Hi everyone, new old user here. I took a long break, from around 2010, from this scene and haven't been in the loop until a few months ago when I heard from a friend about a number of emerging Chinese brands. Having looked over their respective Taobao shops one of them stuck out and I bought my first pair of jeans in about five years (not counting APCs I've bought for work).
That brand was Overcomer and I like them mostly for their toned down aesthetic (more Warehouse than Samurai) and also because they made a model we don't usually see, namely 1975 501s. These come in two versions, a regular Chinese denim and a Cone denim. Cone has always been lackluster for me so I went with the former, the Overcomer 051ss, and a pair of APC New Standards and a pair of Flathead 3001s. 
The 051ss come one-wash and in these photos, I've already washed them three times; first a cold machine wash after which they didn't properly dry and took on a bit of a smell. Second cold wash didnt quite do it, so I soaked them in boiling water and that did the trick. For this reason, they're much more blue in these images than when new.
In short, the denim is different than most other that I've seen, because it is very hairy, not that rigid, very tightly woven and because there is no weft showing through they look almost black when new, until you compare them to an actual black fabric, that is. This is very similar to the 551zxx that I've had before, in every respect. The fit is also somewhat similar, though the 551s are a 1960s (1963?) model. I'd say these fit pretty much like a 66 cut. Note, however, that they come very short.




Here's a comparison to my Flatheads:




APC, Overcomer, Flathead. 
As a conclusion, the Overcomers are a level above the APCs in terms of denim and construction, and on a similar level to the Japanese brands that are popular among us here. They have a very small lineup right now and this is their only pair of jeans, but hopefully they'll be producing more.
Some of their lookbook shots:

People like to make all kinds of exceptions, but nearly all of the arguments for clothing being made offshore rather than domestically come down to an outdated and often unspoken idea that "not being able to buy new clothes means that you are poor, and being poor is bad." As I know many members of this board can attest, buying used clothes often means buying better clothes, and that's a part of high fashion that I admire. While there are exceptions like the Helmut Lang "art exhibition" of shredded clothing or Chanel burning clothes that do not sell, many high fashion manufacturers clothes get bought, sold, resold and resold many times over. As they are shared between admirers over multiple years they are still pieces that can be sought after. Knowing that the clothing you wear is desired by another person creates a chain of responsibility, and the better care you take of your clothes the greater your reward when it is passed on to another person.
 
That cycle of buy, sell, resell and resell is what I'd much rather see for the clothing industry as a whole. Buying disposable clothing at the expense of a full life for another human being is not a "luxury" that anyone deserves, it’s fucking stupid. 
 
To me, this doesn't seem like a tremendously difficult idea. People have been doing this for years, especially in big families, and to have a societal shift to this way of thinking would hopefully disrupt the exploitation of "third world" countries by multi-national corporations. This exploitation, of course, is of this country's citizens and not its governing elite. Also, a fun game to play: name a "third world" country that got there by the whole country being lazy and no one wanting their country to be better.

edit: please note that the info here is from several years ago and might not be accurate.
thought I'd share a few things..
shop
department stores in paris are quite boring, I was done with lafayette and printemps in 15 minutes. printemps had martin margiela, dries van noten, dior and others. lafayette had those plus comme des garcons... but a rather bland selection of everything. le bon marche was my favorite department store, but the menswear sections sucks compared to womens.
colette is overrated, its basically a display cabinet for tourists, I don't know of anyone every buying anything there, unless it was a souvenier or a magazine.
maria luisa is a nice small store, they have 3 locations with one being mens. they have ann demeulemeester, veronique branquinho, undercoverism, margiela, alexander mcqueen, some rick owens etc. somewhat limited selection of clothing and shoes but worth checking out I think if you like the style. edit: mens store is closed
l'eclaireur was very interesting, they have several stores in paris. the one on rue herold is the original one. hard to find at first, its behind a unmarked door on the small street. once you get buzzed in you'll see a dark halway and amazing looking studio style space. they carry carol christian poell, carpe diem, undercoverism, faliero sarti, paul harnden, guidi etc. The location on rue Malher also has a great selection that mostly resembles the one on rue Herold. Ann demeulemeester, Rick Owens, Lanvin, Paul Harnden, Givenchy etc... the store on champs elysees is shit and at least a few years ago the staff was beyond annoying, haven't stepped there since then. selection is more mainstream. the rest sell womens only.
rick owens store - always new stuff as well as sales, but only a small part of each collection. worth visiting.
Shimji - CLOSED
Void - new small independent store in Marais, haven't been but supposedly nice.
oh and palais de tokyo was a pretty cool place. the bookstore there was great. we also grabbed some food at the restaurant which was surprisingly good. definately worth going to, its a great place to spend the evening since its open so late (midnight, I think).
eat
eat at Le 404 (moroccan, they speak english so reserve a table) and drink in the ajoined bar, Andy Wahloo. cool atmosphere, the courtyard is nice and cozy.
Pinxo is a nice small asian/fusion restaurant, eat at the counter to see your food being prepared.
Le Petit Marche - in Marais, nice cozy place.
Clou - small, minimal and trendy spot in Marais, not cheap but good food.
stay
Artus is a nice hotel in saint-germain, but renting an apartment is usually more convenient and cheaper.
Apartments - check out vrbo, feelparis etc, there are plenty of agencies for rentals, short or long.

Looking to find really cool diggs in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to spend new years..... does anyone have any super recommendations?

Supreme harajuku: the stuff from new season looks crappy; i cant justify paying nearly 60 bucks for a tee. the interior looks pretty dope.
neighborhood: a lot better than i expected. though they didnt have any of the crazy denim, they did have some level 2 savage denim. i tried on a pair and they looked great. 30000 yen. staff was really nice cause i didnt look like a reseller.
FIL: no music; hot chicks working there; everything is super expensive so the shoes seem like they are reasonably priced; the SA dude carries the shoes to the entrance as i walk out and vows.
cplus headwear: located in the basement of some old ass building. the shops in the bldg are like restaurants and cafes. very small store but the staff was really nice.
headporter: just a complete mad house. so many people crammed into the store.
what my friend and i learned = the size of a bag isnt proportional to its size
a small fanny pack may cost 15000 yen but a messenger bag is 35000 yen
lad musician: cool but it aint my steez
atmos: the northface collabos look great but atmos x porter items are just insanely expensive. e.g. a small pouch = 10000 yen
more to come