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Levi's Vintage Clothing


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^Regarding the 78s, I recall a few days back finding it funny that this webshop I was browsing just happened to have some 78s left even though I've never seen any other webshop with them. You're in luck, if you don't mind retail (size 30 and 34 left):

https://www.supplyandadvise.com/products/levis-vintage-clothing-1978-501-jeans-rigid?variant=694705081

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On 1/29/2018 at 8:07 AM, Denimstoyevsky said:

Hey, by chance, does anyone have a pair of 78s (not 76), tagged 30 or 31 in the waist, that they wouldn't mind getting rid of? Been looking around on ebay/grailed, but they never come up. I remember most people didn't like them, but I think the cut would be perfect for me. 

 

'78 is my favorite fit and long discontinued. (I couldn't care less about "historical accuracy.") Malibu LVC shop says they still get people asking for them. Less than US retail is in link below:

https://www.royalcheese.com/fr/levi-s-vintage/569-levis-501-1978.html#/4577-couleur-blue/3799-taille-31_34

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10 hours ago, Cucoo said:

^ €230 is the normal retail price for LVC in Europe and over $280 as of today's rates... maybe you didn't see the € sign there ;)

They deduct the VAT (20% in France) for US online orders so it's less than that. When I ordered from them in Nov. (better exchange rate then) even with €25 shipping it came to about €216/$250. Not a huge savings, but I've been hunting down the remaining '78s in my size worldwide so it wasn't about cost. I like to think I now have a 30-year supply of them. In a previous life, I must have been a terrier. 

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4 minutes ago, chalisyourpal said:

They deduct the VAT (20% in France) for US online orders so it's less than that. When I ordered from them in Nov. (better exchange rate then) even with €25 shipping it came to about €216/$250. Not a huge savings, but I've been hunting down the remaining '78s in my size worldwide so it wasn't about cost. I like to think I now have a 30-year supply of them. In a previous life, I must have been a terrier. 

I see, makes sense. I forgot about the no VAT for non-EU customers.

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I was cleaning out my storage unit and found an early pair of LVC's.  Does anyone have any info on these?

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These are late 1990s repros and supposed to be a pair of 1873 waist overalls with patent rivets. .Not historicly correct, since the leather patch should be in the center of the back, right beneath the cinchback. Probably valencia street made - what number does the back of the waist button read? 555!? I love the denim, allthough predistressed. Wonder if this was denim was done be cone or is of japenese origin?

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That's almost certainly Kurabo denim, a few later reissues might have used Italian for the washed versions, but this looks like pre-2001 (I think it was earlier repros that had the pocket bag print). There will be a internal tag that shows the issue date. Generally, that earlier tag should be in the centre, with a single line of stitching on the yoke.

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I think I said I'd add some photos of my 50s. I'm in a tough disposal mode at the moment, looking out stuff to sell, and shot some others while I'm at it.

first off, deadstock 1997 555 1955. This was part of a bunch located by Pomata. These might be the most valuable but I've kept them to wear and think I will soak them once the TCB 20s contest is done.

Note these have more lemon stitching than later repros. I think it's a more generic fabric - which is itself gorgeous, very inky and hairy. Note there's also a construction defect; the two lines of stitching meet each other at the yoke, when for accuracy they should be offset (or staggered). Later we'll see how the TCB 50s have the same error.

 

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Now my worn-in 1955, plus the TCB. LVC is on the left.

Long story short, the stitching on the TCB, being cotton, has faded more nicely, and I prefer the lemon yellow (they're reproing a slightly earlier jean I guess). Note how the TCB tag is rayon and scrunches up beautifully. The LVC has the accurate yoke construction; TCB is wrong. Comparing the TCB fabric with the LVC and an original, you see it looks very Japanese. Very attractive and constrasty, but very very slubby compared to the originals.

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Finally, the fabric.

First photo is the Cone 55, left, and TCB on right. You can see long lines of repetitive slub on the TCB. It's this that gives it a very gritty, grainy look.

Next, for comparison, is the LVC vs a late 60s original. You can see how little slub there is on the 60s jeans - which were probably the slubbiest postwar jeans, due to the Magnadraft effect.

It's sad and rather poignant to note this now, but Cone were always swimming against the tide, reproducing a fabric very similar to the original, when so much Japanese fabric is far more slubby than vintage Levi's, and preferred by many for this reason. I like them both for different reasons (although my Roy contest denim is obviously nicer than either of them!) .



 

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6 hours ago, Sympathy-For-The-Denim said:

These are late 1990s repros and supposed to be a pair of 1873 waist overalls with patent rivets. .Not historicly correct, since the leather patch should be in the center of the back, right beneath the cinchback. Probably valencia street made - what number does the back of the waist button read? 555!? I love the denim, allthough predistressed. Wonder if this was denim was done be cone or is of japenese origin?

The back of the waist button reads 822, and thanks for your help.

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3 hours ago, Paul T said:

That's almost certainly Kurabo denim, a few later reissues might have used Italian for the washed versions, but this looks like pre-2001 (I think it was earlier repros that had the pocket bag print). There will be a internal tag that shows the issue date. Generally, that earlier tag should be in the centre, with a single line of stitching on the yoke.

