Not a whole lot available...

[Jay-]

I'm Canadian. I'm from Toronto, but I go to university in Halifax, Nova Scotia (on the Atlantic ocean) and I work in Calgary, Alberta (right at the edge of the Rocky mountian range).

In Halifax there is nothing. Really. Maybe a Gap and an American Eagle, but that's it. In Toronto, there's lots of different things available, but I'm almost never in the T Dot anymore and the only stores I've been to that carry high end stuff if Holt Renfrews and Harry Rosen. They have both these stores in Calgary as well.

The only brands these stores carry are essentially 7's, Diesel (which has 2 unwashed styles), Earnest Sewns, R&R (which I don't like), True Religion (same as R&R), and Nudie (which are $300 a pair).

So for Japanese selvage, they only have Nudies. Now, after reading these forums for the last few days, the advice I've heard most people say is to NOT spend 300 on your first pair of raw, and go with something like APC (which are almost half the price). We don't get brands like that readily available in Canada. I've never really bought anything off the internet before (which I plan on changing soon), but I think it would be smart to make sure a pair of jeans fits before you order it and find out it doesn't. Unfortunately I can't try on those brands here in Canada, so what do I do?

[poly800rock]

go get nudies, if you follow their instructions, you will be very happy with them as your first raw pair of denim.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

measure your favorite pair of jeans. use that as a standard when you are choosing your next pair. most japanese purveyors have charts.

edit: follow poly's adcice and get nudies ONLY if they are reasonably priced. or try them on at the store and then buy them cheaper online.

[keri]

take measurements. lots of measurements. take them of the jeans that you like after you've washed them (that way it will account for the relaxation of the denim). Take the waistband, hip, thigh (2" below crotch is a general place to measure), inseam, outseam, leg opening, knee, front rise, back rise, anything you can think of. Then contact the online store and tell them your predicament, most will help you out with measurements or they have a very liberal return policy. A lot of stores offer free returns/exchanges, or you're just out shipping, so you can buy the 2-3 pairs that you think will fit try them on, see what fits closest to how you're jeans fit after a wash, and then go up one size to allow for shrinkage during a soak. Did I make any sense?

[LA Guy]

The guys at Denimbar (www.thedenimbar.net) will ship APCs (ridiculously overpriced in Canada) for $120 USD shipped. Tell them Fok sent you. Oh, and to get the discount, mention that you want the Styleforum or Superfuture (I think) discount. Maybe both will get you an even better deal?

[Jay-]

Thanks LA Guy, and thanks for all the other advice guys.

But don't you think it would be unwise to drop $300 on something I might screw up?

$120 US sounds reasonable for a pair of premium denim, but as far as I kno, there's no way for me to find a store that carries this brand here in Canada so I can size myself on a pair.

Anyone from Toronto kno of a store selling APC?

[LA Guy]

Thanks LA Guy, and thanks for all the other advice guys.

But don't you think it would be unwise to drop $300 on something I might screw up?

$120 US sounds reasonable for a pair of premium denim, but as far as I kno, there's no way for me to find a store that carries this brand here in Canada so I can size myself on a pair.

Anyone from Toronto kno of a store selling APC?

Um, Nomad, I think. But the price there is like $220 Cdn (+15% tax), which is crazy/stupid.

[poly800rock]

well with nudies, at least you get to try them on. thats why i suggested that to begin with

[high_contrast]

TNT Blu @ Hazelton Lanes has them for sure.

[cory_ostertag]

Um, Nomad, I think. But the price there is like $220 Cdn (+15% tax), which is crazy/stupid.

TNT blu also has a large selection of APC, i believe u can also get Julian red in toronto now.

on another note, i believe halifax has or is getting an american apparel in the near future, which will improve your general shopping situation

[high_contrast]

$189 + tax I think. Get it from Denimbar, 120 USD shipped to Canada is a great price.

[panikEpenguin]

standardstyle.com has 20% off the entire store and they stock nudies. sorry, i don't know if they ship out of US. i used to wear apc's, but it felt like settling after awhile after seeing lvc and japanese brands.

[Double D]

Bear in mind APCs won't run true to size, and will stretch... same for any denim with stretch fabric in it. Just makes it a fair bit harder to mail order.

[freshtakk]

holt renfew here in Edmonton started carrying APC, so I'm going to assume that the other stores across canada have or will start carrying a limited quantity soon...i just tried them on in store and then purchased off a fellow sf user..price at holt was 210CAD..cheaper to go through mauro from denimbar.

[Ott]

holt renfew here in Edmonton started carrying APC, so I'm going to assume that the other stores across canada have or will start carrying a limited quantity soon...i just tried them on in store and then purchased off a fellow sf user..price at holt was 210CAD..cheaper to go through mauro from denimbar.

that's weird. Did they have many pieces other than jeans?

also: hello Edmonton person

[Kasper]

the problem with ordering online when from canada is that you're most likely gonna get hit by custom charges (usually 15%, but can be pretty random sometimes). where it gets ugly is when your goods are shipped with a private carrier (UPS, FEDEX etc), cause they will it you with some "administrative" charges of 30-45$. so before ordering online, make sure that the goods can be shipped with USPS or whatever the regular post in the country you are ordering from. i personnaly wouldn't pay 300$ for a pair of Nudie, that's also how much they are selling in Montreal and i feel it's way too much.

