WW2 repro / detailed jeans

[Double 0 Soul]

Nowt much more to add, good reading lads i thought i had tuned into that old DB thread for a min.

10 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

You’re right Neal, the hem was too wide for my taste - about 9.3” on a raw pair with about a 38” inseam. If you chopped that down to 34” pre-wash it’d be around 9.5”. I sold them to EaseDownTheRoad from Denimbro (wonder how he’s doing?) - I took them into Rivet&Hide to have them hemmed for him first (he paid of course) ‘cos I’m such a good egg!

Would you consider those WW2s if made in period-correct machines?

I’ve been looking at my Go West every day and although the hem’s a bit wide for my current taste, I can’t wait to get stuck into them, they really are lovely and just seem so perfect. They look like they were made yesterday rather than circa ‘94. With the arcs and tab, they remind me a bit of your SC47s

I liked Ed a lot, he was one of my favourite posters, present company excepted of course, hopefully he might make the leap over here, he used to tune into the TCB 20's thread.

If i was in an old time 'denim buying mode' i would snap them up, period correct machines or not but i'm in a funnel like @volvo240thebest mentions where very few things peak my interest nowadays, CSF still floats my boat but the price point puts me off in the current economic climate and JP boom era, comparring them, i get all the quirks and accuracy from CSF but i still don't get the arcs ( i had forgot how much i have missed perfect Levi-esque arcs until i saw my arse in those RRR's) 90's era JP denim gives me a certain level of repro accuracy, arcs and tab and can be picked up for peanuts, plus i enjoy the hunt and the research.

[Duke Mantee]

29 minutes ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

I tried to bring up the denim itself and the looms it is created on.

That one got shut down pretty quickly. But I still think, if we are so obsessed with the correct sewing machines and production techniques, why are we so uninterested in how the denim was made?

Totally agree, if you want authenticity then every factor needs to incorporated - from the staple fibre to the finished article; labels, packaging, transport and all

What actually happens with repro brands is that they all choose the period specifics they want to include based on their own skills and/or their manufacturing abilities and availability of material (fabric, hardware etc.) driven by their own business ethos. I suspect the smaller businesses might put more effort (passion?) into their product and as you scale up then turnover and profit will dominate.

What I enjoy reading here is the gusto of the owners of these products - it can almost appear like a defence of the purchase especially when one brand is compared to another, but you can see it’s the same level of passion the manufacturer had.

Anyway, I can’t but admire a small business who can convince you to buy badly sewn items for a premium price and then stand by and watch their customer promote it ... 

 

[Double 0 Soul]

Oddly, those badly sewn items hold together, i can take a pair of jeans from cradle to grave in less than 2yrs and my 100% cotton construction wonky CSF held together with the best of em.

[Dr_Heech]

^^  

Sad thing is, if l saved up all the money l'd spent on repros and originals in the last 35 years, l could have just walked in to Marvins and picked up the real deal by now!

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Dr_Heech
Spelling

[Duke Mantee]

32 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Oddly, those badly sewn items hold together, i can take a pair of jeans from cradle to grave in less than 2yrs and my 100% cotton construction wonky CSF held together with the best of em.

You can’t compare your CSF to your McCoys 

But 2yrs is nothing compared to the 80yrs of the original badly made efforts that are still kicking around ...

[Double 0 Soul]

I said 'the best of em' not the worst of em..those McCoy's started falling to pieces after 6 months

Yeah..folks in the olden days had it too easy..

[edmond]

bro new one dont fall apart no more

[Double 0 Soul]

Get me a free sample pair Ed and i'll let you know if that's true

[Broark]

I admittedly fell out of interest with CSF once his jeans became more or less unobtainable.
Also just wearing jeans from nearly any other brand reminds me how much I don't like the fit of my CSF.
I struggled to wear them for nearly a year because I was determined to make them work, but they just don't jive with me.
Tight hips so the fly looks like it's about to pop open, but somehow the waist is baggy so they feel tight and loose at the same time, completely unusable front pockets.
I appreciate the attention to detail to his craft as it is second to none, but personally I prefer a balance of wearability / accessibility / accurate detailing.
I prefer to buy a pair of jeans that might not be perfectly cut/sewn to the era but I feel comfortable wearing them, they're functional and don't have to wait a year plus to get them.

[volvo240thebest]

22 minutes ago, Broark said:

I admittedly fell out of interest with CSF once his jeans became more or less unobtainable.
Also just wearing jeans from nearly any other brand reminds me how much I don't like the fit of my CSF.
I struggled to wear them for nearly a year because I was determined to make them work, but they just don't jive with me.
Tight hips so the fly looks like it's about to pop open, but somehow the waist is baggy so they feel tight and loose at the same time, completely unusable front pockets.
I appreciate the attention to detail to his craft as it is second to none, but personally I prefer a balance of wearability / accessibility / accurate detailing.
I prefer to buy a pair of jeans that might not be perfectly cut/sewn to the era but I feel comfortable wearing them, they're functional and don't have to wait a year plus to get them. 

WH ranch mate is the answer

[Broark]

1 minute ago, volvo240thebest said:

WH ranch mate is the answer

Don't get me started on that tool. 

