Samurai Jeans

[geneticdrifter]

all im saying is that samurai is doing the mainstream thing and its not how i want a brand to go.. so if you guys disagree with me its no biggie but its true even the take5 staffs agree with me...next brand.. rjb,fh,evisu, momotaro , sda

well damn if the staff at take5 says so.

i dunno, i thought collecting the newest thing all the time, was code for 'beasting over the newest thing all the time.

[rnrswitch]

all im saying is that samurai is doing the mainstream thing and its not how i want a brand to go.. so if you guys disagree with me its no biggie but its true even the take5 staffs agree with me...next brand.. rjb,fh,evisu, momotaro , sda

Whoa, wait you put evisu in there? If you are talking about selling out you can't put evisu in there. I mean evisu still makes some nice shit, but if we are going on hype alone then evisu cannot be in there. I mean puma was selling crappy evisu jeans.

I find this funny too. You should stop buying Viberg boots as well. They are on some hype shit.

[nycsurfer530]

The only reason why i would agree with having evisu there is because of the crap that they sell at barney's

http://www.barneys.com/Mens/MENS04,default,sc.html?prefn1=designer&prefv1=Evisu

[Stacks]

samurai is definitely popular in the community but I think their denim lives up to the hype.

[Alex3000]

anyways im done with samurai's

My prayers have been answered.

[DoitsuJin]

honestly i thought it was the same thing... i mean you're liking them less because they became mainstream. oh well, what can i say? i usually just buy what i like and don't worry about what people think about me.

to get back on topic, i've been breaking in s0500xxs... fit pics soon

[erk]

new samurai arcs..

bad...anyways im done with samurai's

what is going to happen to your vast collection?

[mctaran]

Well, for me Samurai are one of the best japan-made jeans!

And when we are talking about heavy denim (19+oz). It's just nothing to compare with Sams. Imho.

And i don't see any mainstream here. For example, you can find Sugar Cane in ALOT of shops outside of Japan, once i saw some scandinavian shop with True religion and Momotaro at same place!

And how many shops with Samurai we can find outside of Japan? like 5-7? So it's far-far-away from mainstream, and will never be so.

The thing is what they are popular in community because of quality and attention to details.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

i just stopped by americaya the other day..they had 2 of the element sams i believe..i know they had the ones with the purplish/brown overdye (earth element?)

i wish they had arcs though..and im a little curious to see how the fading on them turn out.

I ended up grabbing some 510s with the new arcs:

^pre-soak fit

I know they'd fit perfect after a soak or wash but i'm holding off on the soak in case i end up selling em. I just have so many other pairs of denim right now so we'll see

the fit is really great and will be better after soak. Of course.

So it looks like the new arcs are always black on every model?

the S510XX had yellow arcs before the change

[commodorewheeler]

Whoa, wait you put evisu in there? If you are talking about selling out you can't put evisu in there. I mean evisu still makes some nice shit, but if we are going on hype alone then evisu cannot be in there. I mean puma was selling crappy evisu jeans.

I agree with the Evisu comment. I'm a fan of their higher quality, made-in-Japan stuff, but if anyone has gone mainstream, it's Evisu, with their cheaper, made-in-China-and-southeast-Asia line that is widely available in many countries and meant to be marketed to the masses. I personally have no problem with that, and I think as long as the higher end line is still being made without exorbitant price hikes, Evisu hasn't sold out.

Samurai may be gaining popularity, but they've done it without compromising quality, and, as far as I know, without making a lower quality line manufactured outside of Japan. And they are still pretty hard to find in the US. To my knowledge, BiG is still the only US store that carries Samurai, so you can't really say they've become widely available here.

[mlyngard]

Whoa, wait you put evisu in there? t.

I can only speak for myself, but I think I see two levels of hype: the marketing we see in the US (via BiG and SE), and the way jeans are marketed in Japan and other overseas areas.

