Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Dr_Heech]

On 7/6/2026 at 3:36 AM, shredwin_206 said:

Anyone ever heard of Speed X? My wallet from Japan is apparently being delivered by them. First I’ve ever heard of this delivery company and the reviews I can find are not promising.

Maybe a subsidiary of SpaceX ?

Edited July 7 by Dr_Heech

[shredwin_206]

@Dr_Heech I just hope I receive what I bought. Every single review for this company is terrible. 
it shipped from Japan ECMS but then it was transferred to this company when it got to the states….

[mlwdp]

Like a courier?

[shredwin_206]

@mlwdp yea. Almost like Amazon drivers style….

[Broark]

I've seen these little logistics companies deliver some of the stuff my wife orders online, most of them are just doing final mile stuff for the big guys.
They're effectively cheaper than routing the package with a typical UPS driver, but I'm not sure where the handover happens and who makes the agreement to pick up the stuff.
Most drivers aren't trained (or covered) like a UPS, FedEx, etc., but they crowdsource their drivers similar to when you receive an Amazon Flex driver (someone delivering a few packages with their personal car).
Hopefully it works out fine for you, I don't think she's had any issues with similar companies. Can't speak to that one specifically however.

[mlwdp]

23 minutes ago, shredwin_206 said:

@mlwdp yea. Almost like Amazon drivers style….

Can you do like DHL and do a no signature delivery or change the day?

[okimoto]

21 hours ago, shredwin_206 said:

@Dr_Heech I just hope I receive what I bought. Every single review for this company is terrible. 
it shipped from Japan ECMS but then it was transferred to this company when it got to the states….

I just had something delivered by ECMS and the last mile delivery co was Speed X. Seemed fine but I didn’t keep an eye on tracking or anything. Delivery went fine, hope you experience the same

[tg76]

On 7/5/2026 at 9:28 PM, MJF9 said:

@okimoto joking aside, we used to have a few ladies posting in here... now I think it's just Srudy... there is a 'Raw for women' thread started 20 years ago with 100+ pages but no posts in the past 4 years... I think Ed scared them all off

 

Ed wasn't scary; his kind of comedic sleaze was out in the open, lusting after Janes' toes etc.

The scary was the lurkers that didn't even post, then would come up to you in a park and start talking to you, pointing out they had files of saved images and knew you would be there. 

 

[ATWM]

I saw a little of Ed and while I have a sense of humor in real life, if he wasn’t booted I doubt I’d have stayed. Comedic sleaze is a bit of an oxymoron as the actual funny shit is usually better than cheap inanity. 

[Cold Summer]

Ed is one of a handful of SuFu members I've met in real life! (At the Pronto denim carnival event in 2013 or 14). Along with Unorthodox and Xchen (who are locals in the general ATL area), Kiya, maybe one or two more I'm forgetting.

Edited July 8 by Cold Summer

[mlwdp]

Smh at my American hips.  I’ve lost weight and the waist gone down but not my hips (muscle).  It’s been giving me problems in pants that are not denim.

Edited July 9 by mlwdp

[Cold Summer]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but Mt. Vernon Mills, located about eighty minutes from where I live in north Georgia and with a 180 year pedigree making fabrics, acquired the White Oak Draper looms after the Vidalia Mills project flopped. They're about to ship out their first run of selvedge denim, and their president Bill Rogers talks about the whole story in detail in this Heddels podcast. 

My expectations are always pretty low when it comes to this sort of thing, I tend to think that Vidalia or White Oak had some notion of "preserving heritage selvedge denim" but lack a substantial understanding of what it is that really appeals to us about artisanal denim (for lack of a better term.) Rogers is different, listening to this podcast he comes across as a genuine nerd: they stockpiled Draper parts and instructions for several years in anticipation of possibly acquiring these looms, set up an old factory space with a proper wooden floor to get the right loom chatter on the machines, rehired and relocated White Oak veterans to manage the machines and train new specialists, and analyzed the yarns/dyeing/other attributes of mid-century denim to try to make a new fabric with a similar aura, much like the various Japanese brands we admire. It sounds like they're doing everything right, and it's likely they produce fabric that exceeds White Oak in enthusiast appeal. If they can eventually be persuaded to make small custom batches of loomstate denim, then we could really get excited.

