7ceba1e7ea7ca1930bb136b2f191ef63.jpeg

(two-tone stitching)

But in honesty these are as rare as hen’s teeth 

The majority of Bootleggers stuff was aimed around later decades and slimmer cuts.

What I was asking you previously about what you actually want, do you want Bootleggers jeans, Freewheelers jeans or jeans with arcs?

If it’s just arcs then you have the option of Warehouse, if it needs to be Freewheelers then you can get arcs sewn (or painted if you’re actually after the war cut), and if it needs to be Bootleggers then I guess it’s just down to having a bit of luck since the last production of any sort would be 12-13 years ago.

Thanks for all the info, I appreciate it. To more fully answer your question, I wanted basically a 1947 Freewheelers pair, but with arcs (which was my original question, I couldn't remember if FW had done arcs or not). Now that I'm doing more research, I'm seeing that the 1947 Bootleggers would be the perfect pair for me, but of course now I need to find them. The pair in the Yahoo link is from a seller who seemingly has a brick and mortar store and sells a ton of rare jeans, but of course that doesn't mean they aren't fake. What are the tells?

 

Which era jeans had the "sloppier" arcs on them like below?

qfxrf817-img640x480-15386807308rjimh27093.jpg

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4 hours ago, MikeN said:

Now that I'm doing more research, I'm seeing that the 1947 Bootleggers would be the perfect pair for me, but of course now I need to find them

It’d be great if you’d share your research here and what is it about 47 Bootleggers and/or 47 Freewheelers is perfect for you.

(there’s so little information available, everyone wants to know that little bit more)

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Well, I first got into raw denim in the early 2000s which is what originally lead me to SuperFuture in the first place (take a look at my posting history). Back then I had Skull Jeans, Nudies, Cloak, Cheap Monday (when you could only order them from Sweden), and other brands that aren't around anymore. I always thought the Japanese repro brands were rad, but back then I needed a skin tight fit and none of the Japanese brands were really doing that. I actually remember discovering a Buzz Rickson repro jacket (maybe it was an A2) and being perplexed as to what it even WAS, because there was no logo anywhere, and was seemingly made in Detroit or Chicago or something based on the tag. I didn't even understand WHY it was being sold in a high-end store. Anyway after that my interest in other aspects of fashion took off and it was a while before I wore jeans again period, unless they were Rick Owens or Junya Watanabe. 

 

Fast forward to my second or third trip to Japan in 2017. I was wearing basically nothing but Paul Harnden at the time and was feeling slightly burned out on it. I stumbled upon Hinoya and found a gorgeous pair of Oni's in an incredible fabric. I was very into rough, scratchy fabrics (like Paul Harnden) back then. And even though I hadn't worn a pair of jeans, let alone blue jeans, in years, I decided to grab a pair as something of a souvenir. After that I kind of fell back into a rabbit hole of raw denim again for the first time in 15+ years. That original pair of Oni's is incredibly faded and beautiful now, but they are way too tight for me, currently. I wear basically only much fuller cuts now. Currently in the lineup are a pair of straight leg 21oz Samurai purchased on a subsequent trip to Japan, and a pair each of TCB 1960's and 1920s. So what's left? 

 

Freewheelers was a brand I always knew OF, but I kind of just lumped them together with Real McCoys, Flathead, and the other repro brands. It took me getting really into leather jackets to see how much more interesting Freewheelers was as a brand. In 2020 I stumbled about Fine Creek Leathers at Self Edge. Again, I was like "what IS this brand?" Most of the jackets were absurdly flat and shiny before they were worn. I got a "Richmond" jacket from Fine Creek which is a type one style, and now it's completely molded to my body and beautifully patina'd, but when I first got it it was almost comical looking. Of course that set me off on a path of wanting to find even better leather jackets, the best tanneries, etc... I eventually figured out that Freewheelers is kind of the be-all end-all of Japanese repro leathers. And the fact that it isn't sold in New York was of course attractive and annoying at the same time. I always wanted a D pocket, so the La Brea was right up my alley. I did hours of research on the sizing and the jacket's measurements and my measurement's and the measurements of my Fine Creek to compare. I finally settled on a size 40 and pre-ordered it from The Wild One (in the blackjack colorway). Now I just have to wait for it to arrive (probably right on time for Summer when it will be too hot to wear it). So in the meantime I decided finding a pair of Freewheelers jeans would be a nice little treat to hold me over until the leather arrives. As I said above, I have a 1960s cut and a 1920s cut from TCB, so a 1940's cut seems like the logical next pair. I remember having seem what I thought was a pair of Freewheelers denim posted in this thread with the Levis arcs (which I always really loved, from all the repro brands before the cease & desist letters). As you indicated upthread, it was actually a pair of Bootleggers. God, as if Freewheelers stuff isn't difficult enough to find, why not go after proto-Freewheelers instead as a challenge? So that's basically where I'm at now. But in the end I will likely take your advice and just buy a pair of Freewheelers 1947 cut and possibly have arcs stitched on, and then just keep an eye out for a Bootleggers pair in the future.

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1 hour ago, Duke Mantee said:

Nice!

That’s a great jacket you’ve bought - Freewheelers make really nice leather jackets (as did Bootleggers - where most of the leather jacket line-up originates)

Most of the guys here that wanted arcs had them painted or sewn after purchase

Any recommendations on who to send them to who can do the arcs correctly?

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@JMS thanks… had them since mid Dec ish

Direct sunlight has accentuated the fading…  as I sit here now wearing them, they are still very dark… but definitely promising. Reckon they’ve probably had 4/5 days per week easy wear over about 10 weeks

The other Sufu gents who’ve had this denim longer might have more to show

@shredwin_206 great buttons or what?!!

Edited by MJF9
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On 3/6/2022 at 12:55 AM, shredwin_206 said:

@MJF9 @JMS those buttons on those are hell for me to get through the button holes. Can’t wait for them to loose. Up. Haha 

What is that all about? Are those button holes like that on purpose?

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2 hours ago, JMS said:
 Been wishing for a type 2 with the later style buttons! A good bet to figure this is the denim found on the 661zxx? 

Believe it's the same denim as the pair of jeans on the last slide here.

 

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