Levi's Vintage Clothing

[Knugget]

those look great paul. i'm liking the 6 month picture of the first pair. my current 1947:

[dr.house]

Those poor oki-ni models. Every time I see them I think about how great a hamburger would be. I hope a portion of what y'all spend goes to the starving kids of England.

Haha, too bad must spread :-)

[Madder_Lake]

Those poor oki-ni models. Every time I see them I think about how great a hamburger would be. I hope a portion of what y'all spend goes to the starving kids of England.

I guess we shall see, as I bit. (And since they didn't refund my VAT I assume that I am definitely supporting the welfare system of the U.K.)

[Paul T]

OK drum roll please. I was hoping to shoot this in the same light as a shot in when raw and at 3 months but I haven't been able to get that overcast day. The last few days have been very bright and sunny.

Here ya go. 5 1/2 months of almost constant wear. First soak was a few days back.

I;ve been thinking about how good the 1915 fabric is recently. Allen, any update from these??

Also, Erk kindly sent me these shots which I plan to put on my web guide (I can't add it to the SUperfutre guide as I'm up against the max number for photos and text, grrr).

It's very interesting fabric - looks very black-grey, compared to other denim - when you put it alongsie the 1955, it looks very green, too, with a flamed effect. It has a pronounced twill, like the 1947, with plenty of the weft on view, which always seems to me means it takes longer to wear in.

INteresting how, at six months or so, they keep that real black in the dark areas, then you have those turquoise midtones. I would love to see this fabric worn hard, for a year or more, by a lot of different people.

[Paul T]

LVC sckcoat on sale at Yoox. $114.

http://www.yoox.com/item/YOOX/LEVI%27S+VINTAGE+CLOTHING/dept/denimmen/tskay/3FD17CD7/rr/1/cod10/42160094DP/sts/sr_denimmen80

[Madder_Lake]

I did ask Ralph at Cone to talk me through the differences of the denim for various years but he was concerned about upsetting Levi's in case he revealed proprietary information (!). Hopefully I'll be able to get this info off LVC's designer, Miles, one day before too long...

A late response to this comment.

Am I right in assuming that Levi's have never responded to Evisu's claim that it bought some of Levi's old selvedge looms at some point (I've never been sure when they were supposed to have done this)? I know that you, Paul, have argued that it is unlikely to be true and I've surmised from that that Levi's themselves have never issued a confirmation or a denial.

If this is right then it seems that Levi's have a culture of secrecy around their product that extends from their equipment to their techniques of dyeing. I have to say I think this is hurting them. It is one thing to defend your innovations it is another to refuse to disclose information about your product of 60 years ago! Levis's have hurt themselves enormously in the last twenty years --- read James Sullivan's book Jeans: a cultural history of an American Icon for one journalist's negative assessment. It might be an idea if they spoke about their tremendous historical successes and something of how they achieved them.

[rnrswitch]

Levis never owned looms. Cone owned looms and sold denim to levis.

[Paul T]

Yes, Levi's have denied that claim. So have Cone.

I've questioned Yamane of Evus, the first man to make this claim. He withdrew it.

[Madder_Lake]

Levis never owned looms. Cone owned looms and sold denim to levis.

Thanks for that correction: Levi and Cone are perhaps too fused in my mind!

Yes, Levi's have denied that claim. So have Cone.

I've questioned Yamane of Evus, the first man to make this claim. He withdrew it.

Ahh interesting Paul that that claim has been withdrawn. It has been reproduced everywhere, and I have to say it always struck me as strange.

[Paul T]

Well, not withdrawn, so much that he was exposed as a bullshitter.

I actually have a fax from him where he claimed Evisu's denim was made on 'Levi's looms'. I faxed back saying, Levi's never owned looms, Cone had never sold any of their looms to Japan, and his denim came from Kurabo who use Toyoda looms. Then he started bullshitting saying he meant "american style looms". Right.

Evis have made great denim, good for them. but it's the people who keep repeating that claim who annoy me. Still, denim has always been about marketing. Some of it, somewhere, is true.

[mikecch]

Yamane is the original hypebeast of Japanese denim

[jhemmi]

hey sorry for the newbie questions but firstly, is LVC being discontinued for good by levi's soon? i heard this and it made me feel like i should stock up on some if they are going to stop making them completely.

also is there some website or book that breaks down all the different washes for lvc's, like shows what 55501-0004, 55501-0184 looks like etc?

is there a wash that people think is the best wash, or is it best to just get the raw ones and make the wear effect on my own through washing and wearing etc?

i've only had 2 different pairs of lvc's - 55501's and 44501's and they both recently started falling apart so i need new ones now, which sucks because i was so happy with the ones i had, plus i am not sure what wash they both were.

also i managed to just get lucky and get those 2 pairs i had before off of ebay yrs ago and now i'm worried its going to be harder to come across some nice pairs especially if lvc's are being discontinued. are there any good japanese sites to get them from? i know japanese sites never ship to the US but i was planning on just using one of those middleman sites to get them shipped to me, i just don't know what are good japanese sites that carry lvc's. of course an english site or site that ships to the US would be even better.

thanks.

[Paul T]

hey sorry for the newbie questions but firstly, is LVC being discontinued for good by levi's soon? i heard this and it made me feel like i should stock up on some if they are going to stop making them completely.

thanks.

