Cone Mills (last US denim manufacturer) is shutting down

[dudewuttheheck]

8 hours ago, mikecch said:

I started with Japanese jeans so for quite some time I was dismissive of Cone fabrics. 

The one-off denim and duck made for the Roy and Left Field contests changed my mind though, and I do agree that those fabrics aged in a way which was natural, flavourful and interesting at various stages of wear. 

On the flip side, I do also find a lot of the stock Cone denims that all the kickstarter brands had been using to be somewhat underwhelming. I'm a huge texture freak before any consideration of vintage authenticity or indigo fading though. 

Sad to see Cone go, hopefully smaller and more versatile operations will take over the mantle. 

I have that Cone duck fabric on my Roys as well and I have to say I do LOVE this fabric specifically. I even asked Roy a couple of years ago if he was going to be able to get more of it. Definitely a fantastic duck fabric.

[bartlebyyphonics]

16 hours ago, mlwdp said:

Cone made my city where it is today.

Local wise, I haven't heard anything about the workers being offered employment placement services.  Cone has put food on people's tables here so it's tough to see this happening.

i know what you are saying

i work in a town where the main industry (ship building) was closed down sometime in the mid 80s

whilst official reports say the employment has recovered in those some 30 years, it still feels like the heart has been wrenched from the town that a shopping mall, historical visitor centre, entertainment complex, various 'exciting' creative capital start-ups and mis-matched institutional partnerships [all of the things that now fill that site] hasn't filled, especially in this economic climate...

[bartlebyyphonics]

18 hours ago, mikecch said:

I'm a huge texture freak before any consideration of vintage authenticity or indigo fading though.

normally i would expect flatness, sure

then lvc 1915 in cone was suprise for me... with surprising texture for something only 9oz

posted some raw pix in lvc thread, these are the cooked and dried

 

Edited November 11, 2017 by bartlebyyphonics

[Inimitable N!]

On 11/10/2017 at 12:48 PM, Paul T said:

When I developed the Roy contest fabric with Ralph I begged some fabric off them: the indigo duck. Like quite a few Cone fabrics, once they introduced it, Japanese mills followed up with something similar (the current TCB 20s have belt loops from a similar Japanese fabric). It's a real sleeper fabric, and was never used for much apart from some lovely Made & Crafted chinos. They had to resin-coat them, I heard, as it crocks so much.  I still have a couple of metres which I treasure so much that I'm not sure what I'll ever use it for.

not sure if it's the same duck fabric that i've got on a pair of tellasons... kinda 10oz duck but it crocks something fierce, i rinsed 'em once and wore 'em a bit but the cut is just a bit tapered for me... shame really since the fabric is so incredible

here's a closeup of the fabric detail and selvedge

 

[Maynard Friedman]

13 hours ago, bartlebyyphonics said:

i work in a town where the main industry (ship building) was closed down sometime in the mid 80s

whilst official reports say the employment has recovered in those some 30 years, it still feels like the heart has been wrenched from the town that a shopping mall, historical visitor centre, entertainment complex, various 'exciting' creative capital start-ups and mis-matched institutional partnerships [all of the things that now fill that site] hasn't filled, especially in this economic climate...

Is that Chatham bartles?

[bartlebyyphonics]

indeedly

[Paul T]

18 minutes ago, bartlebyyphonics said:

indeedly

That is so sad. Happening all over; so many folks complain about and then drive to Primark and buy Chinese shit. We really do need a new economic model.

Anyways, here's some Cone fabric. Not Samurai, nor 18 ounces, but call me a fool... I like it.

2 hours ago, aho said:

My final submission...Sorry everyone, no holds barred this time, I needed to win:

 

 

[mlwdp]

What pisses me off the worst is when customers come in at my job and complain about Chinese made goods....while wearing Levi's made somewhere other than USA. 

The nerve.

[Maynard Friedman]

X-posting a question raised by Dr Heech on Denimbro.

Does anyone know if the Valencia factory-produced duck clothing from 1999/2000 was made from Cone fabric or was the fabric imported from Japan?

[Paul T]

53 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

X-posting a question raised by Dr Heech on Denimbro.

Does anyone know if the Valencia factory-produced duck clothing from 1999/2000 was made from Cone fabric or was the fabric imported from Japan?

That's a good question (which of course I'd expect with Dr Heech). The newer one developed in 2008 by Cone had the really wide selvage line. I have a feeling that the earlier one was from somewhere unexpected, Italy or most likely Turkey. Quite a lot of LVC canvases have come from Turkey including the recent Crazy Legs and probably that mustard coloured one of a few years back.

Edited November 12, 2017 by Paul T

[Sympathy-For-The-Denim]

@paul T: is the 1920s LVC or original? i adore the vertical structure that overlays the hole jeans. incredible.