In the US, we see them as 'lesser known' or well-kept-secrets - commercially made, but still 'mythical' status stuff made by craftsmen and milled by virgins on antique looms. But we see very little press and get our info here.

But one look at Rakuten, Second, Take 5 or the websites and press of Samurai, Dry Bones, Iron Heart, FH or any of the other bigger companies tells me they all thrive on strong promotions, hype and very vibrant subculture trends.

I'm just saying that we shouldn't confuse what we see in the West with what the true commercial nature of these companies has always been in Japan.

[geneticdrifter]

I'm just saying that we shouldn't confuse what we see in the West with what the true commercial nature of these companies has always been in Japan.

i'm unabashedly uneducated about this but in my gut i feel its true. This (Western Market) is so small you would require a steady revenue stream (domestic business) to be profitable and expand overseas.

just while I am on the issue of hunches...

if i know the japanese business culture, BiG gets all of their Samurais on credit. Meaning that even if you believe that BiG isn't making a profit, they aren't risking any money either. Samurai gives them loads of most likely interest free credit and they profit off selling their other brands. Don't me wrong i bet they make just enough off a pair of sam's to cover OH, if not more. Every sale is another brick laid on the road to america; its all advertising.

[Guest Bespoke]

I need help: I have a specific question about the S710BK 2008 SE model.

I want a pair, but BIG has only a single pair left in size 40. I wear a 38, so I really need to know – preferably from someone experienced in the bigger sizes of this lot – DARE I size up?

The problem is that I’m actually a “fat 36”, which is to say that I should be a 36, my hips are those of a 36", but I’m overweight. My FullCount contest jeans are 38, and shrank to exactly 38. These have been perfect. If they were even a 39”, they’d be too big. I could take 'em off w/o unbuttoning. Sigh. I have a narrow margin of error here.

Gordon suggests they’ll shrink enough to be fine, but I have this suspicion that they’d stretch out closer to tag size.

SO, has anyone here had experience with a size 38 or size 40 for the S710BK 2008 SE model???

Please share.

Thanks!

What does your actual waist measure? If it's closer to the 40 then get the 40 and hot soak but if closer to 38 then get the 38 cause they will stretch. Are these the 19oz? if so they will still stretch just not as much if it were the lighter weight fabric.

[LeicaLad]

What does your actual waist measure? If it's closer to the 40 then get the 40 and hot soak but if closer to 38 then get the 38 cause they will stretch. Are these the 19oz? if so they will still stretch just not as much if it were the lighter weight fabric.

I'm a 38 with hips built for 36. The problem is that a size 38 isn't available. If it was, it'd be a no-brainer. Gordon has only one pair left in size 40.

Thus, I was asking if the bigger sizes in this lot either ran somewhat small OR if they shrank a bit more than usual. Is a size 40 worth the risk if I really need a size 38 (or even a loose 36)?

If I bought, then hot soaked/hot dried, and they still ran too big, they'd be hard to unload. (This, of course, is why Gordon still has a pair in size 40).

Buried way back in this thread (around pgs 60-75) there are discussions that make me think it will be a bad idea to try. I was hoping to find someone in the 38 or 40 range who actually have this 19oz BK model to give advice.

Many thanks.

[avonalliv8]

my advice: dont force an off-size piece of denim just because they are available/on sale/etc. just wait until you can find something that fits properly.

[chantheman]

+ 1

my advice: dont force an off-size piece of denim just because they are available/on sale/etc. just wait until you can find something that fits properly.

[rnrswitch]

I can only speak for myself, but I think I see two levels of hype: the marketing we see in the US (via BiG and SE), and the way jeans are marketed in Japan and other overseas areas.

In the US, we see them as 'lesser known' or well-kept-secrets - commercially made, but still 'mythical' status stuff made by craftsmen and milled by virgins on antique looms. But we see very little press and get our info here.

But one look at Rakuten, Second, Take 5 or the websites and press of Samurai, Dry Bones, Iron Heart, FH or any of the other bigger companies tells me they all thrive on strong promotions, hype and very vibrant subculture trends.

