Sugar Cane Denim

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Well, you can see it the other way round: these models SC made weren't the collectibles. The ones they did the repro from were the "collectibles", too precious too be worn so they made a copy to enjoy (I think this was also the official reason to do these).

And that's how I intend to use once I get around wearing them.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

29 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

I really like them.. feel I’ve missed out, they seem to be the most significant repros SC have put out since 2008, I’m hoping they don’t entirely rinse the genre.. conjouring up nonexistent ‘details of the era’ ..

I just think that.. if they didn’t call them collectible, they would be more collectible in the future

I see more of them pop up on the secondary market and sometimes cheaper than the retail price so there is still hope  

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Well, you can see it the other way round: these models SC made weren't the collectibles. The ones they did the repro from were the "collectibles", too precious too be worn so they made a copy to enjoy 

^this could be said for any repro.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Sure. But many repros are more generic (like the latest SCSC 40s model). The first ones they made are trying to copy 1:1 (which we know they did not, see the lack of red tab and I think I read somewhere they adjusted the fit?!). Same could be said for the CSF 46 Miura model? I guess the majority of repros are generic and take details from the era but aren't copying a specific pair.

Of course, that does not change your statement that repros were made so anybody can enjoy the jeans we cannot simply buy anymore.

[Double 0 Soul]

Agreed, I get the concept.. if CSF had called their repros ‘collectables’ I’d be saying the same thing.

I suppose it’s a bit like a ‘limited edition’ where the marketing is used to create rarity or scarcity value but in this case you’re telling denim collectors to collect them.

[Double 0 Soul]

I’m only halfway through the video on the previous page, I’ll watch the rest when I sit down for some breakfast.. I never knew the SC catalogues went back before 2003.. I’d love to see a 2002 catalogue, I’d give my right arm to see those 1980s catalogues..😍  

[Lorcan]

I don’t really share the feeling around the naming tbh. I expect some of it is just something they thought sounded cool marketing to primarily a Japanese domestic audience whose first language isn’t English… no point over thinking it. 
 

I can sympathise with questioning the price - there are plenty of good jeans for less money after all. I feel like they’re among the best repros I’ve tried and have a different character to other stuff I own so I’m okay with it. And new fabric developed for every release is maybe different from what other brands are doing.

Hoping the new release is a one off for Sugar Cane 50th anniversary and they go back to made in Japan and repro-ing specific pairs again down the line though.

[Double 0 Soul]

I don't really care what they call them.. it's just a personal thing.. i have a collectors mentality, i can't buy one of anything.. look at the shorts thread, i will buy one of every colour .. 

If i was to buy the SCSCs i'd end up buying every pair, even the pairs i'm not too fussed about, i may not even wear them (it's not like i'm short of jeans) so 20yrs in the future.. i'd rather there not be 100s of other collectors who've been prompted to do the same by the brand.. i want my collection to be special damn it.. rather than ubiquitous.

Edited February 16 by Double 0 Soul

[JohnM]

Love the honesty about the 'collectors mentality'.  I guess I am one, at least according to my non-collector friends.  For me, it's more about figuring out (and curiosity about) what's 'good', which in the case of jeans means what fits and is made well, which generally means going down the rabbit hole and spending too much money.

I also enjoy everyone else's interest in details that often matter little to me -- in a world where no one cares about quality or notices details, this group does.  I have to laugh though when I see the two Japanese guys oohing and ahhing over a vintage pair of Levi's next to the latest super denim collectible.  There's a reverence (real or amped up) that exceeds what Levi Strauss himself might say about his own products.

[reallypeacedoff]

Anyone with sugar cane based jeans been pricked by sharp fibres? Was wearing my MF yesterday, it caught my finger, and I started bleeding everywhere. Felt like a shard of glass was stuck in the jeans...

[MJF9]

I had the same thought as @beautiful_FrEaK on the SCSC naming being after original collectibles... but I do get an urge with these to get, collect even, the full sets.  I should have bought the '46 tux in hindsight at the get-go and then later when I had a chance on Yahoo.  I think the '43 tux in particular is great - the fit works for me, the jacket length is just right and the jeans are so easy to wear, aside from the other features and nice denim.  The '45 jeans took me a bit by surprise though as they are spacious in the top block but then slim through the knee to the hem.  By the time I get around to wearing them, I'm sure it'll be fine. 

I see they are appearing on Yahoo for a pretty penny - seems OTT - suppose they are only on sale for that... be interesting to see what they actually go for

1945 set up in good sizes

1942 jeans

[ATWM]

3 hours ago, Lorcan said:

no point over thinking it. 

Don’t be too charitable. No thinking involved here - it is strictly an almost involuntary reaction. I bet they are great pairs that with any other name (and price, perhaps) I may have considered at the right time. 

