Conners Sewing Factory

[Aries]

Haha I'm pretty conflicted on whether I'm ok with upvoting Ed based on that comment...

[Flash]

first day out in the M-47 

 

 

really like the loose cut 

[tigerstrom]

Superb! ^

[beautiful_FrEaK]

So finally my little review about the One Piece of Rock jeans made by the hands (and vintage machines) of Yoshiaki Konaka.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the S409XXX M-47 which is as the name suggests a repro of a Levi's 501 jeans from 1947. All working steps and used machines are

period correct to give you the feeling of owning an original vintage pair of Levi's from 1947. With all the pros and cons.

 

 

 

The fit

The jeans have a very high rise with a trim top block. Also the thighs are on the smaller side. The leg is straight with slight taper to a leg opening of 9.25" pre-soak. Like flash said, this pair hugs your hips and fits very snug in the top. The waist is slightly undersized compared to the tag size (muffin-top alert). As  the fit is on the looser side these jeans can better be paired with boots or shoes like Chucks. I have to see what the inseam is after shrinkage but these probably look better without any break.

 

 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

The denim

The denim is quite uniform with medium shade of indigo. The denim has a silky hand to it, a very slick surface. Pre-soak the denim is pretty pliable abd doesn't seem to be starched a lot. I can't say where the cotton is from or what's the weight of the denim (I'd guess between 13-14 oz) as there isn't much info out there. This denim really reminds me of Cone denim but we will see how it will evolve. There are some irregularities and little slubs but its subtle. Warehouse's and Full Count's denim has more "character" from the get go. So all people that rate denim from Oni, Samurai or PBJ as interesting should give these M47 a wide berth.

I don't know who developed this denim for Conner's and I'm not sure if this denim is more true to the original denim than for example Warehouse's Banner Denim as also Warehouse dug deep to make their denim right.

 

 

 

Selvedge line not ironed

 

Union Special 43200G

 

 

Wonky stitchting and a lonely rivet

Edited July 24, 2016 by beautiful_FrEaK

[beautiful_FrEaK]

The details

This is the category where Conner's really should be judged. Alone that they only use period correct sewing machines and materials can't be rated high enough. The stitching aren't super clean like jeans from Roy or Rio&Hiro or if you want to take a brand, Studio d'Artisan. You have loose threads hanging around everywhere. But Yoshiaki doesn't strive for the perfect sewing or cleanest finish, he tries to make the perfect reproduction and this includes also imperfection. So it's Wabi-Sabi from the beginning. For example the fabric is hand-folded and not ironed. He took inspiration from the huge collection of vintage Levi's from Miura-san.

 

 

Leather patch

 

 

Raised belt loops

 

 

 

Individual branded rivets

 

 

Branded buttons

 

 

Red tab

 

 

Sewing details

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

There are certainly 'better' designed pairs out there which eradicated little flaws (the Conner's have pretty small pocket bags for example) and are cleaner constructed than the Conner's but if you are looking for the perfect reproduction and can't or don't want to afford an original vintage Levi's 501, then the Conner's might be your best option out there.

 

 

Post-soak measurements

 

Waist: 33.5"

Front rise: 12.2"

Back rise: 16.5"

Thigh: 12.75"

Knee: 9.75"

Leg opening: 9"

Inseam: 34"

Edited July 24, 2016 by beautiful_FrEaK

[Flash]

great review mate 

[mikecch]

tl:dr Ultimate repro jeans?

Appreciate the photos and your thoughts, this was great!

[edmond]

Fit pictures pls

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Fit pictures and post soak measurements will follow

[Frost]

Great review b_F. What did they end up costing you?

[spitfiredealer]

Great review thank you

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Great review b_F. What did they end up costing you?

 

With shipping and all, 42,000 Yen. So they surely don't come cheap.

 

 

Just as an information, I updated my review a little bit. More about the denim and little bit about the details.

I also added post soak measurements.

[edmond]

Cant wait for my csf ww2 armour!

[Flash]

you finally decided to order ed ? 

[edmond]

We ordered for the store so i got for myself ..

[Flash]

nice on mate 

[Capsicum Fried Meat]

b_F, would you please update the measurements after wearing for some days? Let's see how this denim stretch. Thanks.

[setterman]

With shipping and all, 42,000 Yen. So they surely don't come cheap.

 

 

 

   Certainly nice looking jeans and a top notch 40s repro, but that's a bit up there!  Do you feel they warrant being 2.5 times the price of a pair of SC 47s?  

[Flash]

i know im not BF but id like to throw my £2 in here ( im sure BF will as well )

 

the price is a bit high but imo the fact that they are 100% made on vintage machines and made using vintage techniques like hand folded seams makes them a little bit more than the repros we are used to and justifies a higher price , i also dont think Yoshiaki  is getting rich from this because of the low volume he can produce and the start up cost for all the machinery must have been really high 

 

 

the worth of something really is subjective but the way i have justified the pairs i have bought is that they are the closest ill get to owning deadstock vintage without remortgaging my house or selling a kidney ( like a good friend has suggested )

[xchen]

Am I missing something? 42k yen for what looks to be sanforized denim with some of the sloppiest stitching I've seen on high end jeans?

 

I'm a reasonable person willing to admit when i am wrong, so please, educate me! lol

 

edit: overlooked your post Flash - so i see this about the machines but how is the denim?

Edited July 25, 2016 by xchen

[Flash]

the denim is unsanforized but its maybe just not to your taste ? the 47 denim is quite uniform but the M-ww2 denim is really full of character , the stitching is the main appeal of them for me since they are sewn on vintage machines with all the seams being hand folded like it would have been done in the 40's ( this leads to some of the "sloppy stitching" ) . actually went back and forth with Yoshiaki about when the seams began to be ironed before sewing and he seems to think it was aroung 57/58 

 

the jeans aren't for everyone but if your into vintage i don't see how you couldn't respect what Yoshiaki is trying to achieve 

[xchen]

Cool, thanks for the info!

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Luckily Flash gave already the perfect answers to why these jeans cost so much. Of course, if those explanations are enough to justify this price it’s up to you. The cost of the jeans is 38,000 Yen and the shipping is 4,100 Yen, probably owed to the nice and big box on which the jeans are delivered.

 

What Flash didn’t mention in his explanation but I did in my review: the jeans are entirely made by Yoshiaki himself. So just like Roy Slaper. This is something one can consider when comparing the Conner’s to Japanese brands with bigger output volume.

 

To answer your question Michael:

 

   Certainly nice looking jeans and a top notch 40s repro, but that's a bit up there!  Do you feel they warrant being 2.5 times the price of a pair of SC 47s?  

 

 

Probably not.

In the end they are just a pair of jeans, made to cover your body. Sugar Cane’s 1947 are definitely the better bang for the buck (but so are Levi’s 501 STF compared to the SC) and the 1947 is regarded as a very good repro. In terms of pattern and fit I’m not sure if the Conner’s are truer to the original than the SC 1947 but in terms of used machinery and production steps the Conner’s are more authentic (but then the Conner’s lack the 1940s assembly line work).

[itsbenhere]

It definitely could be just my brainwashing by flash's enthusiasm, seeing the price and thinking therefore it must be better, etc...

 

but i feel like these jeans have a lot more soul than the SC1947

[beautiful_FrEaK]

...and you can't put a price tag on 'soul'

 

That somehow reminds me of LVC’s advertizing which was about „poetry“ or so…

[edmond]

God damn why is wearing and trying on a pair of jeans hard? Jeezz

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Dreaded diaper butt...

 

 

[garden gnomes in space]

thats a good fit BF

[Flash]

looks good to me mate