Levi's Vintage Clothing

[Paul T]

@spiraltoy, I remember when those came in to Cinch, they are a 1901 repro... with an 1880s leather patch! Production error. Kurabo fabric.

[andyrcii]

 

score!

Levi's tally:

1890 (cone) ----- 1947 (cone) ----- 1955 (cone) ----- 1966 (Kaihara)----- 1976 (Kaihara)

other: 

Lee 101z (Rebel Without a Cause jeans) (Kaihara)

Edited March 6, 2020 by andyrcii

[Spiraltoy]

Cheers @Paul T! Yeah that patch threw me off. Thanks for the info!

[Maynard Friedman]

Levi’s Japan 503 BSXX natural indigo from August ‘91.

[Double 0 Soul]

Nice! i didn't know you had those Martin

[Maynard Friedman]

Picked them up basically brand new and unworn about 5 years ago. They had been washed/soaked once but I gave them another machine wash to get out any remaining shrink and the musty smell they had acquired.

[Jimmy Tarbuck]

Very nice indeed.  What’s the cut like on those?

[Maynard Friedman]

It’s a fairly straight 50s cut with a slight taper Jimmy. I think they’re more like a size 32 really so not overly loose on me but fit comfortably. Other than trying them on, they’re still unworn although they’ve definitely been bought to wear rather than just keep.

[Jimmy Tarbuck]

35 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

It’s a fairly straight 50s cut with a slight taper Jimmy. I think they’re more like a size 32 really so not overly loose on me but fit comfortably. Other than trying them on, they’re still unworn although they’ve definitely been bought to wear rather than just keep.

Sounds good, the LVC Japan guide on denimbro implied they were quite wide legged for a 50’s cut.

Definitely wear them, LVCJ made some lovely stuff.

[Maynard Friedman]

I read that too but I don’t think it’s the case with this pair. The hem measures around 8.5” I think.

There used to be a shop (sadly closed now) around Camden/Kentish Town called LA-1 Clothing. Downstairs was bog standard trainers and casual sporting togs for the youth - the usual yawn fest. Upstairs was the denim and although much of it was standard fayre, they had a small selection of Sufu-approved garmenture, including the Japanese Edwin range, LVC and Lee - I bought some raw 55s and 1936 101B there. The pair that really caught my attention, however, was a pair of Levi’s Japan 503 BXX (non-natural indigo version), raw with all tags attached for about £140 I think. Unfortunately they were a size 30 and try as I might, I couldn’t squeeze my bulky thighs into them! I think I tipped Flash off about them but don’t think he was interested. Perhaps I should’ve just bought them to resell at a later date but that’s not really my thing so I left them for another (smaller) lucky punter. Anyway, that’s what made me aware of this particular model.

[Maynard Friedman]

With the French workers/chore jacket discussion taking place in the This or That thread, I thought I’d add my slightly tangential contribution here.
This was LVC’s imagined jacket worn by poor Californian fishermen during the 1930s/40s. Made from cotton twill, with a shawl collar and anchor shank buttons, it is a hybrid of a military seaman’s deck jacket and a chore coat. I bought it new about 10 years ago but haven’t worn it much over the last few years. Washed a few times so it has faded from its original deeper blue colour.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Maynard Friedman

[jewellben]

Shameless plug for my USA 37 I got last summer but are too small in the waist for me despite all the drying/stretch tips

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353006329308

 

[heyson]

3 hours ago, jewellben said:

Shameless plug for my USA 37 I got last summer but are too small in the waist for me despite all the drying/stretch tips

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353006329308

 

Damnit. I would love to take these off your hands, but right now is not exactly the best time to buy more denim.

[428CJ]

Someone just reminded me via PM that I have a pair of raw 1880s (the limited edition of 300 from a few years ago) that are a size too small for me at 34-34. I thought I'd offer them here before putting them up on the usual online outlets. If there are more than a few people who say they might want them, I'll put them up in the classified section (or you can just PM me directly).

Photos of the measurements can be found on page 710 of this thread. Someone already contacted me and agreed to pay me $350 for them, but then flaked. So that's the price (firm as of now). Original retail price was $599, IIRC.

Thank you.

[lyraman]

We’re those natural indigo, and were they made in USA or japan?

thanks

[The Clerk]

Hello all,

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well?

Not posted anything fr a while but as we are in lockdown I have been going through some old photos and found a couple that may be of interest to you guys. Back in autumn '18 when I was looking at getting some lvc as part of the blackwednesdaycyberyaforcapitalismweekpromotion thing (whatever that is called) I said to my partner Sarah that it was imperative that I got some of the last Cone Mills denim as they were a piece of denim history. Sarah's response to this was that she needed some new jeans too. After having a good examination of some of my pairs dating back 15 years or so, she settled on a pair of 33s. 

So here she is in her recently fresh 33s

 

[Dry]

Three incarnations of the 1937 vintage. The top is Valencia Street made in 10 1997, W36 L 38, the middle is 643M F3 03 W36 L36 and the bottom is made in Bulgaria W34 L36.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Dry
Error

[Dry]

Here are raw pairs of the same versions all W34 L36 except the Valencia Street version on the left which is L38. The 2003 version is in the middle and the Bulgarian is on the right.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Dry
Error

[Maynard Friedman]

It seems that since the switch to Bulgarian-made jeans and jackets took place, there has been a general downturn of interest in LVC on this forum. Totally understandable too in my opinion. We’ll have to wait until some of the Cone panic-buyers/hoarders get around to wearing their stuff... unless they’re holding out for better prices on eBay! 

