Levi's Vintage Clothing

[Stratos]

I guess 'lost in translation' could resolve your cocerns ;-)

[josh mullen]

wish i weren't broke, i'd definitely take advantage of cultizm's LVC sale. i saw that on wednesday they had the '55s for $215 -- so a $50 discount. i have two '55s already, but i'm always a sucker for a deal.

[dr.house]

Couldn't resist the cultizm sale too...I've ordered the 20s Tee Milk White (Longsleeve). Any sizing suggestions? I hope I'm fine with M (I always wear M in other tops).

Uh, and I've also ordered the simple 30s Bay Meadow Tee (also MilkWhite) from threebyone.

I hope the longsleeve comes in the SunSet box.

[aho]

If I didn't have to still buy presents for Christmas I would've jumped on the sale...damn, I need a pair of '55's in my life!

[Joseph Hill]

It would have been hard to resist the 1890s if they weren't all fat guy sizes. It's probably a good thing, as I probably still would have had to abstain. Two cars needed snow tires this year.

[lance]

Well, apparently people are balking at their new prices and I, for one, am glad; reality check for Levi's.

[underdog77]

I just came across some LVC 1947s that had Barney's tags on them. They said deadstock. I can't tell what year they're from on the tag. They def say 1947 made in USA. They have all the regular replica features with the exception of the button fly. There are only 4 total buttons. All my LVC jeans have 5 buttons. The top button has 'R' on the back. And the waist size is 29. Maybe the size proportion is the reason? Has anybody ever heard of a 4 button fly on a LVC 501?

[aho]

^Speaking of Barney's, they have the '67 505's on sale for $139 when I went in today...

[Stratos]

It would have been hard to resist the 1890s if they weren't all fat guy sizes.

Same here, I would 've wanted a pair of 1901's but the sizes are just ridiculous.

[hferris]

Anyone ever find out more info on the 702's? The denim supplier specifically.... Just scored a cheap pair on the Bay, and was wondering if they were Cone or not...

[dr.house]

I've ordered the 20s Tee Milk White (Longsleeve). Any sizing suggestions? I hope I'm fine with M (I always wear M in other tops).

hah, quoting myself :-)

Any help with sizing possible? Thanks!

[roy6]

hah, quoting myself :-)

Any help with sizing possible? Thanks!

I just looked at a bunch of LVC ts, including that one- they all seemed to be pretty much true to size. For a change.

[dr.house]

^Allright, thanks, guess I've placed the right order :-)

[Madder_Lake]

The Brando customisation of his levi's in The Wild One made me look for more historical instances of customisation. I came upon the following comment posted on the web.

A reader tells us about cusomizing jeans. "An interesting phenomenon I remember as a kid growing up in the 50s in California was how many of the high school boys in my California town, a representative middle class, middle American town, customized their Levis once they got them home from the store. They removed the 'tan' label from the waistband, removed (carefully) all the belt loops and also removed completely,(carefully) all the V (accurate, I believe it's called in the Levis literature) stitching on the back pockets and then washed them the first time. They also rolled up the cuffs in very tight fashion. This all was considered cool looking. All the more so if you, as many but not all boys with these customized Levis did, wore them low on the hips. This "customizing" was done by boys in the San Francisco area, the Los Angeles area (my cousin living there being one of them), and the New York area....and probably in other areas too but I can only testify for a fact that it was done in the three above mentioned areas. The 'customizing' went out of style somewhere in the latter half of the 60s."

There is corroboration of this trend from the costumer for the film American Graffiti, who based the styles of the film on her memories of growing up in the 50's in California. Aggie Guerard Rogers also noted that this low-rise, wearing-on-the-hips style was accomplished by folding over the waist band once the beltloops had been razored off. (Belts she says were never worn.) She also said that after the first wash to shrink the jeans they were never washed again.

So low-rise, slim/skinny-fitting customised Levi's were invented in the 50's.

I'm sure LVC know this history far better than we here, so it is even more of a pity that they don't contribute occasionally.

cheers

[rnrswitch]

My mom and father never mentioned the customization, but they did mention that they would try to never wash their jeans. They wanted them to stay as dark as possible for as long as possible.

[Madder_Lake]

My mom and father never mentioned the customization, but they did mention that they would try to never wash their jeans. They wanted them to stay as dark as possible for as long as possible.

yes it's interesting isn't it. My impression from looking at some of those old kodachrome pictures that fardin posted on another thread is that dark levi's could be worn as Sunday-best at a pinch. Whereas if they got very faded and worn then you were too much in danger of looking like a farm hand, and so no longer looked "respectable".

