ooe yofukuten & co. denim contest

[--simon--]

The right hand pocket bag has gone at the top. I've repaired with some red vintage gingham. The left bag is not too far away from going as well, but that will wait for another time.

 

 

 

11 month update photo. Yesterday a numpty from a popular London denim emporium looked at my jeans and tried to sell me on the delights of raw denim vs pre-destressed, guessing he's the new boy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sugar Mountain]

I'm guessing said denim emporium wasn't R&H, haha. Love that gingham repair.

[SLAB]

amazing pair Simon!

[Ignaurus]

Love that repair. Really great.

[jyoni]

Simon, I love it man. 

[ThinFinn]

amazing pair Simon!

qft! also i love the repair you did...great little detail!

[setterman]

Simon, please tell me you educated the newbie as to what you were wearing!  

[aho]

^Funny, reminds me a few months back I was in Washington DC and was approached by two guys that asked if I was wearing APC's. I told them it was a "small Japanese brand" upon which they said "Momotaro?". I replied "Ooe Yofukuten" and they looked puzzled. They asked how many months I'd been wearing them and # of washes because they were very light and not contrasty. I told them 6 months of wear but I wash frequently. Puzzled again they moved along...

[--simon--]

Thanks everyone, it's amazing how similar some of our pairs are looking considering the very different ways we wear and wash.

No the denim house was not R&H, Danny know his stuff and knows what he's looking at. This one sells LVC, need I say more, I just gave him "the look" and walked out.

[Maynard Friedman]

It wasn't in the Brick Lane vicinity was it Simon?

[jyoni]

^Funny, reminds me a few months back I was in Washington DC and was approached by two guys that asked if I was wearing APC's. I told them it was a "small Japanese brand" upon which they said "Momotaro?". I replied "Ooe Yofukuten" and they looked puzzled. They asked how many months I'd been wearing them and # of washes because they were very light and not contrasty. I told them 6 months of wear but I wash frequently. Puzzled again they moved along...

 

I know I told the tale about the superdry dude at Super America (a prominent convenience store).  He was wearing all superdry and wasn't interested in talking about anything -- no small talk or bullshitting at all, which I'm really big on.  He saw my cuffs and immediately asked what they were.  I told him and it was so obvious that he was just baffled.  But he said, "Oh, those are nice too."

 

That all the fucking guy said!  That's pretty much the whole conversation.

[SLAB]

I got approached last week by a sales person in a Bellerose shop (Belgian Americana brand that also sells other US/Japanese brands) asking me what brand of denim I was wearing. He initially thought it was a faded model (not sure if that's a compliment) so I explained him about Ooe. He used to work for Levi's before that so was not unfamiliar with raw denim. He seemed pretty interested in buying a pair as well.  Picked up a henley from Merz B for 50% off while I was there

[redragon]

@simon

Very nice repair job on the back pocket!

Nearly a year went by really quickly....

[Flash]

Few pics of the ooe's

[jyoni]

Nice work, Flash.  Those are fading really, really well.

 

August updates.

 

The knee with the small hole blew severely so I patched it.  The patch fabric is Tender & Co. overdye, acquired as a hem remnant from satchelbmoore.  Thanks Satch!

 

Here is a "vivisection" of the Tender overdye with the un-overdyed hem ripped open (sorry for the low light):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other details

 

Pocket stitching repair

 

 

 

Rear block.  I shored up the center seam with a stitch on both sides but it was because of fabric tension, not thread failure.

 

 

 

The other knee has blown now too.  I may do an outside patch with the other piece of Tender overdye to see how it fades.  Should have a quick idea, if used on a knee.

 

I'm sorry to hear about others' thread woes.  My WWII threads continue to impress me, although they do now need occasional attention.  It's regrettable that it has been failing for others and I can only wonder why.

[aho]

Might need to repair before wearing these any longer...The latest wash pulled out the yoke thread even more (still wet in these pics so they're darker than they should be):

 

thats indeed the thread from the yoke peaking through

more contrasty fading on the knee/lower thigh

 

and finally, sorry i've been neglecting the everyday life/food pictures as i've been spending all my time on instagram...Thai Boat Noodles from local place Sticky Rice in Chicago

Edited August 10, 2013 by aho

[Sugar Mountain]

Dat food... Where to kop?

