Jump to content

A question for the Levi's experts.


Recommended Posts

I bought a pair of Levi's off of ebay recently and I think that they might be fake. Aside from having the redline inside the leg, it's on the outside of the back belt loop and on the outside of the coin pocket. They were sold as 1955 repro's. Do any of you know if Levi's made jeans with the redline in those places, or are these definite fakes? Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

it;s just the new ones that are made in Japan. That patch is too thick and shiny - and the '55 reissues would have had a 'leather look' - ie card label. The Made in US inside tag is totally different from the real one, which is woven in a different way, without the batwing logo, with washing instructions on the back. The LVC jeans (1947 or earlier) with leather patches would have had a slightly deeper arcuate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe up until May 55 it was possible to find Levis 501XX's, produced in 1955 with leather patch. Officially it changed in late '54, so it is not possible to exactly make sure which version they copied, bu if I have to guess, they chose the one with the paper leather tag.

The first and foremost problem is that the 501XX font they used is wrong, as its too tall, almost stretched. The font used was, I figure, used uptil 1953 I believe.

And yes, the washing tab is all wrong.

Denim Fanatismé.

The Arc - Hitting the selvage from August 1st 2005.

PASHION - The pasion for fashion. Denmark - soon.

Wish'a'knew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure exactly when everything moved to Japan. Even a year ago, after they'd closed the old factory (Valencia?) (eaither for earthquake reinforcement, or for cutbacks), there still seemed to be some US-made jeans; others were made in Italy. Around a month ago I was told all the spring 05 range is made in Japan.

I do have a pic here of the current 55 reissue coincidentally, which is definietly made in Japan and yes, in almost every single detail it looks different, from the colour of stitching to the look of the red tab. Unfortunately it's 46Meg so I can't post it. But all the 1955 reissues I've seen over the last 5 years or so do have the leather-look patch. (There was at one point, perhaps just in Japan, a 54 reissue with a leather patch, again which looked nothing like this one).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Usually they can't resist making them more 'authentic' than the originals - that's why you often get things like red selvage lines where you shouldn't, or extra back pocket rivets etc. The fact your seller didn't show the extra redline parts in the auction photos makes it pretty obvious he knew they were fakes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

shouldn't it be too expensive for counterfeit producers to use things like selvage since you can only use a small percentage of your fabrics (the edges, where the selvage is)?

if they didn't put any labels on it and no stitching on the pockets, just all marks it could be levi's, it would be a pretty nice pair of jeans, wouldn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, the weird/interesting about the cut of jeans - which has become iconic, and rarely varies from when Levi's, or even people before them, produced denim pants in the 1870s - is that it probably originated from a desire to waste the minimum amount of fabric - that's why things like the yoke are shaped the way they are. I'll be interested if anyone here knows more, but my impression is that, using narrow selvage, there would't be a huge amount of waste.

Actually, I'm pretty staggered there are so many people producing fake LVC items. And while the pair shown here aren't that good, they're not that bad, either. They're probably no worse than LS&Co's first attempt at making 'Capital E' jeans in the 1990s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, this has been discussed to death, but if you think about it, you can make selvage denim jeans in a third world country for dirt cheap, so the counterfeiters are making good money even faking the repros. I'm sure there are narrow looms all over the place! I wonder if they use indigo for these jeans? it might actually be cheaper than other dyes. does anyone know?

Carpe Denim!

1112885282366_selvage1_edited.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

with selvage you dont waste much fabric at all, the pieces are just arranged in a way to make sure theyll fit (thats why sometimes the yoke is cut on the left hand, and others on the right.. same with the waistband and pocket placket)

however, you end up using twice as much fabric.. and selvage denims are usually more expensive per yard than the wider fabrics!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote:

Actually, the weird/interesting about the cut of jeans - which has become iconic, and rarely varies from when Levi's, or even people before them, produced denim pants in the 1870s - is that it probably originated from a desire to waste the minimum amount of fabric - that's why things like the yoke are shaped the way they are. I'll be interested if anyone here knows more, but my impression is that, using narrow selvage, there would't be a huge amount of waste.

Actually, I'm pretty staggered there are so many people producing fake LVC items. And while the pair shown here aren't that good, they're not that bad, either. They're probably no worse than LS&Co's first attempt at making 'Capital E' jeans in the 1990s.

--- Original message by Paul T on May 26, 2005 10:44 AM

i wont agree on you due to the fact that you are forced to put the paterns for the legs at the side of the fabric. making one pair of jeans will not make a big difference but if you want to make 100 pairs of jeans, the puzzeling with the paterns will be a lot more efficient if you dont have to use the selvage rather than putting all the leg paterns on the side. i think you will lose a lot of fabric unless you can use it for something else of course
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As it's already become apparrent, I don't know much about denim, but to me the jeans look to be pretty well-made. I don't even really see how it's worthwile to produce fakes, since they must be produced in fairly small numbers, and it's not akin to, say, sewing a laurel onto a generic polo and selling it as a Fred Perry. It still seems strange to me that someone would go to all of the trouble of making fakes, and then add additional features that weren't on the originals, but then again those who would be dupped by fakes in the first place would probably be attracted to the overstated hipness of more visible redline selvege. I guess that it's on par with other knock-off's that have their assumed maker's logo and signiture tartans pasted all over them to a degree far beyond what the genuine maker would ever consider. But people still buy these fakes, not just because they're more affordable, but because they want the brand just for the logo in the first place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you'd paid $30 or $40, maybe they would be cool for the price. As I said, I was suprised that people did go to that much trouble - show the market for vintage-style gear is bigger than you'd think. But I suspect the real deal wouldn't have cost much more than the $100 you paid. THese things happen & I can understand how you were fooled. But what you SHOULD do is post follow-up feedback on the guy who ripped you off, so that others don't get ripped off too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I'm understanding you right, I don't see any red thread attatching the pocket to the demim. It says 501 on back of the top button and doesn't say anything on the rest of them. The other thing is that there's a number stamped on the pocket lining. At this point I'm pretty much positive that they're fakes. I think the fact that there's the redline on the outside of the coin pocket and on the back belt loop, makes it obvious. They're still a pretty cool pair of fakes, although I'd rather have had the real thing.

I tried typing the number that's on the tag in google 501-0193 and here's one of the results:

New Levis 501-0193/505/569/550 Series 18,000 pairs

We have 18,000 pairs of Levis 501-0193/550/560/569 series,Factory case packed,Serious inquiries only. Book your order now these will go very quickly, These are the most sought after jeans. Also 501-0115 series 6,000 pairs. We have Type 1 in addition. Price to low to mention call 1-866-575-3880.

Click here for picture

fob: MS/SA/EU - - price: CALL

Edited by AmericanTemplar on May 29, 2005 at 09:08 PM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...