Levi's Vintage Clothing

[ah_long]

Joe@Cultizm's Measurements for this particular pair of 37501.32/36

Waist: 32”

Inseam: 36”

Thigh: 12.25

Knee: 10”

Leg opening: 9.25”

I am praying to god that they would shrink a good ton in all areas.. I don't need a slim fit, but right now, they are a bit too baggy for my liking..

on the other hand.. i'll grab my brother (Alleyne) to post some fit pics of his 555 47501, they look very nice presoak already...

when holding the 555 47501 and my 37501, the 47 denim is hairier, darker, and heavier.. the 37 have more blue to it, the demin is softer, and smoother to the touch..

I do suspect that the 37 would shrink more than the 47 because of the different weight and weave in terms of denim, the 37 feels very light and there is a lot of room for shrinkage

[Tanner13]

Wow, airfrog they look terrific! I noticed they were a size 38x34, are they true to your size or do you wear them a bit oversized for the time being? Also how's the fit on you?

[Dr_Heech]

Airfrog

Thanks for posting those pics, they look great ! Can we get your missus to take some fit-pix before they hit the dreaded washing machine !?!

Would +Rep you, but got to spread it around!

[erk]

here are my 1937s - worn in rotation since January.

they've been washed 2 or 3 times...I can't quite remember. but two handwashes for sure, one was really hot the other warmish. both with dr. bronners soap.

leg twist is huge on these, so get ready for that.

they fade slow but I love the denim. Initially it was hard to get used to original hue being brighter than my other pairs (1947, s5000) but I really like them.

[airfrogusmc]

They're BAGGY and they are my waist size. THey are slimmer than the 1917s and the denim is MUCH different. Both have great denim. The japanese denim on the 17s as a much smoother softer hand and a blue green base.

The 1915s has a harder, rougher hand. Both have killer denim. I do prefer the cone denim on the 1915s.

[airfrogusmc]

those look great. hot soak those babies and you'll be on your way to success! on december 1st of course...

how'd they measure?

Probably be a hot soak sooner than Dec with the smell of things (LOL). They measured 40 in the waist and 37 length,

[Dr_Heech]

Nice pics Erk, cant rep you again at the mo.

Airfrog, fair play those 1915's look awesome! You are 'The Man' when it comes to wearing pre-soak. I'm tempted to break out another pair of mine (got four pairs on the go as it is!)

[airfrogusmc]

Thanks Doc,

I have been wearing these almost everyday all day since new for 3 months. I have a pair of 1873 natural indigo still new with tags I'm going to either work on next or sell.

[Dr_Heech]

Thanks Doc,

I have been wearing these almost everyday all day since new for 3 months. I have a pair of 1873 natural indigo still new with tags I'm going to either work on next or sell.

Me too, they're going on ebay tomorrow, along with my other Lvc.

My last lot of stuff to sell as I need to pay for my M-422 very soon!

[airfrogusmc]

airfrogusmc has many nice LVC - which he doesn't soak before wearing, as he reckons this gives better fades. It's been debated here many times. I've done the same with my Lees and it can work well. Different strokes &c...

Paul I can't take credit. I got it from a good friend Grant (crownzip) that has couple of killer pairs of vintage jeans that he broke in hte same way.

[Maynard Friedman]

I would... but I've just brought my 55 and my 47 to the perfect state, and I'd be repeating myself, so it's SDA103 for the next six months for me. I've stll got to finish off my 1920s 201, and I have some 1890s for summer, but by that point I'll have been through most of the major eras; I'm wearing Lee right now, might try the Edwin Riders soon... plus I'm still annoyed I didn't get a pair of the classic Duckdiggers when we started that thread all those years ago.

When that lot's done, I'll be back to the 55, 47 and 201 under the bed. ..

Paul,

What do you mean by "the perfect state"? Is it a state of worn-in-ness that you don't want to take any further so you'll put them away/sell them or will you now just wear them selectively rather than compulsively?

Apologies if it seems like an interrogation, it's not intended, I'm just interested.

[Paul T]

Of course, there's no perfect state... I actually like wearing them new. But they usually reach something of a peak after nine months wear for me... it's kind of diminishing returns after that and I tend to put them back under the bed (or sell them if I need £££).

This was the last time I had a bunch of jeans in that state, I'm probably getting close to that again now... this is just half of probably five years' worth of Lees that I sold off (apologies for the repost).

[JOA]

Airfrog, I gotta pile on. Those '15s are really great!

[Maynard Friedman]

Seen it loads of times but always worth another viddy - very impressive. Unfortunately my jeans never seem to get to that state, but I'm working on some Eternals at the moment, so here's hoping. They are probably the toughest jeans to break-in I've ever had.

[airfrogusmc]

Airfrog, I gotta pile on. Those '15s are really great!

Thanks a lot. I think Dejan still has some left (hint) these are some of my favorite LVCs.

[pomata]

amazing Lees, Paul!

I love them

[percy]

question for airfrog: what happens to the jeans after you wash them? wont they become completely different in terms of fit and all the wear lines move?

[airfrogusmc]

Of course, there's no perfect state... I actually like wearing them new. But they usually reach something of a peak after nine months wear for me... it's kind of diminishing returns after that and I tend to put them back under the bed (or sell them if I need £££).

This was the last time I had a bunch of jeans in that state, I'm probably getting close to that again now... this is just half of probably five years' worth of Lees that I sold off (apologies for the repost).

Beautiful. I can't rep ya Paul gotta spread it around. I would if I could.

[Guest sneekylyric078]

Of course, there's no perfect state... I actually like wearing them new. But they usually reach something of a peak after nine months wear for me... it's kind of diminishing returns after that and I tend to put them back under the bed (or sell them if I need £££).

