Unknown Non-Japanese Brands

[edmond]

Hail hitler!

[aho]

Different when you're in the states Ed! You and I would be on the receiving end, that's for sure lol

[Iron Horse]

2 hours ago, aho said:

^The topic has been brought up before though I can't find it, and not sure if any Japanophiles would be able to better answer. I would say you have to look at it from a non-Eurocentric point of view; For us here in the states, of course the German swastika represents pure evil, hatred, racism, and bigotry. And to be sure, the symbol was bastardized and abused by Hitler Germany and is now recognized as a symbol of hate and evil, especially within the countries that fought Hitler Germany (and the racist groups that followed, using that same symbol). Whereas Japan, allied with Hitler Germany, has been using the manji symbol (swastika flipped the other way) within Buddhism for thousands of years, and still use it on maps, architecture etc. to represent temples. Symbols similar, but different in meaning, but certainly without the same stigma we carry in the west associating with Hitler and hate groups. So perhaps it's a bit softened and distant in that regard? That said, you definitely see "biker" crews adopting it as a symbol of rebellion, mimicking racist biker gangs of the past, but associating it with the same idolatry of rebellious dark cool. They likely don't understand the racist connotations, and I'd be curious to ask someone about it directly, next time I see it. For sure though, I would NOT wear anything with a Hitler swastika on it, and can understand your position!

I was under the impression that biker gangs like the Hell's Angels used swastikas, Iron Crosses, SS lightning bolts, German helmets, etc. to piss off straight-laced, civilized people. I think the Japanese biker gangs are just following suit, though Nazi imagery isn't quite as unsavory in Japan given that the Nazis were never their enemies.

[Iron Horse]

32 minutes ago, _jonny_L said:

That's extremely generous, lol. At best they'd be racially insensitive instead of just regular racist in that instance?  

Who, the Hell's Angels or the Japanese? 

 

[slowdownarthur]

Just having a look at 'Hand Room' jeans on Denimio. Does anyone have any experience with this brand?

 

[mlwdp]

On January 11, 2017 at 0:22 AM, aho said:

 

[mlwdp]

The only thing I've seen about Hand Room is its made with Supima cotton.

sorry for the double post.  Forum doesn't allow quoting on mobile will you haven't posted the saved reply for another post.

[volvo240thebest]

I've been on one of my recurring cheapskate taobao buying sprees as of late.

Bronson wabash shirt, I am pretty sure it's not discharge printed, anyhoo it's very well made, sturdy fabric and size XXL is a perfect fit on my 41 inches chest.

Bronson wide WWII chinos, fabric is heavy enough for all year around wear (which I like). Well made and they look good I think, although the rise it's too step for me at 13 inches (for a 36). They're fine when layered but with just just a white tee on top they don't look good on me as they cut my gut in two and they give me a bit of dreaded muffin top syndrome.  Happy with them, but they helped me once again to understand that everything with more than a 12 inches front rise don't really work for me...

I've also bought a salt and pepper mocktwist chambray which looks lovely, will post photos when I wear it.

 

[volvo240thebest]

I'm on a roll apparently..

All my xmas extra money buys arrived in two days in a row...

here's a reversible Fall Out x All Blues vest. It's black but looks almost midnight blue. Extremely well made and great fit, not overly cheap at 150 quids though. Made in South Korea. The other side is quilted, and makes it super toasty. Some of you on IG may be familiar with All Blues, it's a new-ish shop from Leeds. The chaps running it are really friendly and fun to deal with. Today the central heating of my office broke so it was somewhat of a blessing to receive this vest as it's really warm. Sorry for the complimentary greedy buyer grimace.

 

[unders]

Looking very dapper in those chinos. Great pick-ups. 

[Errrnst]

Hey All,

 

I originally posted this in the Unknown Japanese Denim thread because it was where Chris asked the question but thought it would be more fitting over here. Any questions let me know. 

 

 

On 12/27/2016 at 4:04 PM, itschrisb said:

Has anyone heard of Carnivores Soul, they grabbed my attention on Instagram because they offer a 26oz denim for $96! Im very tempted to pull the trigger and see what happens.

Chris,

I did the same thing! I was looking for some new denim liked the idea of a smaller more unknown brand but with that comes some risk. I didn't really think they would be as inexpensive as they are listed for. I reached out to them on Insta and on email to try and get an estimate for shipping and wanted to make sure they had my size in the cut that I wanted as the stocklist looks like it has only a few sizes of each cut in stock. I personally was looking for a lighter-weight option so i went with the 15oz Golden Claw in the slim straight cut size 30. Measurements matched up basically exactly to my 3sixteen SL-121x with a slightly shorter rise and more tapered by a bit from the knees down. 

 

On 12/28/2016 at 7:20 AM, itschrisb said:

I was about to pull the trigger but for some reason my card wouldnt process through western union, which is the only way to pay them, so I took it as a sign to hold off. Im going to be watching for their new line and grab something then.

I got a quick response from Carnivores Soul and the golden claws were actually listed at $66 USD (880000 IDR) but once you factor in shipping to LA $48 USD it came out to $114. Then you add on the Western Union fees and taxes my final total was $144 USD. I was super excited about the denim so it was fine for me and I realized I was taking a risk not having tried these on and having to just go with their measurements. 

Chris I also had an issue with my credit card not working through Western Union so I just linked my checking account to Western Union and it worked super easily. I worked with Fadhil to get the transfer taken care of and the shipped it off once I sent them my tracking number for the bank transfer. Jeans came in 3 or 4 days to Los Angeles.

The fit was perfect. I am 5'7 145lbs i got the size 30. I don't have supper skinny thighs so sometimes the typical slim fits can be just too much, like my APC Petit Standards but these are slim without being uncomfortable. Plenty of room in the rise area which i was supper happy with also. Overall I am really happy so far. The material is fairly textured with some fuzz and hairs sticking out but overall a really nice feel. Let me know if there are other questions or if you want to see other pictures. 