[Maynard Friedman]

7 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

i get all the quirks and accuracy from CSF but i still don't get the arcs ( i had forgot how much i have missed perfect Levi-esque arcs until i saw my arse in those RRR's)

So true about the tab and arcs, I’ve really enjoyed wearing my LVC 55s since May and a big part is due to that. I have enough pairs of LVC but wish I had a wider variety of pairs with both these features - my only others are the Go West and Full Count.

[Duke Mantee]

7 hours ago, Dr_Heech said:

^^  

Sad thing is, if l saved up all the money l'd spent on repros and originals in the last 35 years, l could have just walked in to Marvins and picked up the real deal by now!

 

Would you rather have one pair from Marvins or all the pairs you owned?

[Dr_Heech]

All the pairs obviously.

For me, it's  all about the journey.

[Duke Mantee]

5 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

All the pairs obviously.

For me, it's  all about the journey.

Exactly 

[volvo240thebest]

I like the philosophical turn this thread has taken. Old English (even you @Duke Mantee ) geezers mumbling about how to achieve that unreachable imperfected perfection.

suggested depressing but haunting soundtrack

keep going lads

 

[Graytrain]

10 hours ago, Broark said:

I admittedly fell out of interest with CSF once his jeans became more or less unobtainable.
Also just wearing jeans from nearly any other brand reminds me how much I don't like the fit of my CSF.
I struggled to wear them for nearly a year because I was determined to make them work, but they just don't jive with me.
Tight hips so the fly looks like it's about to pop open, but somehow the waist is baggy so they feel tight and loose at the same time, completely unusable front pockets.
I appreciate the attention to detail to his craft as it is second to none, but personally I prefer a balance of wearability / accessibility / accurate detailing.
I prefer to buy a pair of jeans that might not be perfectly cut/sewn to the era but I feel comfortable wearing them, they're functional and don't have to wait a year plus to get them.

This hits the nail on the head for me. Over the past several years I have been on the journey of getting deeper and deeper into repros, looking for the next pair that would top the rest (I'm a one pair at a time, every 2-3 years kind of guy). That had me progress through every brand and reaching the logical conclusion that CSF was the next. But every time I switch from my current WWII repros (WH DD1003-SXX 20th anni) into my work around the house jeans (FC1101XX) I am reminded how much fit has to do with my adoration of a pair of jeans. When I have the warehouse repros off, I love to pour over the details of the jeans, the texture of the denim, the stitching, the way the pockets are different shapes, but when I put them on, the rise is too high, causing them to slide below my muffin top creating a slouchy fit that leaves me "meh".

But those FC. When I put them on, they are perfectly loose all around, with a four button rise that creates a comfortable but styled look that makes me feel good when wearing them. But in the land of details, they are more mass produced feeling. Soulless. 

 

So while details drive me to pour over jeans when they are off, they can be easily shadowed by a less than desirable fit. 

 

For me now, the perfect jean has the soul of a WWII repro with a fit that sings to me. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Graytrain

[Double 0 Soul]

Y'know when you see those before and after crackhead photo's on the internet...

Dr_Heech wrote:I would love to join in but no, definately watching closely from the sidelines

 

On 6/20/2020 at 6:38 AM, Dr_Heech said:

If l didn't already have a CSF WW2 tux l may have been tempted by the TCB WW2 tux, especially at that price point (almost half what CSF tux costs). But when looked at in detail, CSF wins by a nose imo (..guess CSF is MY flavour)

When l watched the video of the items Ryo was going to reproduce, l was quite excited. But it's the little details that count right?

For example: When he was explaining about the pocket corners having a run off stitch on the original, and then went on to show the tcb repro with this detail.

Now cool detail, but CSF go further.

On the original the stitching goes back and forth over the pocket corner (where the hidden rivet is) before the run off, which is something that happens alot on original Levis 501 from the 40's and 50's and they nailed it totally imo.

Just to add to this...

l recently purchased the WW2 pair of Conners that b_F had specially made (from the 501XX book) with the crotch rivet and denim pockets. It doesn't get any better than that for me. So now l have a WW2 s406xxx and 2 pairs of WW2 s409xxx, one from 1941 and one pair from 1944  

 

[Dr_Heech]

Is that a quote from Denimbro? Hey l'm not chasing the dragon.

I could quote you dozens more times over the decades when l've said no when l mean yes  

[Double 0 Soul]

Yeah, i read through the thread yesterday and smiled to myself regarding yet another denim addiction taking hold of us.

[Duke Mantee]

@volvo240thebest I’ll allow that ‘English’ reference just this once 

[Dr_Heech]

15 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Yeah, i read through the thread yesterday and smiled to myself regarding yet another denim addiction taking hold of us.

Twice l was going to leave Denimbro for good, mostly because l'm into original vintage denim and most people come to forums to discuss and buy new denim. So l was getting bored and frustrated. 

First time l was saved by the Bootleggers 47 tour (2014?) thanks to Duke, and the second time it was because of CSF (2016?) so thanks to you and Flash. (Also l may add this is when l joined Instagram and saw for the first time, new/unseen Japanese collectors denim pieces. Combine that with the release of the 501XX book and 'voila!' .... my vintage addiction was reignited.