I'm just saying that we shouldn't confuse what we see in the West with what the true commercial nature of these companies has always been in Japan.

my point is just that one cannot say Samurai has "sold out" to hype, yet use Evisu as an example of a Japanese brand that holds firm and is hype-less. Evisu was the most hyped brand, of the japanese jeans manufacturers, here (the states) and in japan for the past 3 years.

At least that is the argument I thought Edmond (demonito) was trying to make.

[arem]

I'm a 38 with hips built for 36. The problem is that a size 38 isn't available. If it was, it'd be a no-brainer. Gordon has only one pair left in size 40.

Thus, I was asking if the bigger sizes in this lot either ran somewhat small OR if they shrank a bit more than usual. Is a size 40 worth the risk if I really need a size 38 (or even a loose 36)?

If I bought, then hot soaked/hot dried, and they still ran too big, they'd be hard to unload. (This, of course, is why Gordon still has a pair in size 40).

Buried way back in this thread (around pgs 60-75) there are discussions that make me think it will be a bad idea to try. I was hoping to find someone in the 38 or 40 range who actually have this 19oz BK model to give advice.

Many thanks.

I had a pair of 38's, they shrunk but they definitely stretched back out too, so if you are closer to a 36 I don't see how it could work out well. if I was you I'd save the money and heartache.

[LeicaLad]

my advice: dont force an off-size piece of denim just because they are available/on sale/etc. just wait until you can find something that fits properly.

Sigh. Good advice, even if I didn't really want to hear it!

Gordon also just responded saying that they best I could hope for would be for these to "settle" at 39. That's just outside my range.

Sorry I hadn't really looked at these before. The cut looks good, and I've been wanting a better pair of black Samurai. The S5000BKs are too low rise for me (I have a pair). I display too much plumber butt (when I bend over or squat) to wear very often.

And, yeah, the obvious solution is to lose about 25-30 lbs. double sigh...

P.S. - To Arem, thanks for the confirmation.

[arem]

Hey, it's not impossible to lose the weight, I dropped almost 50, which is why I don't have the 38's anymore. Let some nice fitting slim denim be your motivation...

[LeicaLad]

Hey, it's not impossible to lose the weight, I dropped almost 50, which is why I don't have the 38's anymore. Let some nice fitting slim denim be your motivation...

.

50! Damn. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. (where is that bowing-down symbol?)

Thanks for the motivation. It is my goal to seriously try.

[PandaXS]

I was thinking about getting those 40s that are left! but passed. and shit man 50. sufu lose weight contest ha

[DoitsuJin]

size 31 s0500xxs, slow to show any fading cause i'm more or less a weekend warrior due to the real world.

[Alex3000]

Sized up? Looks like a comfy fit.

[edmond]

Whoa, wait you put evisu in there? If you are talking about selling out you can't put evisu in there. I mean evisu still makes some nice shit, but if we are going on hype alone then evisu cannot be in there. I mean puma was selling crappy evisu jeans.

I find this funny too. You should stop buying Viberg boots as well. They are on some hype shit.

only viberg specially made for me with special custom options i only get those

for evisu japan line only buddy i dont buy anything thats outside of japan for these

[geneticdrifter]

^^^uh huh.

[sell veg]

Just in case anybody had any doubt in their mind that edmond is an americana hypebeast...

[Dick Danger]

And, yeah, the obvious solution is to lose about 25-30 lbs. double sigh...

I was thinking this very same whilst enjoying a DQ cone.

[chantheman]

Just in case anybody had any doubt in their mind that edmond is an americana hypebeast...

in a way arent we all that frequent this forum for the denim/leather/workwear etc.

[DoitsuJin]

well as i'm sure you're already well aware he's pointing to a more obvious fact, chan.

>>Alex, I bought these from a good friend of mine when I had a little more weight on me. As a result they're a tad bit loose now, but I can't complain as it's comfortable and I don't think the fit looks horribly upsized.