 

-Mike

[JDelage]

Sauce Zahn hemp X natural indigo. Going in a warm bath right now....

https://world.taobao.com/item/542520789136.htm

(What's the risk at $58?)

Edited March 13, 2017 by JDelage

[JDelage]

Bob Dong lot 608H 23oz beast... A little bit more risky at $101...

https://world.taobao.com/item/544137830211.htm

Edited March 13, 2017 by JDelage

[Cucoo]

I hadn't been looking at Taobao in a while and found Bob Dong have a new chino out that caught my eye, I've been looking for a straight leg chino for a while now but nothing really appealed to me - 45€ isn't a big risk so I pulled the trigger. Also got a heavy wool beach style vest and three pocket t-shirts - I like the contrast stitching they do and at 10€ a pop not much to think about either ^^

As always construction and materials are great. The chinos aren't selvedge but other than that exactly what I was looking for. The legs are pretty full and the rise is on the higher side. I just threw them in the washing machine to see if they'll tighten up a bit around the thighs.

Small picture dump:

 

[julian-wolf]

Anyone have any experience with JWJ Brand? I'm interested, in particular, in their El Patron jacket. At 20% off for Black Friday, it comes in at $230, which seems like a steal given the detailing (hank dyed natural indigo, leather-backed buttons, single-needle stitching throughout, etc.).

Hands-on experience with this fabric would be ideal, but any comments on overall construction and attention-to-detail would be greatly appreciated as well.

Edited November 24, 2017 by julian-wolf
missing comma

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Haven’t heard of this brand yet but it looks quite good! Aesthetic reminds me of WH Ranch Dungaree or Mr Freedom.

[julian-wolf]

Pulled the trigger just now! Fingers crossed…

I agree that it gives off a very MF sorta vibe. The cut seems to be based closely off of Levi's 1880s triple pleat blouse, but with much more modern detailing. I'm undecided, so far, on whether I'll take a seam ripper to the pocket stitching or leave it be. More than anything, I'm excited for the fabric—Nihon Menpu continually produces some of my favorite denims, and this seems so wonderfully understated.

Emailing back and forth with the sales rep, it was mentioned that they're currently working on a 1947 repro(ish) using another custom natural-dyed denim. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

[Foxy2]

Interesting brand - their only blog post about the jacket is from 2014 - they could certainly use a straight cut jeans...

[Cucoo]

2 hours ago, Foxy2 said:

they could certainly use a straight cut jeans...

I remember checking them out years ago and thinking the same I like the details and arcs but the cut is not for me. 

[julian-wolf]

Reposting from the Unknown Japanese Brands thread, where this does not belong…second try's a charm

Wrote up a quick review of the JWJ El Patron on r/rawdenim just now. Not gonna paste all the text, but here's a photodump!

Pre-soak fit pics, feat. Bronson heavyweight tee, IH-634-DD, Red Wing 1907:

 

Pre-soak detail shots:

 

Post-soak fit pics, feat. Gustin tee, Sugar Cane Hawaiis, Olukai slippers

 

Finally, the one significant construction error I've been able to find:

 

Overall, this is a really great jacket and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's comfortable with a looser / boxier fit. Happy to answer any questions or post more photos and / or measurements upon request.

[JDelage]

Nice jacket. Good thing it shrunk because it was clearly too big in the first set of pics. It's a nice, flattering cut.

[JDelage]

The brand reminds me more of Stevenson than MF.

[julian-wolf]

Yeah, the shrink-to-fit worked out very well. Overall, shrinkage was pretty minimal—I was too excited to take pre-soak measurements, but it feels like it tightened up maybe 2–3" in length and 1.5–2" in the shoulders—but it took place in all the right areas. The shoulders are just barely snug, but the pleats still allow for a very good range of motion, even with a thicker sweater underneath.

[l13902733261]

 

Bob Dong 23oz x 2

[istewi]

I picked up this, made in China, CDP type II Jacket off of Tao-bao recently. I'm quite happy with the quality and fit of the jacket. The 15 oz Xinjiang cotton denim is a little hairy and very nice for the money. The chest pockets are a little bit higher than classic type II's but everything else feels classic about it. Fit pic is after a one hour hot soak and two quick hot washes. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by istewi

[istewi]

Gave my CDP 507 a few washes for good measure and the hairyness is pretty crazy. Almost seems like it might start to develope fabric pills.

[egyptian]

Nama jeans from Bangkok. I only bought these because I needed a fresh pair (another story) but I liked these and wore them a lot.

 

Edited September 2, 2018 by egyptian

[egyptian]

ps. I hate that pocket fade my phone did but yeah

[bigblack]

On 8/7/2018 at 12:04 PM, istewi said:

Gave my CDP 507 a few washes for good measure and the hairyness is pretty crazy. Almost seems like it might start to develope fabric pills.

2

Do you have a link to CDP on Taobao?

[lance]

Leave it to Patagonia to come up with indestructible denim. It’s called Steel Forge Denim under their Workwear brand. The denim is comprised of 92% organic cotton and 8% Dyneema, a synthetic, lightweight fiber 15 times stronger than steel used in anchor cables, crane slings and tow ropes that more than doubles the denims’ tear strength. And to top it off, the denim is dyed with natural indigo from Stony Creek Colors. I live in 5” Stand Up shorts and have been buying all kinds of stuff from Patagonia for many years; guess I’m about to have a pair of their jeans as well! www.patagonia.com/workwear.html

edit: by the way, the height of the meteor shower is tonight; don’t miss it!

Edited October 20, 2018 by lance