With BIG and Self Edge opening, you could get a pair from there or you could ask 2000db do get you something from Japan. I would suggest a pair of Sugar Cane 47 as you first pair. they fit true to size so you won't fuck up sizing, the fit is fairly normal so no surprise there and the value for money is great cause they cost only about 130$CDN in japan. you can order them throw Hinoya, there was a thread recently about buying denim directly from japan, you should check it out.

[LA Guy]

standardstyle.com has 20% off the entire store and they stock nudies. sorry, i don't know if they ship out of US. i used to wear apc's, but it felt like settling after awhile after seeing lvc and japanese brands.

Really? I have worn some of the best Japanese denim companies out there, and I have to say that I still reach for my APCs a lot. The color of the denim is not as deep as a lot of other companies, but the denim is very distinctive (not to mention super tough), the construction is terrific, and the cut of the new standard is modern and classic. I mean, I really like my SDAs and my 5EPs (just to get my favorite Japanese and domestic brand out there, though to be fair, 5EPs are made in Japan of Japanese denim), but my APC NS always have a place in the rotation.

Oh, and APC uses Japanese denim.

[cory_ostertag]

standardstyle.com has 20% off the entire store and they stock nudies. sorry, i don't know if they ship out of US. i used to wear apc's, but it felt like settling after awhile after seeing lvc and japanese brands.

unfortunetely they do not ship to Canada.

Freshtakk, i believe Holt in toronto is carrying apc as well, but from what i know montreal and ottawa is not. Either way 210 is a little ridiculous. they are cheaper straight from APC on mecer street.

[Kasper]

unfortunetely they do not ship to Canada.

Freshtakk, i believe Holt in toronto is carrying apc as well, but from what i know montreal and ottawa is not. Either way 210 is a little ridiculous. they are cheaper straight from APC on mecer street.

there wasn't any last week when i went there (Holt Montreal) so it wouldn't surprise me that the shop wouldn't carry any. the montreal Hold sucks anyway...

and yeah 210 + tax (240$) for APC is really ridiculous. with the exchange rate being so good for us right now, i see no reason to pay that much...

[mr fluffernutter]

and Nudie (which are $300 a pair).

Weirddd... In Victoria they range from $180 - $250(?) depending on the model.

[Kasper]

Weirddd... In Victoria they range from $180 - $250(?) depending on the model.

i guess he was referring to RRDS, which are also 300$ in Montreal. other models are cheaper though...

[viv1984viv]

Man, im kicking myself for getting apcs, I should've just spent the extra 50quid and gone straight to rakuten first, if you want a real nice pair of jeans you have to pay.

But dont worry about messing them up, the whole point of jeans is its pretty impossible unless you shred em or spill bleech on em. And jeans fade how they fade washing loads or not. I can understand if you feel iffy about fits but there is enough info around here to help, if you search and read up you can get a pretty good idea of how they fit, and use google translate on rakuten and they will give you the actual measurements of each size of every model.

find what you want and go for it.

Also get your fav jeans and measure the waist left to right and double it to give you the true waist size, that way you will know what size to get.

I say this cos old favourites stretch out ( maaybe 3 inches ) and you dont wanna be faffing around inhaling trying to do buttons up.

Good Point Below.

[Ott]

Man, im kicking myself for getting apcs, I should've just spent the extra 50quid and gone straight to rakuten first

just to add a contrary opinion, I bought a pair of Pure Blue XX-005s and sold them because I liked my APCs better

[apu]

i think apcs are nice, for 100bucks u cant really go wrong with them, but then its always good to get something nicer (whether better denim or fit) if u can afford it, e.g. PBJs or DH

[freshtakk]

that's weird. Did they have many pieces other than jeans?

also: hello Edmonton person

No, unfortunately they only carried a few pairs of New Standards and New cures..I would've liked to have seen more stuff but even the salesdude didnt really know what APC was..I just assumed since Edmonton was carrying APC that some of the larger cities would be relatively similar..

Are you from Edmontont too Ott?

Jay$, if I were you I would just find a pair that you like..read up on it as much as you can so you can get a general idea for sizing..follow others' advice and do some measurement on your own and then go to the appropriate store/person and order...and if worse comes to worse it isnt all that hard unloading denim on this forum...ive taken a few hits on some purchases (re-selling) but in the end its led me to some pretty wirked denim..man since I've joined this damn forum I've ordered so many jeans and all that I have to show for it is a pair of APC NS (and imperials and diors hopefully to arrive this week)...but the majority of people on here and so damn friendly and helpful..especially 2000db if you want Japanese, sam113 for imperials and others and mauro mainly for APC..