[Guest]

I got a pair of Leftfield Cones recently (right after the closing was announced). The denim seems kind of bland but I don't have too much to compare to (N&F and Japan Blues are probably closest?). All are new this year so no fading yet. I grew up on Cone Levis, the Leftfields seem about the same (not counting the details Leftfield puts in).

Loss of jobs seems more important than loss of denim.

[mlwdp]

Here's a really good recent article about Cone closing by NYT

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/style/goodbye-american-selvage-jeans.html

[oomslokop]

maybe @Paul T can tell us why: one big difference i've noticed from cone denim i've worn (sanforized 13-14 oz on rs blacksmith and unsanforized 12 oz NOS (so they say) on mf cali 54) is that it goes "white" at a much slower rate than japanese denim (i've worn fc, sc, dry bones, wh, tender, bootleggers reunion, et al). the upper thighs on my japanese jeans go white after about a year, but cone denim stays blue longer. 

 

[Paul T]

5 hours ago, oomslokop said:

maybe @Paul T can tell us why: one big difference i've noticed from cone denim i've worn (sanforized 13-14 oz on rs blacksmith and unsanforized 12 oz NOS (so they say) on mf cali 54) is that it goes "white" at a much slower rate than japanese denim (i've worn fc, sc, dry bones, wh, tender, bootleggers reunion, et al). the upper thighs on my japanese jeans go white after about a year, but cone denim stays blue longer. 

 

Some Japanese denim wears at the same rate as Cone. But a lot of their denim is specifically designed to crock much faster, by having the indigo sitting in a more shallow layer. Samurai would be a great example. In contrast, a lot of SDA denim wears slowly just like Cone .

Of course, there are many variables and other issues, especially how they design their slubbing and irregularities.

[oomslokop]

cool. thanks paul. "sitting in a more shallow layer" — does this have anything to do with how many dips in the indigo bath (that are often advertised) the denim goes thru?

[Paul T]

6 hours ago, oomslokop said:

cool. thanks paul. "sitting in a more shallow layer" — does this have anything to do with how many dips in the indigo bath (that are often advertised) the denim goes thru?

IN general I don't think the quicker-crocking denim is dipped less; there are so many variables in the chemistry it's hard to generalise. I don't know also if there's a general difference in the methodology of US vs Japanese dyeing - although, in general they use different machinery, so there must be some significant differences in how it's done.

Overall I would say that Japanese denim has a much wider range of dyeing styles than Cone, which in general wears at roughly the same rate, whereas the difference between, eg, Samurai and some SDA is huge. Even the difference between some denims that come out of, say, Nihon Menpu is mental.

Edited November 15, 2017 by Paul T

[Sensuki]

Pacific Blue Denims just announced that they've got 6 of the Draper looms and are going to be producing MiUSA Selvedge Denim

 

[kicks79]

That's great news!  

[dudewuttheheck]

Very cool. This is great to see! I was hoping some people would do something like this. 

Pacifc, Huston, and hopefully True Loom and others will bring more options to USA made denim.

[jewellben]

Picked up a pair of Cone Denim from the "Next" Sale - £23 great fabric and cut jeans I have to say. The pocket bags are virtually the same if not the same as LVC

[lance]

^^^^ That really is good news!

[mlwdp]

20 minutes ago, jewellben said:

Picked up a pair of Cone Denim from the "Next" Sale - £23 great fabric and cut jeans I have to say. The pocket bags are virtually the same if not the same as LVC

Give a call to Hudson Hill in Greensboro if you're looking for more Cone fabric! I no longer live in Greensboro unfortunately  .

[Paul T]

2 hours ago, jewellben said:

Picked up a pair of Cone Denim from the "Next" Sale - £23 great fabric and cut jeans I have to say. The pocket bags are virtually the same if not the same as LVC

Link??

[Maynard Friedman]

A quick Interweb search provides this link.

Not many sizes left but there might be more in the shops if you can suffer the ignominy of going into one! 

[jewellben]

23 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

A quick Interweb search provides this link.

Not many sizes left but there might be more in the shops if you can suffer the ignominy of going into one! 

yes thats where I got them online

[Leonard Leroy]

I actually wasn't aware of this when I received a pair of 1955s for Christmas. Is there anyway to tell if my pair is made of Cone Mill denim? I don't have the tags anymore. 

[kicks79]

It would still have been cone mills. 

[Leonard Leroy]

thanks for the reply, here's the 1955s they replaced.

[aho]

LEONARD FREAKIN LEROY!!!

I had to triple check the post date, wasn't sure if I was time traveling....Welcome back (if you left?)...Do you still have those Skulls?!