Levi's Vintage Clothing

[colgems1966]

The 1915 has the better fabric, but the 1933's are more accurate to the originals with a better buckle and nicer arcs IMO.

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i second the DR, they did you a favor sending the 33's. an often overlooked model. i'm sort of lukewarm on the denim but the arcs make up for it. to me it one of the most well done and realistic of the LVC bucklebacks. to see just what they can become check out The Clerk's pair. they are some of the best looking of any model repros i've seen.

[roy6]

That jacket fits you perfectly roy6, unable to rep you though. What jeans are they?

Thanks guys!

The jeans are an ancient pair of washed Replay's in a '50s cut. They used to make some nice stuff- now everything I see from them looks like a cross between Diesel and the low-budge Evisu lines.

[Stratos]

i second the DR, they did you a favor sending the 33's. an often overlooked model. i'm sort of lukewarm on the denim but the arcs make up for it. to me it one of the most well done and realistic of the LVC bucklebacks. to see just what they can become check out The Clerk's pair. they are some of the best looking of any model repros i've seen.

²nd that, the '33's need more love, on the other hand, I'm glad I bought Stink's 1915's, can't wait to get 'm

[civicex]

that is true. I think that cones fabric holds its indigo better. but it is, in fact, rope dyed.

You're right. I meant to say it was not lightly rope dyed and the indigo dye cores more to the core than other denim manufacturers.

[Paul T]

Totally. I'm not going to bash japanese denim, especially on superfuture where most japanese denimheads gather online. What I will say is that LVC's are definitely on-par with their quality and construction.

Levi's denim (cone denim, to be more exact) doesn't use rope dying or other techniques that make fading an easier process. The indigo is deep and takes a long time to fade..

AS erk pointed out, Cone denim is rope dyed - in fact, Cone invented the process used.

There is a difference in philosophy between Cone and, say, Samurai whose denim is designed to crock quickly, and essentially wear quicker. In addition, Cone tends to be less slubby than some Japanese denims. There are quite a few Japanese jeans, though, that have the same aesthetic, without overdoing it, like Studio D'Artisan - which also has excellent construction and, like most LVC, takes a long time to wear in.

[king*stink]

²nd that, the '33's need more love, on the other hand, I'm glad I bought Stink's 1915's, can't wait to get 'm

Stratos thanks a ton for that. Hope you enjoy them.

[Paul T]

Is there an echo in here?

[Dr_Heech]

No. It's just dr_heech trying to cut fairways whilst using his not very user-friendly smart phone. Sorry paul.

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[Maynard Friedman]

AS erk pointed out, Cone denim is rope dyed - in fact, Cone invented the process used.

There is a difference in philosophy between Cone and, say, Samurai whose denim is designed to crock quickly, and essentially wear quicker. In addition, Cone tends to be less slubby than some Japanese denims. There are quite a few Japanese jeans, though, that have the same aesthetic, without overdoing it, like Studio D'Artisan - which also has excellent construction and, like most LVC, takes a long time to wear in.

I think the point about Studio D'artisan is further evidenced by the fact that they use sanforized cone denim for their SD-20* range.

[setterman]

AS erk pointed out, Cone denim is rope dyed - in fact, Cone invented the process used.

There is a difference in philosophy between Cone and, say, Samurai whose denim is designed to crock quickly, and essentially wear quicker. In addition, Cone tends to be less slubby than some Japanese denims. There are quite a few Japanese jeans, though, that have the same aesthetic, without overdoing it, like Studio D'Artisan - which also has excellent construction and, like most LVC, takes a long time to wear in.

I know you avoided including all LVC by saying "most", and I will say the only LVC I've invested daily wear in are my 55s, but for the small amount of wear my 37s, 44s, 66s, and 506 have had they're are all showing wear fairly quickly. Sometimes I think too quickly. Now, they're not on the level of something like Samurai or Warehouse, but I don't think vintage Levis started showing wear as easily as my experience with LVC.

[Stratos]

I know you avoided including all LVC by saying "most", and I will say the only LVC I've invested daily wear in are my 55s, but for the small amount of wear my 37s, 44s, 66s, and 506 have had they're are all showing wear fairly quickly. Sometimes I think too quickly. Now, they're not on the level of something like Samurai or Warehouse, but I don't think vintage Levis started showing wear as easily as my experience with LVC.

The 37's do indeed fade raher quickly, I have put up pics of a pair I've been wearing for two weeks after a soak and they are starting to show tracks and whiskers already. But my other LVC's (earlier years) fade slowly and rather differently.

[cheapmuthafukr]

my 37s are fading very slowly... cant think of the last time i had jeans this stubborn.

[Stratos]

my 37s are fading very slowly... cant think of the last time i had jeans this stubborn.

