Levi's Vintage Clothing

[Paul T]

The period the Dr is discussing is pretty much also the one at which Levi's decreed that LVC, rather than being a flagship line to celebrate its legacy, should turn a profit. At that point the price nearly doubled and nearly everyone knew that this was a death-knell. For me there was still a lot of love put in, especially in on the fabric side by the people at Cone, and some odd amazing stuff - for instance the 333, an obscure design with a crazy custom yarn featuring recycled cotton like the original budget series - but the die was cast from that point.

[mstax]

4 hours ago, indigoeagle said:

Does anyone know about Levis Corduroy Trucker Jackets?

When I was in Japan in the 90s, they had these slim fitting type 3 in different colours. I got a light brown and a dark brown one.
They were around US$70 then.
They somehow disappeared unfortunately.

Now I've been looking for such jackets, but Levi's doesn't seem to offer any currently. Not Levi's Japan either.

These are similar but have snap buttons. The others had standard buttons.

 

Like this

 

 

 

I have had a couple of these in different colours and still have one in light brown. I collect vintage and once and again I stumble upon one of these. Almost all of them are big E (at least the ones I had). My gut feeling is that these were made in Macau in the early years of overseas production and possibly also Hong Kong. Made for the Asian market and Europe. Nice and cool vintage looking jackets. Mostly in coloured corduroy but have had them also in a lighter denim fabric. The Slim Fit label also had a version made in USA, but I think it was specified on the neck label. So, these were vintage, made around late 60’s early 70’s. The Japanese stores probably had leftovers. Check out my Instagram @michielstax to see a few of these jackets. Nice that you bring these up!

[indigoeagle]

So I found some more information on the White Tab cord trucker jackets.

"1961 saw the introduction of Bedford Cord jacket jeans, renamed "Slim Fit" and called "California Jeans".
1962 Colors other than sand were added, and corduroy jeans were also launched.
In 1964, it began to be called "White Levi's" by customers and consumers, and it became a nickname for the product line with "White Tab"."

There was a reissue of the 60s corduroy trucker jacket for the Fall & Winter in 1999 by LEVI'S VINTAGE CLOTHING.
With the "SLIM FIT JACKETS" label and the a big E white tab.
The back of the button is a rare item with the "555" mark, which is proof of being made in Valencia factory.

So it looks like there were original ones from the 60s.
Then continuing production for Asia and Europe, possibly with an update slimmer fit.
And then these replicas of the 60s jackets released in 99 by LVC.

 

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by indigoeagle

[indigoeagle]

I find, that the sleeves look pretty wide considering that it is a slim fit jacket.

Is that typical for these?
The sleeves in the ones I had bought beginning of the nineties were quite slim.

[mstax]

18 minutes ago, indigoeagle said:

I find, that the sleeves look pretty wide considering that it is a slim fit jacket.

Is that typical for these?
The sleeves in the ones I had bought beginning of the nineties were quite slim.

Makes sense that the sleeves are wider in a 60’s version. The 557(xx) for example also has wider sleeves compared to the later 70505 iteration. I actually prefer it.

Now that I think of it: Levi’s had a sort of comeback of ‘White Levi’s’ in the 90’s with a product line called White Tab Levi’s. Part of that were also the jackets with a label that looks similar to the older 60’s versions. Here is an example: https://www.carousell.com.my/p/levi’s-denim-jacket-white-tab-vintage-213741456/ No big E, but it did have a white tab. 

Here is the commercial: 

 

[suchislife]

I have been wanting an LVC Type 2 for a while now but Levis increased the price to £340 for some reason.  I assumed they would be Made In Japan or Cone Mills for that price.  Either way, I wasn't spending £340.

There is currently a sale on and I have discount codes on my account and I managed to get one for £224.19.  Which I thought was reasonable.

The jacket came and it has a lot of "character", and I was so surprised that it is made in Turkey.  WTF, how is the original price justified???

The majority of my denim is MiJ so when people mention how poorly made some products can be when made outside of Japan, I thought people were being a bit over the top.

This is the comparison between my MiJ Type 1 LINK

The construction isn't as clean, is this normal or did I get a battered display model?

Edited November 10, 2022 by suchislife
Updated link to MiJ Type 1

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Well, such is life?

They are not thaaaat bad but if you are unhappy, send them back (if this is possible). Probably they tried to get rid off some old stock during the sale?

[suchislife]

1 hour ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Well, such is life?

They are not thaaaat bad but if you are unhappy, send them back (if this is possible). Probably they tried to get rid off some old stock during the sale?

I'm keeping it, it has a lot of charm lol.

[julian-wolf]

What are the issues you’re meaning to highlight? I don’t see anything significantly weird in any of those photos

I agree that modern LVC is overpriced and probably a poor value proposition even at a discount, but construction-wise that looks the same as what I’d expect from the MiJ or MiUSA versions 

[suchislife]

1 hour ago, julian-wolf said:

What are the issues you’re meaning to highlight? I don’t see anything significantly weird in any of those photos

I agree that modern LVC is overpriced and probably a poor value proposition even at a discount, but construction-wise that looks the same as what I’d expect from the MiJ or MiUSA versions 

Maybe construction is the wrong word to use, it just seemed noticeably different to the LVC type 1 I got and I wasn't sure if that was normal:

Loose threads, and yellow stitching along the selvedge id which at some points crosses the redline, warp threads seem missing at some points.  Now that I think about it, It reminds me of an S506 as if it was made in a rush.  I like it but it doesn't seem as clean as my type 1.