The best part is that they welcome visitors to come take a look at all this, so hopefully I can make a proper field trip sometime in the near future and give a hands-on report. Of course, as a Georgia resident I'm tremendously proud that we're the new home of American-made selvedge denim. The next step, I suppose, is to somehow assemble an atelier of vintage machines and actually cut and sew enthusiast jeans right here in Georgia, too...

[ATWM]

I’ve lightly been keeping track of it and it’s cool to see ^ 

Like you, low expectations though - in part because I don’t know of a single North American assembler of pants that might actually do the fabric justice if they were to dial it in well, and if anyone can it should be them.

That probably sounds harsh as there are makers that do something worthy, but all of them are a turn off for me in one way or another. Mister Freedom is probably the best that I know of in that they have used cotton threads and unsanforized denim in MiUSA pairs - 2 very basic and very essential things in a pair (for me) that somehow it seems no one can manage to do at this point in time - at least that I am aware of. 

[Cold Summer]

I agree, there are a lot of American makers and small-scale brands that make fine jeans, but they generally leave me feeling cold because of the sewing. Despite being into this for a long time I've only really been able to understand and articulate my thoughts on this in the last few years. I'm convinced that what really captures the vibes of the great Japanese pairs I've worn from Flat Head, TCB, Warehouse, etc. is the selection of vintage machines and use of cotton stitching in the right gauges. Along with the skill of the artisans using the machines, this imparts the garments with a sort of hand-made vibe that's different from your typical American brand where the polyester stitching produced by a modern sewing machine feels very regular/mechanical/sterile/whatever.

High SPI inseam sewing, rolled belt loops, rolled pocket edges, narrow width chainstitched hems, lemon cotton thread that fades with wear, these are some of the things that contribute to the long-term appeal of the best pairs I've worn, but it seems to be exceedingly rare that I hear other enthusiasts able to pin this down. I wouldn't even necessarily mind the use of a sanforized fabric if an American maker could get the sewing stuff right. Roy certainly understood all of this on an intuitive level, and I think Viapiana is pretty close too (especially judging from the new jeans he's made for Self Edge.)

[ATWM]

An obvious candidate to me is (actually was) Raleigh denim - they made a point to source their materials pretty locally - esp when White Oak was still going. They hired good people who could do a nice job on a pair. The proprietors I know get this stuff - these little details - at one point over a decade ago I think they were even in talks to make like a special 60’s model for sufu, they’ve got at least a decent stock of the old machines, chainstitch their hems etc.

But they went a different way, the cuts are quite contemporary and haven’t evolved, are generally not great IMO, the Union Special seems like they own it so they can say they own it (the hems are … well I won’t say they’re not well done they are not what most of us would hope for in recreating vintage traits). Some of the designs are nice enough - and being in the USA you’re probably particularly attuned to differentiating yourself from Levi’s just for the sake of legal - but in doing so I think they have sort of ironically embraced a lot of the late Levi’s sort of fashion angle, priced like they are something beyond special though.

My guess is they will be an early buyer from Mt. Vernon. Right now (I just looked) they are selling “loomstate” pairs from Proximity (that operation has just like one or two looms right?) and charging a patently absurd $750 a pair for that, meanwhile the site has pop ups for all sorts of discounts. It’s a weird look.

Always lament what that shop could have been in particular because I liked the people there and you want to see the small ones do well enough. They’re still in business so they know more than I do, but still can’t make something I’d want to buy - even if the price were equal to sugar cane. 

[Cold Summer]

Yeah Raleigh is a brand I've always wanted to like, but their designs/cuts/sewing just don't really do it for me. It's hard to justify picking them over, say, Left Field. LF doesn't have the nitpicky details I care so much about, but they're at a decent price point so they have that working for them.

[ATWM]

18 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

Yeah Raleigh is a brand I've always wanted to like, but their designs/cuts/sewing just don't really do it for me. It's hard to justify picking them over, say, Left Field. LF doesn't have the nitpicky details I care so much about, but they're at a decent price point so they have that working for them.

FWIW I always found the sewing/construction to be of a high standard (I did own some and got plenty of looks when I lived in NC), - actually higher than that of left field in my experience - just not of the sort Ive come to prefer like you noted. 

[mlwdp]

Did the hype die down for HW Dog hats?  A lot of their hats aren’t selling out anymore like they used to.  Seems they came out with too many styles.