[Rivet Head]

I love these stories from the 50's about we did this or we never did that. There are so many regional variations and trends in styles created in a vacuum back than that just couldn't exist in our world of saturated information today. Television was new, there was no internet or cell phones....kids might not have known what their peers were doing in a few towns away. My friends mother accused of looking like a hillbilly with big cuffs on his jeans...oddly he was able to dig up a photo of her wearing cuffed Levi's and a leather jacket when she was a girl!

[Happy Hooligan]

My mom said that "dungarees" (as the word blue jeans wasn't invented yet) were never allowed in school. But outside of school she wore them all the time.

She even mentions a time when she and her friend both got new pairs and instantly put them in the bathtub and poured bleach on them to make them white as white jeans didn't exist either... And then went to a party. The bleach started to eat away at the cotton thread and both their jeans started to come apart... She was horrified at the time, but can laugh about it today....

[Madder_Lake]

My mom said that "dungarees" (as the word blue jeans wasn't invented yet) were never allowed in school. But outside of school she wore them all the time.

She even mentions a time when she and her friend both got new pairs and instantly put them in the bathtub and poured bleach on them to make them white as white jeans didn't exist either... And then went to a party. The bleach started to eat away at the cotton thread and both their jeans started to come apart... She was horrified at the time, but can laugh about it today....

LOL That's the way to be a hit at any party, then as now: have your clothes fall off! Wonderful story!

[akka225]

if i'm looking to buy some 55s for someone who wears 32 in APC NS, what size do i get?

also noticed the cultizm sale and might have to get some 55s for myself, too. i have 30 in wh 800, 32 momo 0701... what do i get? 30 or 32?

[josh mullen]

if i'm looking to buy some 55s for someone who wears 32 in APC NS, what size do i get?

that depends on how snug you want those '55s to fit. i'm 6'2" 185lbs and i have '55s in a 34 & 36. i'm guessing you're after a size 33 or 34. they have a size 33, correct? it's late and i'm much too tired to check cultizm's site.

[dr.house]

I've never seen this jacket before, suggestions, gentlemen?

http://cgi.ebay.de/LVC-LEVIS-Herren-Blazer-grun-Lot-6144-Gr-L-NEU-BNWT-/270682030137?pt=Kleidung_Accessoires_Herrenbekleidung_Herrenjacken_M%C3%A4ntel&hash=item3f05e80039

[lance]

Levi's take on a Safari/Norfolk jacket? Depending on the cloth, could be interesting. Not really workwear but country inspired.

[Guy Incognito]

This to be my first post here so hello equally to all!

These things have likely changed by time and place but my mom said that when she was young in the sixties they specially did fade their jeans with water, soap and brushes to get the worn look on them as all jeans were sold at raw state. She also has some small scars on her hips because the jeans were so tight that she had to wet them and lay on the floor to even get em on. At that time the only acceptable brand was Levi's. I think that is pretty fascinating at this time when you can get really tight jeans in all possible washes and from a huge variety of different brands.

And now on to subject. These are my first jeans made of japanese denim. LVC 1967 505. As were I live it is pretty hard to get quality jeans. We have like apc, levi's, nudie, naked and famous, indigofera, evisu and some others over here, but if you want some more exclusive brands you will have to get em online.

These are 30/34. Sized down one size. Soaked lukewarm like for 20 minutes to get the possible extra length off.

Pre-soak pics:

[Sympathy-For-The-Denim]

those 505s are very long, i got my self a pair and i´m a bit confused why a preshrunk jeans should shrink... what should measure 32" in length actually is 35" i don´t think that my would shrink 3"...

how much did yours?

especially 505s should be worn short rather than too long or even cuffed due to 60s style... but that only my opinion

[Guy Incognito]

Those are still bit damp and don't know exactly how much those have shortened. seems about 2 cm which is 0.8 inches, but might be less. It says on the jeans that shrinkage would be about 10% which seems pretty much. I like them (double)cuffed so length is really no problem and for my leg length 32" is too short to cuff like that.

[josh mullen]

those look tight as hell, friend.

[Happy Hooligan]

after a real wash or two, you'll not be able to wear those, even at your knees...

[Guy Incognito]

If you mean with tight the waist-part, so yes, but those have already stretched to a comfortable level. But to someone who lives in scandinavia those are actually pretty baggy with the ongoing cheap monday tight -jeans trend and those are also my baggiest jeans for a looong time.

And what I understood is that sanforized jeans should not shrink when washed, right?

[I.T.]

Thinking of retiring my LVC 47's, because I'm sick of fixing them after every wear. They had a good life, bought 6/2008, with maybe a four or five month break because of my lazyness to fix them.

Pic overload, sorry.