Levi's Vintage Clothing

[Madder_Lake]

These guys have some deadstock but unfortunately only 34" before shrinkage.

http://www.aeroleath...tail.php?id=139

I'd wear them and sit in a bathtub for an hour or two.

Thanks so much! According to paul's guide they may be an inch over the tag size — if so they will be fine.

[Maynard Friedman]

Thanks so much! According to paul's guide they may be an inch over the tag size — if so they will be fine.

Same size here for less:

http://www.b-74.de/men/brands/levi-s-vintage-cloth/levis-vintage-clothing-1937.html

If you are a 34 measured waist, buy a 34. They are slightly oversized (may depend on year of production but my 2007s are approx 1.5" bigger than tag size - get the retailer to measure them) and will stretch out, especially if you don't wear a belt. I'm a 32-33 and have 2 pairs in size 32.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need more info.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Maynard Friedman

[min2max]

24 NOV. 2011

MAURIZIO DONADI TO LEAVE LEVI STRAUSS & CO.

Simultaneously to the confirmation by Levi Strauss & Co. that its premium jeanswear line Levi’s XX will be integrated into the regular jeanswear collection, a spokesperson of the company confirmed that Maurizio Donadi, Senior Vice President Levi’s XX, will leave the company. Maurizio Donadi himself was not available for a comment, but the spokesperson added: “Maurizio Donadi has graciously agreed to remain on board until March 2012 to oversee the transition."

Despite this, sources in the market confirmed that Donadi has also been covering a position being responsible for the global Levi's brand presentation for about a year. For the months to come, before he is leaving the company, he will also be busy at renovating the Levi Strauss booth at Bread & Butter Berlin in January 2012, and participating in the design of a new Red Tab store in Amsterdam, Kalverstraat, to open beginning of December, and a new Levi's store to open in Paris Champs Elysees in spring of 2012.

Moreover, the integration of the premium jeanswear line Levi’s XX into the regular jeanswear collection of the brand was confirmed by Levi Strauss & Co.: “We had incubated the premium denim almost like a start-up. Now that Levi’s® XX has matured and proven its viability, we are integrating the premium denim into the Levi’s brand and we are committed to offer premium denim for consumers with our Levi’s® XX line.†According to the spokesperson, Levi's XX will also be presented at Bread & Butter in January 2012, without mentioning on how exactly the process of integration will happen.

http://www.sportswea...S--CO_4718.html

[grooveholmes]

Whoa.

[Maynard Friedman]

That needs digestion and also a fuller explanation. Sounds like big news, but in practical terms to the consumer could simply mean that LVC and made & crafted become more widely available at stores that sell regular Levi's.

Looks like Levi's is moving out of the poetry business to pay its bills...

Edit: thanks min2max, I forgot the centralisation/management cost-saving element.

This could also potentially pave the way for lvc manufacturing operations to be integrated with the mainstream manufacturing - LVC jeans made next to standard red tabs in 3rd world sweatshops. It'd definitely save more money.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Maynard Friedman

[min2max]

from what i hear the whole amsterdam operation is shutting down and moving back to HQ in SF (with new management obviously)... hopefully the transition will be smooth but there are so many ways that this might fuck things up...

[Maynard Friedman]

All the Amsterdam-based staff will be retrained to work as shop assistants in the new red tab store...

[Paul T]

Sad news for some of our friends, I think. Good luck to all of them in sorting something out.

Several Levi's store staff left for RRL a few weeks ago. I know the RRL money was a lot better but perhaps they knew the writing was on the wall. Amsterdam was a costly location. But more change is hardly what LVC needs right now.

[kayodic]

is that also a reason why amsterdam based hq had lvc sample sale last week? i didnt manage to go there but my friend benzak scored 3 shirts and 2 jeans (1967 505 and 1947). according to him, the sample sale was not that crowded, maybe not so many people knew about it. nevertheless i'm happy that he got me a size 28/34 1947. i just hope that i didnt screw up sizing (i did take a note during paul t's excellent guide class). will post some fit pics as soon as i get the jeans.

