How to know vintage Lee jeans

[donkaiser]

Got a pair of Lee but i can't tell if it's vintage or not. all i know it's a Lee 200, talon 42 zipper with "in USA" in the back, on the front button i can read Lee on the top and rider on the bottom. rivets has the mirroring LEE. the back patch and the pocket tag is Lee R MR.

the tag is almost distroyed. So I would like to ask your expertise.

Regards,

[Whodinihimself]

..posting pics would be a good start

[Whodinihimself]

the only thing I know about vintage Lee's is that the back label logo used to be hot iron branded onto the leather..but I think that was waaaaaay back when

[donkaiser]

here it is

[donkaiser]

and some more

[Whodinihimself]

are they selvage?

[__3xL]

I dont think any lee 200 / 201 are selvage ..

Think 1970's / 1980's

[donkaiser]

numero_uno_3xl is right. they are not selvage. so you think they are from 70s or 80s?

[airfrogusmc]

Don I would guess 1970s maybe earlier because of the Talon zipper.

[sybaritical]

Paul T hasn't surfaced in this thread yet.

This is a worrying development.

[cheapmuthafukr]

i havent seen paul in a while. maybe we finally ran him off.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

nah, he's hard at work on his ig book, i reckon...

[cheapmuthafukr]

true... forgot about that. im gonna have to get a copy when it comes out.

[donkaiser]

oh any body knows the history of the talon 42 zip? Why are they synonym of vintage?

[tweeds]

nah, he's hard at work on his ig book, i reckon...

what's his ig book? i'm gonna get myself a copy of Paul's Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks soon.

actually we've not paid much attention at all to vintage lee, mostly our focus has been on levi's. anyone who could provide helpful tips would be lovely, since these jeans are also classics.

[airfrogusmc]

oh any body knows the history of the talon 42 zip? Why are they synonym of vintage?

Talon hasn't made that style of 42 in a real long time I would guess mid 1970s maybe into the 1980s but I doubt it. Heres a link that show there modern 42. Theres a window with 5 small zippers its the middle one in the top row on the green cloth tape.

http://www.tag-it.com/talon/talon_jeans.shtml#

[donkaiser]

tweedlesinpink is right. other brands of jeans (Lee and Wrangler) deserve the same respect. how about GAP vintage? hahaha. Im sure that before all of us have become crazy about superjeans, we were once at least wearing those GAP or other generic jeans. GAP, CK, Jordache & Ralph Lauren are pretty good candidate to be the next vintage craze (at least for their jeans before the 90's).

[donkaiser]

I remember saw a pix from a jap magazine on superdenim showing the change of Lee jeans over the years. anybody remember where this thread is it?

[__3xL]

[Ahlvahroe]

My last thread got ignored so I am wondering if I will get a response if I bump this one. I was wondering what is the standard Lee, as in which year, cause everyone knows that the '47 levi is the one, so whats the Lee. I also would like to know if the Lee repros that are made, such as my Samurais, are based off of a certain years cut or what?

[airfrogusmc]

Aero leather has some really nice Lees Japan repros. Heres the 1937s but they have several different years.

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/webapp/aeroleather/servlet/AeroViewPage?page=displayproduct&subcatid=106&prodid=483

[partytaco]

..................

[robbie]

I was wondering if there was a similar thread for LEE jackets?

I maybe found a youth jacket at a local thrift store,the details make me think its an older 101 but I wasn't sure

I didn't have a camera w/ me

but here are as many of the details that stood out as I can remember

all cap LEE on all of the buttons in a style I hadn't seen, and not on this thread

the back buttons for the side cinch were a reddish brown and sewn on with blue thread as opposed to the metal ones you usually see. (the only time I'd seen this prior to today was on a 91-B I foolishly gave to a friend who could fit the size 40 )

I didn't see any selvage, but i've heard some of these brands covered up selvage on jackets?

I hid the jacket in an area where it most likely won't move (behind some books in a corner) to be safe

If its still there in the morning I'll KOP and share pics, just didn't know if any one had any ideas from this limited info.

thanks, and sorry I couldn't get search to work.

[cheapmuthafukr]

http://www.vintagemotorcyclejackets.com/lee1.htm

[Dr_Heech]

but here are as many of the details that stood out as I can remember..........

......all cap LEE on all of the buttons in a style I hadn't seen, and not on this thread

Lee jackets with the LEE in caps on the buttons is most likely 1970's. They usually have two square patch pockets with pocket-flaps which are pointed. The neck tags are usually ribbon-type and have LEE also in capitals with 'R, MR' after the word Lee. Made mid-late 70's.

.

[robbie]

thanks cheap

[rodeo bill]

I'm in the US for a week at the moment, and due to bad packing I needed an extra pair of jeans. Went to Wild West City in New Jersey (brilliantly terrible/terribly brilliant- thoroughlyu recommended!) and in their gift shop they had a few pairs of deadstock Lee Riders. I bought these for $14.98:

I'm avbsolutely no expert on Lee, but I would have guessed late 70s/early 80s given the MR, VF & non-selvage. However http://www.vintagetrends.com/Vintage/itemdetails.asp?YZ=9C9D9A9A868892&RN=10&TR=47&SS=&MC=Vintage&CA=Men&SC=Pants&ST=Lee+black+and+yellow+tag seems to be the exact same pair, and they claim they're 60s (and they're not deadstock, and they're going to $110:))

anyone have any thoughts? I'm really happy with them for a standin for very little money, especially as they;re pretty lightweight in scorching NYC... I took a swim in a lake in NW Massachusetts in them but they didn;t shrink much. They're a size 40 which is about 4 inches too big for me, but I'm wearing them low, with a belt, so they're very comfy. Not crazy about the bootcut so I've folded a big pleat into the cuff. Fit pics at some point if people are interested & if I get the time.

[Paul T]

Pretty certain they're early 70s. The Union Made tag disappeared middle of the decade, but the MR means they're made after the 60s IIRC.

Some of the pocket flashers have a date at the bottom. Can't quite see on yours.

[rodeo bill]

thanks a lot Paul- much obliged!

Nope no date on the flasher-

it's a pity the tab has been cut out from behind the top of the leather patch.

another cool detail I noticed is the panels have numbers stamped on them. Difficult to photograph (especially while wearing them). I guess this is either the pattern, order or machinist number?

fit pics- I hadn't really looked in a mirror before these, and I'm not so sure about the fit... serious nappy-arse. I like the Lee wide-spread pockets a lot in theory, and they're very comfortable to sit in if you carry thngs in them, but it's not the most flattering look...

edit- by the way does anyone know what MR stands for? I've often wondered, and no-one I've asked knows.

[Paul T]

REgistered Mark?