Lee Japan denim

[Tekrah70]

anyone know of anywhere I can definitely buy some Hair on Hide in W40 ?

Tried but failed searching.

[fardin]

well from what i know they just produce uo to size 34 but that would be at least asize 36.

just got my 1930 lee, beautiful pants, love the orange stitching. try to make pics on the weekened. interesting how different the right hand lee denim is from the left hand.

and warehouse has their 1940s 101z now. and now i dont have the money.

so check out the warehouse site, those are realy some beautiful ones.

http://www.ware-house.co.jp/index.php?page=item&ic=29553

[crownzip]

Hey Fardin,

Glad you like your Lee's. Which ones did you get?

After six months of wearing my '36 hair on hide Lee's dry I finally cold water washed them for the first time and really dig how they're looking. There was little to no shrinkage in the waist and about an inch or so shrinkage in the length with still more than enough length for a good 5" cuff.

[fardin]

yes they are really nice.

i got the 1930 101b with the unionalls buttons. i soaked them when i got them and yes the waist does not really shrink. but they fit fine. they look exactly like the ones in pauls book, wich were from the lee archives. and i like the suspender buttons, have to get some suspenders although they are also very confy with my sugarcane belt.

by the way if anyone here knows how to get some duckdiggers ty3 heyneman please tell me. i missed to buy em last year and now they are gone.

[Dr_Heech]

yes they are really nice.

i got the 1930 101b with the unionalls buttons. i soaked them when i got them and yes the waist does not really shrink. but they fit fine. they look exactly like the ones in pauls book, wich were from the lee archives.

They are nice jeans. I too bought a pair, wanting a pair of jeans to match my 1934 Lee 101 jacket we discussed, but unfortunately the denim is a much bluer, as opposed to indigo shade (is it natural indigo perhaps?). Beautifull repros though, love the details, especially the union-all buttons and the correct period waistband patch.

[rob1031]

Hi everyone I would appreciate some help! I found a pair of Made in Japan Lee's, Archives, WITHOUT arcs. They looked pretty nice but never seen Lee's without arcs and was wondering what they were and what that meant. The store people didn't seem to know anything, so I'd appreciate any help from here!

Couldn't get any pics but basically they were a straight fit, Lee, no arcs or anything (just blue). On the label (not on the jeans, on a piece of card label) it said : "THE ARCHIVES The H.D Lee Merc Company". On the flip side was a japanese label, barcode and the description was: "ARCHIVE COWBOY 101 WWII". The Jeans are very dark blue, raw sanforized, selvage, the leather label is just LEE, real leather. Made in Japan. They are on sale for 50% off and I do like the cut. But I wonder if they're worth it (the original price is about $300 USD).

I have not been able to find these jeans online on a search. It doesn't say if they're 101B or whatever names that usually come up (just says 101, but they are button fly).

Thank you!!!

p.s. it seems everyone is talking about Edwin Lee's and other brands' making Lee jeans... does this mean Lee repro's themselves not very good?

[S-Town]

That's a pretty sweet deal! I think these would have been around 19000 yen in Japan. These would be Edwin-made Lees. And no arcs to represent the thread rationing during WWII.

If you like the cut, you should pull the trigger!

[beautiful_FrEaK]

yeah the tag gives you the reference to a World War II era jeans but from what I have seen, Lee used the upside down Levi's arc at that time. At least you see a lot of 1942 Lee repros with this feature

[Maynard Friedman]

Here's a link to some 44 Lees from the (Edwin) Lee Japan website:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3fq%3dedwin%2bjapan%26hl%3den%26biw%3d1440%26bih%3d697%26prmd%3dimvns&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ja&u=http://www.lee-japan.jp/archives/detail/archive5.html&usg=alkjrhj7ayobuqdy_

Here are the WW2 (1942) ones with plain back pockets:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&prev=/search%3fq%3dedwin%2bjapan%26hl%3den%26biw%3d1440%26bih%3d697%26prmd%3dimvns&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ja&u=http://www.lee-japan.jp/archives/detail/archive5.html

Edited June 6, 2012 by Maynard Friedman

[rob1031]

thanks for the fast and great advice! you guys are awesome!

one last question before i buy, thinking of sizing. I am ususally a 34" waist (uniqlos are 34", levi LVC 1947 are 36" shrunk down 2 sizes). These are sanforized but from what I can see on the forum, their sizing is not very good?