[devilish]

Oh boy, I don't really see too much good coming out of this. It seems they just want to cash in on the image of xx and if it's going to be sold to 'the masses' then the quality is going to suffer. LVC has already been slipping over the past couple years, with more 'made in turkey' items. This is sad news all round. I hope they at least keep the raw jeans production here but I think that might end up being all that's made domestically soon.

[grooveholmes]

Sadly, as Paul, m2m, and mf have pointed out (and several of us already fear)-- the people that made a difference, the really specialized folk, are either jumping ship or being re-integrated into the new order. assimilation is never fun. i hope this is not strictly a cost-cutting strategy, but it's hard to see otherwise. might be a good time to buy up some usa-made lvc items.

[setterman]

Oh boy, I don't really see too much good coming out of this. It seems they just want to cash in on the image of xx and if it's going to be sold to 'the masses' then the quality is going to suffer. LVC has already been slipping over the past couple years, with more 'made in turkey' items. This is sad news all round. I hope they at least keep the raw jeans production here but I think that might end up being all that's made domestically soon.

Not sure why this is being viewed with doom and gloom. XX is Levi's premium line. Levi's is based in the US. A large part of the LVC line is made in the US. I dunno.... makes sense to have XX headquartered on the US than on the other side of the planet. Also makes sense that if you'e going to make an investment in having a premium line, you may as well actually let people know it exists and sell some clothes. Hell, I'm into LVC and I wasn't aware of 80% of their current line until they finally got around to putting a website up. I think the raw denim part of LVC at least is pretty well established, and I don't see these changes effecting it. The rest of the line? I couldn't say. Made & Crafted? Honestly, I could care less about that line (wildly over priced, uninteresting clothing).

[Dr_Heech]

Beautiful, erk!

^^Agreed, you've really done that denim justice!

[Paul T]

Not sure why this is being viewed with doom and gloom.... Made & Crafted? Honestly, I could care less about that line (wildly over priced, uninteresting clothing).

Have you seen much of it in the flesh? Because some of the items I've seen were pretty stunning.

At Amsterdam they were trying to build a more left-field, alternative aesthetic. I'll be sad to lose that potential and I imagine that, absorbed into the general range, M&C will lose what was unique about it, especially the loving attention to detail.

In the main, the stuff I've seen coming out of San Fran has been mainstream, me-too and... corporate. Of course, the restructure might be intended to address this, and LS&Co could probabyl to with rationalisation - far too many overlapping lines - but if M&C is another new initiative that gets killed off before it's had a chance to develop, that would be a bad move.

Oh, and I agree with the others, those are stunning, Erk! Shows how amazing that Cone fabric is.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Paul T

[grooveholmes]

Agree. I was skeptical about the M&c line at first, but the shirts and khakis are pretty well-made with very nice fabrics and details. For the price, it's easier for me to pass, as I'd prefer to buy LVC items, only b/c of my personal taste. But I almost bought a pair of the tapered khakis this season; just didn't think I needed another pair of khakis (even though I always seem to end up with more jeans than I need).

[min2max]

Not sure why this is being viewed with doom and gloom. XX is Levi's premium line. Levi's is based in the US. A large part of the LVC line is made in the US. I dunno.... makes sense to have XX headquartered on the US than on the other side of the planet. Also makes sense that if you'e going to make an investment in having a premium line, you may as well actually let people know it exists and sell some clothes. Hell, I'm into LVC and I wasn't aware of 80% of their current line until they finally got around to putting a website up. I think the raw denim part of LVC at least is pretty well established, and I don't see these changes effecting it.

Fyi, here is what Maurizio had to say a couple months ago about his vision for LVC:

Now that the company is changing, we are developing very interesting ideas. We are no longer divided by regions: Asia, Europe, the Americas. Today Levi’s® is one global company with the creative center rooted in San Francisco. For Levi’s® XX it’s a little different as we operate as an independent global division that is based in Amsterdam. It’s interesting because five or even ten years ago, Levi’s® was not ready to commit to something like this. It’s a big moment in the history of the brand.