This was the last time I had a bunch of jeans in that state, I'm probably getting close to that again now... this is just half of probably five years' worth of Lees that I sold off (apologies for the repost).

I like how consistent the fades are on every single one those jeans. Each person's wear pattern is really unique.

[electrum]

electrum, they look awesome. How do you get honeycombs like that? Simply beautiful!

Thanks Dr.House, glad you like them. When I first put a new pair of rigid jeans on, I slide each leg up to fit my actual length like an accordian. They retain that shape and I just wear em like that. After a while the folds fade/wear creating that 'honeycomb' look.

[electrum]

I dont understand why soaking them first is unthinkable.

I've found that rigid/stiff jeans tend to retain folds and develop very cool creases and fading whereas pre-soaked denim tends to lose rigidity, stretch and not retain folds as well. For that reason I avoid pre-soaking rigid denim. However, my '37s were about an inch longer than 34'' tag so I had no choice but to pre-soak to lose some length to get better fit. After soak, they ended up stiffer then before soaking. So, in that case, the pre-soaking turned out to be a blessing in disguise, plus they only lost just over an inch in length which is perfect. Raw jeans that are longer than my actual length just look better on me too which might not be the case for everyone. Thanks for asking...

[connor]

Paul, those Lees are amazing. how much return do you get by selling those?

[erk]

I've found that rigid/stiff jeans tend to retain folds and develop very cool creases and fading whereas pre-soaked denim tends to lose rigidity, stretch and not retain folds as well. For that reason I avoid pre-soaking rigid denim. However, my '37s were about an inch longer than 34'' tag so I had no choice but to pre-soak to lose some length to get better fit. After soak, they ended up stiffer then before soaking. So, in that case, the pre-soaking turned out to be a blessing in disguise, plus they only lost just over an inch in length which is perfect. Raw jeans that are longer than my actual length just look better on me too which might not be the case for everyone. Thanks for asking...

my jeans always turn out stiffer after the first soak no matter what weight or brand...

[ah_long]

could anyone give me a rough idea of how much shrinkage I would get on my 1937s.. the more I look @ it, the more I think about it, the more concerned I am regarding the fit being too baggy

[erk]

could anyone give me a rough idea of how much shrinkage I would get on my 1937s.. the more I look @ it, the more I think about it, the more concerned I am regarding the fit being too baggy

I think yours are gonna turn out just fine. mine were outrageous looking when I tried them on raw. I wouldn't worry about it. I didn't measure mine raw ( wish I did ) or I would tell you exactly how much.

[electrum]

THey're looking great, electrum, if it's any consolation I reckon they're showing more wear than my 20s 201. After nine months wear, they look as if they're a month old. With yours, I reckon if you give them a machine wash another eight weeks, the contrast will zing out. (I am guessing these are the 555 '201' with the leather patch from the early LVC runs).

Hey Paul T, thanks for the pointers. Yeah they look to be the 555 '37s but not sure what run? Below are pics of patch and inner tag. Maybe you can tell from the codes what run they are from?? Btw, any idea if the 555 '37 201 is Cone denim and how it night differ i.e., colour, weight and texture from the blueline selvedge denim on the 555 '20s linen patch 201s or is it the same?

[electrum]

Appreciate all of the comments and reps for my '37s. Compared to all of the other far superior examples I've seen posted here, I really didn't think mine would get so musch positive press. Many thanks folks!!!

[electrum]

Of course, there's no perfect state... I actually like wearing them new. But they usually reach something of a peak after nine months wear for me... it's kind of diminishing returns after that and I tend to put them back under the bed (or sell them if I need £££).

This was the last time I had a bunch of jeans in that state, I'm probably getting close to that again now... this is just half of probably five years' worth of Lees that I sold off (apologies for the repost).

I can see what you're saying. Looks to be that they reached a state of nirvana -- what a truly amazing lineup of expertly aged denim!

[Dr_Heech]

Paul,

thanks for posting those pics of the lees.

I had a similar thing happen to me with Lvc, where you end up with three or four pairs, all worn to perfection. Then BAM, they all become slightly too snug overnight. I now have four pairs of jeans, all very bland as I have no energy to put in the kind of wear with them that I used to.

I'll post some evo pix in about three years!!

[Paul T]

ah-long, if you pinch your jeans at the side, around the bottom of the pockets say, and you even have three inches of slack, I think you'll be fine. The waist will shrink a minimum of an inch; if you have two inches of slack around the waist I wouldn't worry. If it's two and a half inches, I'd exchange them.

With the baggy, high rise jeans, such as the 1896 and 1901, downzising often doesn't look right, mostly because of the rise. I have the 1890 in actual size, and it's OK but not quite there- my 1901 hang lower on the hips and look much better. The 1937, as we've seen, can be worn a little large, actual size and a little under. Plus, if you don't want too much shrinkage, you simply soak cold. I know this is complicated, does that make sense?

Electrum, those jeans are from the first couple of years of LVC, the tag would suggest Nov 97. I'm pretty certain the fabric is Cone, probably the same as ah-long's 37s; the 20s 201 fabric is from Kurabo, much greener, and is even harder to wear in than yours. As I've mentioned before, those model LVC are a favourite of Eric Clapton, apparently.

Connor, I sold the Lees for around £30-40 each. One SuFu'er made a 100% profit by flogging them on eBay, but together with my 1933 LVC, a new, tagged pair of Lees, a Rhino Nuggets and surfing box set, plus an old train set my mom found in her loft, I raised the £££ to get my first decent watch, a Heuer Carrera.

I feel a bit bereft now my loft is empty, I love selling as much as buying...