No, LVC is not being discontinued; I just looked at some of the items for next spring - check out this thread. The future for LVC looks good, with a much wider range being introduced. Only downside: the prices have shot up.

Most people here prefer the raw - you can make them your own, they last longer and they cost less.

AS far as buying them: cultizm.com is good; also you'll see there are regular note on this thread for sales - look a few pages up and you'll see the 1947 raw, many people's favorite LVC, on sale at a couple of places in EUrope.

IN the meantime, have a look thru this thread - there's more info than you could possibly need.

OIN the meantime here is a post on how to size 1947 or 1955 raw. And here is a more general guide LVC versions of the 501.

[grooveholmes]

There was an article in the NY Times earlier this month on the rising cost of cotton, which may be the reason for some of the price increase. It may be that Levi's buyers saw the writing on the wall several months in advance. However, I doubt it accounts for all of the price hike.

[Happy Hooligan]

so I was checking out the Yoox levis page and found these

I don't think I know one guy who would wear those? Why would LVC put any time and money into making those? I could see a Huckleberry Finn impersonator buying them, but really? Those are about the worst LVC I've ever seen.

This is why the price is so high... wasting money on jeans that nobody would ever buy...

[setterman]

I don't think I know one guy who would wear those? Why would LVC put any time and money into making those? I could see a Huckleberry Finn impersonator buying them, but really? Those are about the worst LVC I've ever seen.

"Come on Eileen"

Those belong in the ugliest jeans thread.

[Vinneus]

Finally all shrunk down....

LVC 66

[Dom]

Sorry, I didn't notice this, but I see Dr Heech has answered comprehensively.

THese have lovely, very hairy fabric, very like late 60s Levi's; please do post as many photos as you can because we've not had a decent pair of these recently.(The whole front, the whole abck, and the insides). I suspect these will wear in very nicely - good pickup.

Here's some photos (sorry, it took a couple days):

Levi's Capital E - 60's 501 Repro - circa 1994.

EDIT:

Additional photos:

Found the booklet tucked inside one of the front pockets... Haven't even read it yet.

[Dom]

Here's my 1954 501's. 1954 501Z XX.

These have been worn regularly for 6 months +/-. No soak/wash and I don't plan on soaking/washing until 12 months or more. It's darker in real life and I wouldn't say there is much fading. I think the outside light exaggerated some of the details.

[Paul T]

Thanks Dom, the Capital E look great.

I visited the Valencia St factory in 1995 or so, and had a bit of an argument with the supervisor because I reckoned their repro was so inaccurate. Now I can't remember what annoyed me so much; it's the 70s, stock-control 20horse patch (with the tear-off section), the pockets are too tapered for a circa 66 pair and the watch pocket should probably be more square, but my first reaction was that these were real, late 60s jeans - the fabric has exactly that look. V nice. DO post photos of the top block from front and back if you have a moment.

Are these 38W 32L? The thighs look large, but I'm guessing you're using a fairly wide angle lens.

Oh, and thanks for posting. repped, natch.

These are deadstock 302 from 69-71. Very similar denim.

...

[blm14]

went to the new LVC store on 14th street today. They had a lot of cuts - I saw 1890,1915,33,37,47, and 60 (the whole bin of 1960s was empty though - maybe sold out?) They also had a hemming service...

[Paul T]

Whoa. Cool. Chainstitch?

[airfrogusmc]

so I was checking out the Yoox levis page and found these

I don't think I know one guy who would wear those? Why would LVC put any time and money into making those? I could see a Huckleberry Finn impersonator buying them, but really? Those are about the worst LVC I've ever seen.

This is why the price is so high... wasting money on jeans that nobody would ever buy...

I ware my 1905 209 coveralls. The 1905 209s are a bit different than those.The denim on the 209s is incredible.

Check out some of these details

[grooveholmes]

Those look great, AF. I was going to say-- I don't know how bad those overalls on yoox would look styled on someone with a shorter inseam. They look plain stupid on that model. The denim and details might not be that bad close up. Personally, I don't think I can rock the overall look, but I know some folks can.

[Happy Hooligan]

AIR... for sure you're look fine. They actually go down to your feet...

I've got no trouble with overalls....

Maybe it's the model they chose, but those capri overalls just should not be worn,

[airfrogusmc]

AIR... for sure you're look fine. They actually go down to your feet...

I've got no trouble with overalls....

Maybe it's the model they chose, but those capri overalls just should not be worn,

And then some. I have a major cuff on those babies.

[entertainment!]

Whoa. Cool. Chainstitch?

Yep, chainstitch. They have a tailor on site who I was told can even do leather alterations. He wasn't there when I visited, though.

[Joseph Hill]

I wouldn't mind them bringing the 209s around again. I wear my Roundhouses all the time, but the denim is not inspiring.

[setterman]

went to the new LVC store on 14th street today. They had a lot of cuts - I saw 1890,1915,33,37,47, and 60 (the whole bin of 1960s was empty though - maybe sold out?) They also had a hemming service...

1960s? I wonder how these would compare to the 55s and 66s? I'm assuming the guarantee would be gone from the label.

[colgems1966]

that must be a typo. as far as i know they haven't made a 1960 501xx. but if they are i'm definately interested.