[…]

Global means a lot of local together. I think “big†is nothing more than a lot of “small†together. I believe the mission we have for the Levi’s® XX XX division is to be under-distributed everywhere in the world. All as long as we can pay the rent, hire more people and create interesting products. We need to be bigger. How big? I don’t know. The objective of a premium brand is to be a little difficult to find, a little special in the world, although special doesn’t mean much anymore. I believe that less is more; a lot of less could be big. We don’t have to utilize the traditional channels, advertising, marketing or big flagship stores. At Levi’s® XX, we can’t afford it.

I'm personally saddened by Levi's change of heart. They've really pulled a 180 and i'm sure that's why maurizio left: I know for a fact that LVC is about to be carried here in France exclusively at the new mega flagship Levi's store on Champs-Elysee, alongside Zara, Gap and H&M . Yea, it's gonna be much easier to find than the tiny shops in paris that carry it today, but that also means fighting my way through the hordes of silly tourists that plague that zone & dealing with unhelpful staff, standing in line etc.. not to mention having douchebags now wearing LVC.. call me a snob but I agree with Maurizio that a premium brand should be a little special, and should have it's own space wether it's in their design offices or the shop itself. Merging the premium brand into the main one seems like a downgrade any way you look at it.

I'm also much less optimistic on quality and even design development. Up until now LVC wasn't very profitable for Levi's, it was kind of a pet project that kept the heritage image and also helped the brand remain in the upmarket segment. Maurizio and the Amsterdam bureau had full autonomy, that probably won't be the case now, with Levi's HQ closely supervising things. Also on a side note, if you look at RRL, one of the main reasons they are so profitable is because 90% of their clothing is made in china, iIsincerely hope LVC isn't going that route ( i've already noticed at least 2 items this season MIC )

[setterman]

Fyi, here is what Maurizio had to say a couple months ago about his vision for LVC:

Now that the company is changing, we are developing very interesting ideas. We are no longer divided by regions: Asia, Europe, the Americas. Today Levi’s® is one global company with the creative center rooted in San Francisco. For Levi’s® XX it’s a little different as we operate as an independent global division that is based in Amsterdam. It’s interesting because five or even ten years ago, Levi’s® was not ready to commit to something like this. It’s a big moment in the history of the brand.

[…]

Global means a lot of local together. I think “big†is nothing more than a lot of “small†together. I believe the mission we have for the Levi’s® XX XX division is to be under-distributed everywhere in the world. All as long as we can pay the rent, hire more people and create interesting products. We need to be bigger. How big? I don’t know. The objective of a premium brand is to be a little difficult to find, a little special in the world, although special doesn’t mean much anymore. I believe that less is more; a lot of less could be big. We don’t have to utilize the traditional channels, advertising, marketing or big flagship stores. At Levi’s® XX, we can’t afford it.

I'm personally saddened by Levi's change of heart. They've really pulled a 180 and i'm sure that's why maurizio left: I know for a fact that LVC is about to be carried here in France exclusively at the new mega flagship Levi's store on Champs-Elysee, alongside Zara, Gap and H&M . Yea, it's gonna be much easier to find than the tiny shops in paris that carry it today, but that also means fighting my way through the hordes of silly tourists that plague that zone & dealing with unhelpful staff, standing in line etc.. not to mention having douchebags now wearing LVC.. call me a snob but I agree with Maurizio that a premium brand should be a little special, and should have it's own space wether it's in their design offices or the shop itself. Merging the premium brand into the main one seems like a downgrade any way you look at it.

I'm also much less optimistic on quality and even design development. Up until now LVC wasn't very profitable for Levi's, it was kind of a pet project that kept the heritage image and also helped the brand remain in the upmarket segment. Maurizio and the Amsterdam bureau had full autonomy, that probably won't be the case now, with Levi's HQ closely supervising things. Also on a side note, if you look at RRL, one of the main reasons they are so profitable is because 90% of their clothing is made in china, iIsincerely hope LVC isn't going that route ( i've already noticed at least 2 items this season MIC )

I will always disagree with his small and being hard to find approach. The only reason they can get away with that is because of the Levis name and LVC already having a loyal following. Twenty other starts ups try that and they'd tank.