 

[volvo240thebest]

47 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

@volvo240thebest I’ll allow that ‘English’ reference just this once 

Been to Scotland many many times and one of my best mates is from Ullapool in the Highlands, I am familiar with all the banter. Thankfully denim passion cross borders and make you closer to your British friends

[Double 0 Soul]

36 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

Twice l was going to leave Denimbro for good, mostly because l'm into original vintage denim and most people come to forums to discuss and buy new denim. So l was getting bored and frustrated. 

First time l was saved by the Bootleggers 47 tour (2014?) thanks to Duke, and the second time it was because of CSF (2016?) so thanks to you and Flash. (Also l may add this is when l joined Instagram and saw for the first time, new/unseen Japanese collectors denim pieces. Combine that with the release of the 501XX book and 'voila!' .... my vintage addiction was reignited.

 

 

Ive plateaued Chaz, i grew to hate that feeling of perpetual wanting and i was tearing through jeans like there's no tomorrow, i still enjoy wearing what i have but i try and eek them out so i don't have to buy anything else. Market forces fueled by monied wankers is forcing vintage further away from most of our price bracket's, it annoys me how jeans made for working class peeps have become bragging tokens of the wealthy rather than adored by true enthusiasts like yourself.. can't these twats stick to luxury goods, swanky cars and ostentatious watches ffs!

Same shit happened with the VW scene... back in the 90's it was working class peeps struggling to keep their daily driver on the road, then millionaire Jamie Oliver and the like bought into the scene (trying their best to gain cool status) next thing you need to be earning a six figure salary to afford a 'car of the people'

[Dr_Heech]

27 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

 

Ive plateaued Chaz, i grew to hate that feeling of perpetual wanting and i was tearing through jeans like there's no tomorrow, i still enjoy wearing what i have but i try and eek them out so i don't have to buy anything else. Market forces fueled by monied wankers is forcing vintage further away from most of our price bracket's, it annoys me how jeans made for working class peeps have become bragging tokens of the wealthy rather than adored by true enthusiasts like yourself.. can't these twats stick to luxury goods, swanky cars and ostentatious watches ffs!

Same shit happened with the VW scene... back in the 90's it was working class peeps struggling to keep their daily driver on the road, then millionaire Jamie Oliver and the like bought into the scene (trying their best to gain cool status) next thing you need to be earning a six figure salary to afford a 'car of the people'

Think l've plateaued too mate, especially now as l've got a replacement pair of WW2 CSF to complete the (alternative) tux (again). Got a good sized collection of Levis-inspired wearables from different brands, enough to easily last a lifetime. 

Not the VW scene, but l was into the 2CV owners scene for many years (my sister went over to the Morris minor community for her fix) and these both fell victim to the wealthy few outpricing us regular earners.

On the plus side, l still have a pair of NOS Levis from 1978 in a 'golden size' that are worth around 2k in today's market so every cloud, eh?

[Flash]

I'd say I'm content,  once I get the 2 pairs of conners I've ordered I'll have 5 pairs of jeans .... so a good 10 years of wear

There is always the urge to buy more but my main interest starts in late 42 ( s501xx) and ends at the end of the leather patch 57 ish .... but a cinch back would be nice .... and a pair of the early ww2 Lee's with the hair on hide patch if there is ever a repro made of these 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Flash
I've got fat thumbs

[Flash]

This is what I’m after .... maybe tcb could jump on this ?? never seen a reproduction of this early war cowboy model 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Flash

[Duke Mantee]

2 hours ago, Dr_Heech said:

Think l've plateaued too mate, especially now as l've got a replacement pair of WW2 CSF to complete the (alternative) tux (again). Got a good sized collection of Levis-inspired wearables from different brands, enough to easily last a lifetime. 

Not the VW scene, but l was into the 2CV owners scene for many years (my sister went over to the Morris minor community for her fix) and these both fell victim to the wealthy few outpricing us regular earners.

On the plus side, l still have a pair of NOS Levis from 1978 in a 'golden size' that are worth around 2k in today's market so every cloud, eh?

 Every now again the path gets a little bit rocky or sometimes you find yourself on a dull part of the road but that journey you mentioned doesn’t end Doc

[Duke Mantee]

3 hours ago, volvo240thebest said:

Been to Scotland many many times and one of my best mates is from Ullapool in the Highlands, I am familiar with all the banter. Thankfully denim passion cross borders and make you closer to your British friends

And I’ve been to Italy on numerous occasions - the food and weather is better - but Ullapool and that part of the North-West is beautiful country

[Double 0 Soul]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:14 PM, Maynard Friedman said:

You’re right Neal, the hem was too wide for my taste - about 9.3” on a raw pair with about a 38” inseam. If you chopped that down to 34” pre-wash it’d be around 9.5”. I sold them to EaseDownTheRoad from Denimbro (wonder how he’s doing?)

Ive just had a little chat with Ed via email, he passes on his regards to everyone and if this place tickles his fancy he might join us says he hasn't logged into DB since we all bailed..