I tried the 34" ones on and they were ok but a bit big. They had 33"s and those were a good fit, with about 2 fingers space I could fit in, just. I am worried the latter will be too small after I wash it.

Any advice on this? I would like to wear them unwashed for 6 months before I wash, so it would be a bit annoying for them to be that big (34" ones) for the first six months.

Thanks!

[Maynard Friedman]

I have the 1936 hair-on-hides, which I believe are the same denim. They are still raw and unworn but the advice I've bee given is that they'll shrink a couple of inches in length but nothing in the waist.

I wear a 32 in most jeans but my hair-on-hides are a 30. Hope that helps.

Edit: they're not the same denim (WW2 LHT v 1936 RHT) but I think the same shrinkage principle/guideline applies.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Maynard Friedman

[Paul T]

As Maynard says, waist shrinkage is minimal. Shrinkage in the length is less than two inches.

Enjoying my 30s 101B a lot, details like the suspender buttons and pocket linings are far superior to much of the LVC. Five months in, I think they've overdone the slubbiness on the fabric, though.

[Maynard Friedman]

Paul,

Are you still wearing the natural indigo Studio D'artisans?

[Paul T]

I was wearing the SDA this month when I fancied going cuffs-free. I think, rather like my Levi's 201, they need another 4 months of hard wear before they even start to look worn-in. Interesting that SDA have an entirely different philosophy of how denim should wear in compared to many of the Osaka brands. MY 101B look about as worn in at 4-5 months as the SDA do at 9-10....

[Maynard Friedman]

Cheers Paul,

I'm waiting for the summer to begin so I can give my SDA 101s a wash and a rest 'til Autumn and slip into something more seasonal. This was supposed to happen on June 1st but no sign of the winter abating yet...

I know mine aren't natural indigo like yours but I love the slower fading on these.

[rob1031]

Thanks for the advice! will go for the smaller size. Excited to get them now!

[S-Town]

^

Where did you find these jeans?

[Somar]

Anybody on this forum still rocking the Lee's??

[Maynard Friedman]

I wear my 1937 Hair on Hides (not 1936 as I originally thought) occasionally but they'll primarily be summer jeans for me.

[indigoeagle]

I wear my 1937 Hair on Hides (not 1936 as I originally thought) occasionally but they'll primarily be summer jeans for me.

What's the difference between the two?

[Maynard Friedman]

36s have the 'Union Made' top button and 37s have the 'Lee Cowboy' one. I think that's all.

[Bobbo]

Anybody on this forum still rocking the Lee's??

About 14 weeks in on my pair of Lee 101Z 23oz. Will soon end up on the shelf until next winter comes around though.

[Somar]

About 14 weeks in on my pair of Lee 101Z 23oz. Will soon end up on the shelf until next winter comes around though.

after taking pics and posting then on sufu, right?

[Somar]

I wear my 1937 Hair on Hides (not 1936 as I originally thought) occasionally but they'll primarily be summer jeans for me.

101B?

[Somar]

I'm trying to find a Lee 101 (fit) guide... Would like to know what the differences are between the R, S, Z and the L (am I missing any?). I went through this thread but that didn't really help. Does anybody know a place where to look?

[Maynard Friedman]

I'm pretty sure most of the latter comments are more attributable to Lee Europe than Lee Japan, particularly the newish Lee 101 range.

Here's a link to Lee Japan:

http://lee-japan.jp/archives/

My 1937s are 101Bs, similar to the 36s in the link above.

[Double 0 Soul]

I dont venture into this thread very often and know little about Lee denim so apologies if this is a stupid question but..

These are made by The Real McCoys with a rare right hand twill. They are an RMC product but obviously a Lee repro i have never seen an exact copy of a pair of jeans made by a different company before with permission/license.

Why are they an RMC product opposed to a Lee and why did Lee not make them for themselves.

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/vintage/item/mp12151/

[Maynard Friedman]

I don't the answer to that Double O, but there are 3 companies licensed to make Lee repros - Edwin (Lee Japan), Real McCoys and Warehouse.

Lee Japan does produce 1942 WW2 repros, although they may be slightly different.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Maynard Friedman

[Double 0 Soul]

Is the same model currently in production made for Lee by one of the above with a LH twill? If so do you know which?

[setterman]

That's their WWII repro, as far as I know RHT is correct for that time frame. Warehouse's version is RHT too.

http://www.whw.jp/warehouse/2012/10/20121001.html