All we can do is speculate at this point. I'm not overly concerned about LVC. They've made it this far, and I think Levis sees their worth. I think they also see the value of selling an american made product, and actually getting it into american consumer's hands. I think they got their toes wet recently with some those american made levis selling for $100 on the Levis website within the past year. that may have gone well, and they're looking to expand lvc in the USA. who knows? I do think the more garments they make, and the more hands they get them into, the better it is for the line (even if a few douche bags trade in their jeans from buckle for a pair LVC)

[erk]

this photo is off topic, but I felt it belonged in here anyways. ^^

about the current LVC news: I'm going to try to stay positive. That was the way I felt when I first read the article, but I didn't think about the folks in europe losing their jobs; that is sad indeed.

this is, after all, how LVC began right? I wouldn't have known about LVC if it wasn't on levi.com back in 2006.

could this be partly caused by everyone's reluctance to pay the new prices?

[Maynard Friedman]

Small and hard to find is good unless the ladies are using it in reference to the contents of your underpants!

[Madder_Lake]

Same size here for less: http://www.b-74.de/men/brands/levi-s-vintage-cloth/levis-vintage-clothing-1937.html If you are a 34 measured waist, buy a 34. They are slightly oversized (may depend on year of production but my 2007s are approx 1.5" bigger than tag size - get the retailer to measure them) and will stretch out, especially if you don't wear a belt. I'm a 32-33 and have 2 pairs in size 32. Hope that helps, let me know if you need more info.

Thanks so much maynard. Someone beat me too that one and they are no longer in stock. Even Aero no longer have the 34" 34".

[shoreman]

Small and hard to find is good unless the ladies are using it in reference to the contents of your underpants!

Shit.

[Maynard Friedman]

Thanks so much maynard. Someone beat me too that one and they are no longer in stock. Even Aero no longer have the 34" 34".

Sorry to hear that madder, if I find any more I'll pm you.

[Madder_Lake]

My general view is that 90% of all change is change for the worse. But I hope that the lvc continues in its purist form and that those people who lost their jobs get even better ones.

But it was a bad omen that the 37 LVC's were discontinued. Maybe this move will reverse that poor decision.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Madder_Lake

[Maynard Friedman]

Madder, check your pm.

[Lex2]

This is Levis moving with the times, but in the end it's all about the bottom line, but the next year or so will tell if this was short sighted or the right decision. To have a separate division to develop and market their "premium" line probably doesn't make sense now that they've built the foundation for -- if you ignore the history and pedigree of the brand for a minute -- a line of jeans that competes with other selvage offerings in the mostly indie market. I think this move will bring more market penetration, if what they are saying is true, i.e. market premium products in their more ubiquitous LVC stores. (Which I've found in small cities as remote as southwest Borneo).

[grooveholmes]

I like the speculation and rumors-- it's entertaining b/c bitching about sh*t is what forums are for. I think I just care more for the people who put their heart and soul into making Levis XX something worthy of their efforts. As a consumer, I care that they keep the quality consistent with their vision. I'm just not sure why they decided to make the move to absorb the LXX wing so abruptly. It's not as though they couldn't have started out selling LVC in their regular stores beforehand to see if it took off. Setterman brought up a good point about the $100 selvedge line as a possible indicator of increased interest by consumers. But who knows what happens behind closed doors and for how long (months/years) these ideas have been debated.

[telluride11]

can anyone with raw 1967 505s let me know if the leg width (thigh) gets narrower after washing? and if they stretch after wear? i have a raw pair whose fit is on point now but can't afford it any narrower in the thigh. i plan to taper them slightly and don't like how it looks if it's too slim up top (they fit relax up top, strange i know). i have some other LVCs and experience is, as always, inconsistent. these 505s are recent.

thanks

[rnrswitch]

The 505s are sanforized. Little shrinkage.

[jewellben]

If LVC become more acceessable then this is great news, as their website shows some great products which are hard to track down - however as long as its not blitzed on the market (I think of how nishe Diesel was 10+ years ago) it could be a good move. Its a shame about the Amsterdam staff and I just hope their artistic inspirations for the brand don't leave LVC in a hole.

[ThomasK]

As long as I am able to buy a raw 55 or 47 US made ten years from now, I am fine. Seriously.