Meanwhile, I’m waiting for the start of summer to break in a pair of raw 55s from 2007 - unless someone offers me £400 for them in the interim. Actually, if I’m offered £400, I’ll hold out for £500!

[bartlebyyphonics]

my opinion fwiw... (I say this as an lvc wearer...)

until there is at least 1-2 years good wear on new Japanese denim Bulgarian sewn batches no one know what they might be working with...

lvc last season did huge splurge with many many models available to check what this new system might be f**king up...

this season their mainline supermario edition looks better than their lvc pastel x dayglo edition... but they are keeping to their faithful with '55 / '47 raws... [yawn...]

if I were pessimistic: they are thinking about ditching the line but aren't quite sure: checking if the base is out there whilst doing a lacklustre collection for the now.

the '76 raw model is best of recent productions, but for this '75 sfmoma soapbox collection they are pushing eradicates all presence of that... and without much detail or humour...

they going full pastel... would prefer a 1987 acid wash collection.

[waiting for a good rodeo shirt next year...]

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by bartlebyyphonics

[andyrcii]

People prefer Cone because they know what they are getting.. The Bulgarian ones just need to prove themselves. my 1976's are 30 days in now and have started to show some good progress, nothing worth showing yet.

 

so here is my Lee 101z no. 49 (13 dips), Kaihara denim. 

these have racked up 95 days of wear and right now are starting to look more beautiful every day, nice bits of blue starting to come out. 

 

 

[Maynard Friedman]

2 hours ago, andyrcii said:

People prefer Cone because they know what they are getting.. 

 

I think many people preferred Cone because they liked the idea of jeans made in America from American denim. They supported the heritage aspect. If you like Japanese denim, there are plenty  of other, perhaps better options that are made in Japan rather than Bulgaria. Unfortunately, as @bartlebyyphonics said above, this could be the beginning of the end for LVC.

[andyrcii]

Years from now, when my current stock of jeans are getting old, I will buy the bulgarian ones. 
 

yes, I did source cone pairs of 1947 and 1955.. but I may as well, because right now if you have a little patience, you can still find them for reasonable prices, I don’t want to pay £180 for bulgarian ones if i can get cones for only £20 more..

Don’t give up on LVC. 

Someone will post a pic of some cool fades with the bulgarian ones (I have yet to see one yet) and the heritage of the brand will live on. Lee has been Kaihara for god knows how long, and I love my Lee’s.

 

[428CJ]

I'm not longer in the market for LVC, and won't be for a while. I stocked up with most models even before the discontinuation of Cone denim was announced. I picked up three more ('33, '76, Type I)  in the year or so after the announcement, to complete my Cone LVC wish list.

As such, I don't even have to think about whether to buy the Bulgarian ones or not. It'll take me decades to wear through these 10 or so pairs of jeans, plus I have all the Lees, Wranglers, etc.

My instinct is that they're probably fine jeans in their own right. But like I said, no need to find out firsthand.

[propellerbeanie]

I wore LVC jeans almost exclusively for a few years and I still wear my '55s quite regularly, but not as much as my Resolutes. I guess you could say that LVCs lost their "allure" since they stopped using Cone fabric and being made in USA (yes, some will say that that was lost years ago when they stopped making them out of the Valencia St factory). I reckon some people were immediately turned off after reading "made in Bulgaria" despite the fabric being Japanese. Bulgarian-made clothing isn't commonplace when talking about denim, so it makes sense + the pricing ain't gonna help! People would probably have been more receptive to LVCs being made in Japan with Japanese denim.

Also, I saw some rigid '47s from the current season and they're made in Turkey. I'm not too sure how they decide which models are made in Bulgaria or Turkey, or if they're transitioning for all models to be cut and sewn in the same location.

[Richardcartwright]

Hi folks 

Hope your all safe. Newbie on here but been following this thread for awhile. Love LVC and spend hours going through the pages on here.

Just picked up this beautiful sack jacket from Ebay 1920s I believe? 

Love the level of detail in this jacket 

 

 

[Richardcartwright]

Sorry folks just one more. 

Picked up these deadstock 501s made in the UK from the 80's before Christmas. I know there not LVC but worth a look. 

Paid £5 from my local charity shop. Came with tags.

Washed once and have shrunk perfectly in my waist. Love how hairy the deniem is and the blue and yellow stitching (see second picture).

[Maynard Friedman]

Fantastic, they look like they were made in 1993 and I think that Levi’s factory was in Scotland.

[Richardcartwright]

Just now, Maynard Friedman said:

Fantastic, they look like they were made in 1993 and I think that Levi’s factory was in Scotland.

Yeah I did find out the factory was based in Scotland. 1993 sweet. 

For £5 total bargain 

[bartlebyyphonics]

awesome pieces @Richardcartwright

here are some poorly shot deets from the lightning vintage workwear book on the matter... [love the way the stripes align on the front...]

Edited April 3, 2020 by bartlebyyphonics