This was the only internal tag I could find.  I believe this was Japanese denim.  I also remember reading somewhere about the sizes being hand written on the early Japanese LVC's?

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4 minutes ago, Paul T said:

822 is an unknown Levi's factory, used around 2001.

Thanks, 2001 sounds like when I picked these up.

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2 hours ago, Paul T said:

0200 probably means February 2000. The model name was the 125, as in a 125 year old jean, repro of the 1875 version. I had a similar pair in raw.

Thanks so much Paul!  I have another early LVC S501XX that came in an aluminum lunch box.  I'll post pics later.

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I've been doing some cleaning from storage and found another pair of early LVC's, S501XX.  It came in an aluminum lunch box and had a letter with it.  Any info on this would be appreciated.

 

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Those were called rust and blue and came in 2003 as LVCs vault piece repro of the season. These are quite nice beacause of the shirt cloth pocket backs which

unfortunatelly never had been used for a rigid version of the s501xx.  Cloth from old shirts had been used back in the late 40s due to war restrictions to save cotton, it was the time when also metal had been saved for war material, so the 501xx lost it´s cinch, rivets at the watch pocket and and crotch.

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Hmmm. Had to make some tough decisions in the T household. Hence for sale in the usual place... 10% off for SuFu-ers!

These early Capital E and LVC are fascinating, I wish they were better documented. This pair has so many differences from later ones. Maybe it's only me that really cares but they are the last flowering of a century of history.

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Was out last night and bumped into a mate in the pub. He likes to wear the 1947 cut, but was asking if there is a model with a slightly more tapered version from the knee down. Anyone of you experts out there got thoughts on this would be appreciated. Cheers.

 

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I understand that the 47s are possibly the slimmest LVC but have a straight-ish rather than tapered lower leg. Alternatives may be:

- 1966s sized down

- 1954s, which have a zip fly

- 1967s, sanforized and zip fly

Others may be better placed to comment or make suggestions.

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6 hours ago, Paul T said:

Hmmm. Had to make some tough decisions in the T household. Hence for sale in the usual place... 10% off for SuFu-ers!

These early Capital E and LVC are fascinating, I wish they were better documented. This pair has so many differences from later ones. Maybe it's only me that really cares but they are the last flowering of a century of history.

Gorgeous! If those were 34's or 36's, I would be bidding from across the Pond.

5 hours ago, OAP said:

Was out last night and bumped into a mate in the pub. He likes to wear the 1947 cut, but was asking if there is a model with a slightly more tapered version from the knee down. Anyone of you experts out there got thoughts on this would be appreciated. Cheers.

 

If he needs the 1947 rise, then I am not aware of anything LVC like that that is tapered. He should just get a pair of '47's altered, or check out Sugar Cane Type III's.

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7 hours ago, Paul T said:

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You just made me realize that I never really looked at the tag of my '55 even after learning all about them constantly from this thread :D So these have been made in 09/96 I guess:

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Mine have no slub or irregularities at all - color isn't accurate here and the smudge next to the fly is some dirt on my phone lense:

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When I got them for really cheap all the seller had to say was that these were pretty old, washed once and then stored in the closet. I knew they're Valencia St. but not that they're that old.

Because the fabric and fit didn't appeal to me at all when I got them 4 years ago (in the beginning of my denim enthusiasm) I've just been wearing them at home, I stopped counting after 600 wears but it's a lot more than that now. They also got washed constantly because of dog and baby. Over time both the cut and the denim evo grew on me, they're no grail but I appreciate them a lot more. Shitty phone pics don't really show it (I'll have to take some better pics in daylight some time) but there's some nice subtle marbling. The once-red selvedge line is pure white now from all the washes.

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Nice article Paul. I'll have to see if I can find that somewhere.

I have a question about the thread. This has become a bigger issue for me regarding LVC vs Japanese manufacturers vs Roy 

I've had LVC, Roy and a number of Japanese brands. LVC by far has the worst looking stitching of all of them. It looks really basic and blah. I don't have a problem with Roy and I believe he has stated that he uses polycore. Is what I'm seeing just a variant in crappy poly core and good poly core? Is LVC just springing for garbage polycore thread? 

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Hello denim-mates. I'm a newbie to raw denim. There seems to be a wealth of information here and I was hoping somebody might know more about a LVC 506xx Type 1 jacket I found at a thrift shop.

Most of the LVC Type 1 jackets I see have 5 buttons and come without the stencilling on the back. Through reading and information at another forum, it looks like a reproduction of the Levi's wartime Type 1 jacket and was made in 2001. Would anyone happen to know where the denim was from (eg. Cone versus of Japanese origin) and whether it was originally raw denim? Does anyone know what sizes they originally came in, or how large a production run they did?

I've had this jacket for about three weeks now and have not used it, and struggling to decide if I should keep it or move it along to someone else. I absolutely love the jacket, even though the stencilling on the back is a little loud for me. But the key issue is the fit and I'm just not sure that the oversized look is going to work for me given it's a size 40 when I should probably use a size 36. I could use it strictly with layers underneath, maybe with my wool CPO shirt, or I was thinking even a hoodie. A style faux pas and just wishful thinking?

TIA for any information you have.

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