Funny, what season are yours? :-) You see, that is what I mean when we are having discussions about authenticity like recently: LVC makes (sometimes excellent) repro's, but they will never achieve true authenticity simply 'cause there's so many variables to be taken into account.

[Shorty Long]

I'm willing to bet there was similar variety in quality with authentic vintage 501s as well. Maybe different in nature, but present nonetheless.

Funny, what season are yours? :-) You see, that is what I mean when we are having discussions about authenticity like recently: LVC makes (sometimes excellent) repro's, but they will never achieve true authenticity simply 'cause there's so many variables to be taken into account.

[cheapmuthafukr]

Funny, what season are yours? :-) You see, that is what I mean when we are having discussions about authenticity like recently: LVC makes (sometimes excellent) repro's, but they will never achieve true authenticity simply 'cause there's so many variables to be taken into account.

i dont know... i got them off of the supermarket. i know they are not the current season.

[colgems1966]

of all the LVC models i've owned (and that's all of the belt loop models except the '78) the 1937 has the widest differences one yr to another. my 643m prs the denim is heavy, much like 1944 denim. my 2008 pr 1170? the denim is thin and has selvage like the 1933's.

[cheapmuthafukr]

mine are the 1170 i think... the denim is lightweight and has the 33 type selvage.

[Paul T]

I'm willing to bet there was similar variety in quality with authentic vintage 501s as well. Maybe different in nature, but present nonetheless.

My guess is there's more variation in the original than in the repro. From the late 50s on, they were churning them out as quick as they could. The offset belt loop, that many fixate upon, was in real terms an error, that some factories allowed but apparently not all. The threads differed from factory to factory, over the same time period, while so did the stitching.

Wearing the same jeans from different seasons - notably the 47, of which I've had four - I've sometimes thought there were dramatic differences, but generally concluded that it was just different wear, different times, that made them seem different. Some have more leg twist than others, some maybe had a tighter weave than others, but that's the essence of a product made on 60 year old looms.

[bluegoldblues]

they also cost less than $10 back then and had zero resale value.

Whereas today it is impossible to buy a new pair of LVC for under £100

[Stratos]

they also cost less than $10 back then and had zero resale value.

Whereas today it is impossible to buy a new pair of LVC for under £100

Oh, but it IS possible, you just have to be on the lookout ;-)

[killer b]

yeah, i've never paid over 25 quid for a pair of LVC.

[bmg]

cultizm is the cheapest price that Ive found. Its hard to find them at all though actually.

[Stratos]

You just gotta keep an eye open for final sales, etc...also, check actual stores, not just online, I have bought some of my nicest LVC's in sell outs.

[killer b]

it's mostly pre-faded stuff that makes it to the sales though tbf. you never see raw LVC that cheap...

[Stratos]

Well, I picked up some raw LVC's from two or three seasons ago at under 100 euro last fall, Levi's flag ship store in Antwerp stock liquidation (matter of fact, they had been on display for three years on or so, guess they never sold more than one or two @full price and got tired of 'm )

[bluegoldblues]

lol. try buying a pair of LVC at Selfridges, Cinch, oki ni, son of a stag , present... etc

my point is, that in 1950 a pair of levis were a pair of levis. Today LVC is undoubtably a premium jean. So you would expect quality!

[killer b]

Well, I picked up some raw LVC's from two or three seasons ago at under 100 euro last fall, Levi's flag ship store in Antwerp stock liquidation (matter of fact, they had been on display for three years on or so, guess they never sold more than one or two @full price and got tired of 'm )

we don't have any proper denim stores in lancashire. round here g-star and voi seem to be considered 'premium'...

some of us have to rely on the internet.

[Maynard Friedman]

If you search thoroughly on t'Internet you'll find cheap LVC. Availability may depend on time of year, e.g. when the new season stock is coming in and the old stock is being cleared out.

[Stratos]

we don't have any proper denim stores in lancashire. round here g-star and voi seem to be considered 'premium'...

some of us have to rely on the internet.

I wouldn't call the Antwerp Levi's store a proper denim store, that's perhaps why they never managed to sell the LVC's, considering that they cost twice the price their average customer spends on a pair of jeans...but I see your point, at least they are available over here...

[civicex]

I believe I bought my LVCs for $80 back in early 2009 when they were on sale at the bay area Levi's flagship store sale. In retrospect I wish I bought more than two pairs. One of them got completely shredded in the washing machine (how, I'm not sure) and the other one I'm wearing now.

I'm not sure what to buy next but I sure as hell wouldn't mind another pair of LVCs. Paul, I'll have to look into SDA jeans. Do you have any other recommendations on other brans that make jeans that don't crock so quickly?