[jyoni]

Wow aho.  What are you using to wash?  Are you still using surfactants?  Simon, you have had some thread failing also -- how are you washing those? 

 

It's odd to me.  I beat the piss out of mine every day.  My work subjects them to probably the harshest conditions possible short of spontaneous rips (although that did happen to me with this pair), burn-throughs, or permanent stains.  The shit has held on my pair.

[aho]

^to be honest I never have problems with threads...in fact, I'll usually have denim disintegrating at the crotch, cuffs, knees, pockets, etc. before threading starts to go. However with these jeans, I could've sized up one more, easily. Everytime I throw these in the wash, I have to tug at the waist to stretch them back out, and with the number of washes I do (at least once a week), I think the stress finally got to the yoke (I pull these things hard...). Once one small part busted, it was easy for the rest to unravel (in general; not the fault of these jeans or the construction). Couple that with machine washing + spin dry and that's what happened!

[jyoni]

I can see the drying placing quite a strain on the threads.  Well, not the drying as much as the stretching after drying.  I stretched these once across the waist with a reverse clamp because they were made so far under spec.  Even now the whole upper block is snug (thus the stitch job down the center).  However, my washing routine since then has been by hand, in tepid water with no machine drying.

 

A backstitch across that yoke would be your best bet and would really be an impressive repair.

[--simon--]

Jyoni, your pair rock, love that repair

 

When we specified these we had a choice of polycotton or 100% cotton thread, I seem to remember the polycotton being the default as I had to ask to have mine made with 100% cotton. Poly cotton is much tougher, the denim around the tread normally blows before the thread. 

 

Aho, if you get that fixed before you wear them again you may get away with tucking the raw seam back inside?

 

Poor quality iphone shot of the Ooe's in Bath

 

 

 

[rayw44]

I've been meaning to post these for awhile, but just haven't had the time. I got a chance to go see the Scranton Lace Factory, which is a pretty amazing place, thanks to my uncle who is helping the owner scrap some items left behind.

I couldn't get the best pics with just an iphone in some dark spaces, but I'll post what I have, This bell/clock tower is the crown jewel of the building.

The owner asked us not to go into the tower. Fuck that.

The bell is several thousand dollars worth of copper.

The climb up was pretty sketchy with three sets of these ladders.

The clock face has been abused on the inside from vandals.

I found this staircase oddly beautiful, but couldn't get a great pic of it.

[rayw44]

That's a portion of the furnace.

Part of the clock works.

The only remaining loom at the factory. It's two stories tall and is an engineering marvel. The way the lace pattern is made is amazing. There are cards punched with holes in a set pattern that are arranged on the machine, and the cards control how the loom sets the lace.

The factory was open until 2002, when they shut down in the middle of production. That's why some lace is still in the loom. They intend to preserve this and the clock tower for the local historical society.

The cards are placed over these holes I believe.

[rayw44]

You can see the cards hanging from the top of the machine here.

The factory had a working bowling alley, basketball court, infirmary, barber shop, and more that all of the employees could use. Supposedly the bowling alley is being restored.

[rayw44]

Some sort of lounge area.

The basketball court and seating area.

This machine punches the cards that control the lace pattern.

Giant four-section walk-in wooden freezer.

[rayw44]

Sorry for the pic overload!

[aho]

post wash

[Double 0 Soul]

Ray fucking brilliant! what more can i say. I love that kind of urban exploration there is a forum dedicated to it here in the UK.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/  your photo,s are on par.

I have access to a few old factories in Sheffield the UK,s industrial heartland and record as much as i can without breaking and entering.

[Ignaurus]

Couple shots from different spots around town over the past few weeks.

 

Beach

 

Inlet

 

Downtown

 

Will get a jeans update up soon enough, just not much happening unfortunately.

[redragon]

 

Just back from family vacation to Hokkaido....

 

 

Some random photographs from this crazy, beautiful big island...