[Maynard Friedman]

I bought a Type 1 from the LVC sale a few weeks back - 30% discount plus an extra 10% and £5 off for loyalty (from signing up for the emails!). In total, it was reduced from £260 to about £159. I knew it was made in Japan too (I’m pretty sure it mentioned that in the description at the time) and the construction is very clean. 

I’d never have bought the Type 2 at the same discount rate as it has an RRP of £340 - no idea why it should be £80 more than the Type 1 - and it would have come to about £209 after discounts. Given that it’s made in Turkey (I’m not saying that’s bad, it’s just not my preference), I’d send it straight back.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Maynard Friedman

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

I think sometimes we give too much over to provenance - at least with regards to quality. With regards to labor conditions etc, it's another story.

Anyways, there are so many factors at play. This is probably bordering on blasphemy here I'm aware but the most cleanly constructed, precise and generally well made jeans I ever had were Raleighs, a long time ago. The OA's I recently got seem tied, and some mister freedom MIUSA ones actually are right up there too. This is to say nothing of Companion Denim out of Barcelona who make extremely clean and well finished garments as well - but I only have jackets from that shop. 

That said, none of the best constructed jeans I've had have ended up being my favorites (time will tell with the OA's - I haven't gotten them out yet). Almost everything has construction that's been solid and functional, which is what I need.

I'd keep the jacket if it fits well, as long as the flaws don't seem to compromise the structural integrity of the thing. Fit always goes past all of these things for me because in time the garment is going to develop flaws (charm) from wear, but if you don't like the fit, it won't develop that charm. 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I hope no one bought the 1963 model at full retail since you can get them now at 44% off...

And many sizes still available 

[Maynard Friedman]

That Type 2 @suchislife bought is now down to £212 before further loyalty discounts. He should return the old one and order a new one, it might even be made in Japan this time!

Edited November 11, 2022 by Maynard Friedman

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Saw these in the recent sale at Levi's and thought: "they don't look that bad and sound interesting ".

https://www.levi.com/DE/de_DE/bekleidung/herren/levis-vintage-clothing-1960-501-jeans/p/A03670004?camp=SHB_DR_Levis_DE_DE_GOO_Performance_Max&gclid=CjwKCAiA68ebBhB-EiwALVC-NqOuAPtYMCZWz01j32zpZJD5S54T5HBZda88hFqhFF0X98yqQR0k3RoCbakQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Then I saw the same jeans on the Levi's JP homepage and was "what the fuck"...

https://www.levi.jp/men/newarrival/1960 501z/A03670004.html

 

[Maynard Friedman]

I'm not following here Tilmann, they look awful on both sites!

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Yeah but on the German (European) site you don't notice the crease on the leg or see that "custom" hem job. You would expect a quite normal pair of jeans.

[Maynard Friedman]

If you zoom in you can see the creases but not the hem. They look like a ‘normal’ pair of jeans I’d find in one of my local charity shops 

[MJF9]

On 11/10/2022 at 7:12 PM, Maynard Friedman said:

I’d never have bought the Type 2 at the same discount rate as it has an RRP of £340 - no idea why it should be £80 more than the Type 1 

It's got an extra pocket so it costs more

[andyrcii]

corduroy jackets? bought one of those in 2005, wore it everywhere. it was a Medium, so it the sleeves were a little too long and it was a bit big in general. I sold it to a friend years later. I was 18 in 2005.. and 2005 is nearly 18 years ago.... ouch.

[andyrcii]

just had another look at those grey jeans I am wearing there, those were Calvin Klein jeans my mam found in the bargain bin at The Big W.. they were only £10! they started out really black, and I remember the tags had something saying that these jeans are "designed to fade fast, and go out looking incredible." so really, you could say those were a first pair of raw denim. for me.. but I washed them probably every week, so no "sick fadez"...apart from the train track selvedge fade. so also my first pair of selvedge jeans.

 

The blue pair I am wearing are Wranglers, those also started as dark wash. fairly good vintage fades on those, from not even trying to go for a "vintage" fade. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by andyrcii

[Dry]

In the 1969 version of The Italian Job the coach driver, Harry Baird is wearing a Type 2 jacket with 501s (or 502-0117s, the zippered version which were popular in England at the time). He is in this combo waiting by the coach and then getting in as the Minis emerge from the sewer. The only pics I can find are of the jacket, clearly washed out a bit.   http://myselfpreservationsociety.blogspot.com/2012/03/harry-baird-big-william.html?m=1

[Dry]

This is from a 1973 Millett's catalogue.

[Facini]

Merry Christmas y’all. A little evo update on these excellent San Antonio ‘55s. Coming up on a year and half’s worth of wear, washed plenty of times. Really gotten into that vintage fade territory now.

[Dry]

On 12/23/2022 at 2:23 PM, Facini said:

Merry Christmas y’all. A little evo update on these excellent San Antonio ‘55s. Coming up on a year and half’s worth of wear, washed plenty of times. Really gotten into that vintage fade territory now.

How can you tell they are from San Antonio? What is the button number?

[Maynard Friedman]

^ 554

[Dry]

28 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

^ 554

Thank you.

[cool_hand]

Further discounting on LVC at levi.com.

Now I wait to see if it's made in Japan or Turkey!

M I J

Edited January 14, 2023 by cool_hand
update

[Maynard Friedman]

@cool_hand - What did you buy?

[bartlebyyphonics]

on that note; got first sweatshirts in many years recently with our weaponised fuel bill situation; one was lvc in sale, Portugal made; nicely boxy, nice cuffs and waist ribbing...