[Cold Summer]

Here's something I've wondered about: why hasn't raw denim/Amekaji style clothing in general skyrocketed in price like everything else? In the past 10-15 years it seems like the price of everything has doubled, but a pair of standard Flat Head, Iron Heart, or Sugar Cane jeans at Self Edge (for instance) isn't all that different from what it was back then. It seems like it should be more like $500 if the prices went up at the same rate as most other things. What gives? I know the dollar/yen exchange rate has been pretty favorable for a while so I guess that helps, but it's just surprising to me that prices on jeans hobby stuff, whether straight from Japan or from American retailers, is not much different from the early 2010s.

[NilsLW]

Shhh don't mention it, I feel like the moment we start talking about prices they will surely skyrocket. May as well enjoy it in the meantime.

But yeah, a pair of Resolute 710s ordered directly from Bears Tokyo will set me back only slightly more than a pair of regular Levis 501s at retail price, crazy times.

[indigoeagle]

I think, in Japanese yen the inflation has been similar to the US and Europe.

However, the currency exchange rate has changed in that it is about half or so over the last ten years.
US$1 = ca. JPY 162

Ten years ago it was around JPY 105.
In 2012 around JPY80.
 

[ATWM]

It is probably priced at just about what the market will bear. I have seen American brands raise their prices more by percentage, so some of it is probably the yen.
 

It’s not a booming business generally - still mostly kept going by passionate people over high margin products - though - I bet Toyo is keeping an eye on FullCount’s attempt to position themselves higher up on the perceived value ladder without adding any real value to the product. 

[MJF9]

McCoys are significantly more expensive - just saw a pair of 50s jeans for £425... how much... I know. 

Recently, I looked up a pair of P44 monkey pants £410 for McCoys in UK... yet Buzz are only approx £125 direct from Japan / c£200 if bought in the UK.  You might argue McCoys are better quality (old days I'd say yes, but I haven't handled recent stuff) but is it really more than double.   Someone must be paying McCoys new luxury prices... for now, at least

[mlwdp]

Knew something was off when they kept having sales and not carrying the latest drops from my favorite brands.  My favorite store is closing, switching to online only carrying their own brand.  Wish them well. 😞

Edited July 29 by mlwdp

[scooby]

On 7/17/2026 at 6:13 AM, MJF9 said:

McCoys are significantly more expensive - just saw a pair of 50s jeans for £425... how much... I know. 

Recently, I looked up a pair of P44 monkey pants £410 for McCoys in UK... yet Buzz are only approx £125 direct from Japan / c£200 if bought in the UK.  You might argue McCoys are better quality (old days I'd say yes, but I haven't handled recent stuff) but is it really more than double.   Someone must be paying McCoys new luxury prices... for now, at least

I think the only non-Japanese folks still buying RMC are those that were sold something bigger than the product itself

Quality is in a way subjective, but when you are charging double the price of your competitors, you’re asking to be scrutinized

—

Sort of related, but there is a subset of consumers who seem to gravitate towards the more/most expensive options by default. They walk through the grocery store and when presented with multiple choices refuse to purchase the product that costs the least - even if it were recommended to them. It’s not marketing, but it is maybe a symptom of what marketing has done to their brains

 

I had a conversation years ago with a friend who visited Self Edge here in San Francisco for the first time. They asked me which brands I thought were the best, or worth checking out. They were very surprised when I said Sugar Cane/Buzz, because the products weren’t as expensive as the other options. They initially dismissed the product because the price tag told them it wasn’t as good

 

and just to clarify, I’m not referring to those who want to be seen expensive/luxury products for status. But those who want the “best”, just don’t know or even care what that actually means

 

[smoothsailor]

I hope @Double 0 Soul and fam are doing well.

and makes a comeback with funny stories and sick fades

[Maynard Friedman]

Don’t buy Levi’s jeans

[Broark]

^ You don't have to tell me twice. 

[Jared_Lee]

On the topic of blunders, I special ordered the Attractions Service Shoe in black cordovan last year. They finally arrived. They are too big. My loss could be someone's gain if they're a brannock 12.

https://attractions.co.jp/products/671-1

Edited August 14 by Jared_Lee

[Broark]

Might be interested @Jared_Lee, my lot 444 are size 12 and I love how they fit. Apple and oranges perhaps with the different styles but let me know!