I’ve never really looked into the pairs at all due to the name alone.

To try on the overthinking hat though - 

I’ve long felt this way about Leicas - cameras I love to use that really are well designed, useful objects where there is a large collector contingent - mostly who keep cameras and lenses in cases and on shelves and don’t make pictures with them. Leica as a company perpetuates this with a bunch of wacky releases that functionally do nothing different than standard models but have gold plating or green paint etc etc. 

I think there’s a whiff of that here. So I come around to the fact that what I initially liked about jeans was the lack of preciousness about them - even if they’re good ones they’re meant to be worn and not fussed over - which sort of runs opposite the idea of a collectible in any way.

I get it - it’s just not something I ever personally want to embrace if I can help it.

Edited February 16 by ATWM

[JohnM]

^ Not to get too far from the Sugar Cane field, but I had Nikons and a Nikkormat for many years (ago) that were worn and brassed with use.  Then I finally had enough money to buy a Leica and babied it due to cost and lack of time.  Love the camera (especially the lenses) but was never able to just set it down on the ground (or asphalt) and let nature takes its course -- the birth date of my collector mentality, celebrated with collectible candles from France made from a secret wax formula, essential oils, hand-poured technique, gold embossed packaging, and wicks that have never seen a match.  

[Double 0 Soul]

Looking at the video^^ it looks like they're made in America by Mexicans.. or Made in Japan by Vietnamese?

I'm just glad they're not made in Mexico or Vietnam 

[indigoeagle]

16 hours ago, Lorcan said:

I don’t really share the feeling around the naming tbh. I expect some of it is just something they thought sounded cool marketing to primarily a Japanese domestic audience whose first language isn’t English… no point over thinking it. 
 

I can sympathise with questioning the price - there are plenty of good jeans for less money after all. I feel like they’re among the best repros I’ve tried and have a different character to other stuff I own so I’m okay with it. And new fabric developed for every release is maybe different from what other brands are doing.

Hoping the new release is a one off for Sugar Cane 50th anniversary and they go back to made in Japan and repro-ing specific pairs again down the line though.

Yes, that's how I see it.
Japanese English names can be quirky.
I was hesitating due to the high price, but really liked the effort they put in including the videos on that effort. 

[Lorcan]

At least they don’t come in fancy packaging, I feel like the box and wax paper thing à la Ground Alls (didn’t Libra Pondus even use a metal box?! or was that a fever dream) does psychologically encourage the store away and don’t wear mentality. Or if you do just throw them on then you’ve got ephemera cluttering up the place to store or bin.

[PBTony]

I also thought it was because Super Collectable = SC abbreviated Sugar Cane

[Double 0 Soul]

49 minutes ago, Lorcan said:

At least they don’t come in fancy packaging, I feel like the box and wax paper thing à la Ground Alls (didn’t Libra Pondus even use a metal box?! or was that a fever dream) does psychologically encourage the store away and don’t wear mentality. Or if you do just throw them on then you’ve got ephemera cluttering up the place to store or bin.

Ok.. if i have to defend myself.. 

First point.. i ordered the Ground-Alls from Rodeo Bros so they didn't come with a box or wax paper.. you only get the box if they're ordered from the Ground-All's store.. I'm not collecting the GAs, i'm wearing them.

Second point.. I have a small collection of 'collectable' jeans from the 90s, i also have a bunch of worn jeans and over the last decade i've binned or given away more SC-47s / M41001s than i currently own because they were all beat tf.

Point three.. If folks buy my stuffs.. i give them my ephemera (keyrings, bandanas and such) free with the purchase as a little gift (unless i have to declare it on a customs form, i which case i don't) i just think it's a nice gesture and an easy way to get rid of it..

[Double 0 Soul]

Also.. @Lorcan .. i don't need any encouragement..  

I've thought about this a lot over the years when my collecting has got a bit out of hand, when i was a kid.. like a lot of working-class kids born in the 70s, i had fk'all, things were a little brighter through the 80s.. when i moved out of my folks house, i had fk'all again.. then i started collecting vinyl, i didn't have a sofa, i made a bed at work from plywood because i slept on a mattress on the floor.. i would go without basic essentials to buy vinyl  then i started collecting hi-fi equipment.. CD,s.. then i started collecting sneakers.. clothes, bikes, outdoor jackets.. jeans, boots and so on..  it sounds like i'm trying to compensate for the lack of belongings during periods of my life.. but it's not that at all.. I feel almost compelled to fulfill what i consider a 'collection' to be..

For instance.. Sugarcane release 4x Levi-repro denim jackets between 91 and 98.. Typ1, Typ2, Typ3 and a 213.. i fucking hate Typ3 denim jackets but i've been searching for one for months to complete this^ collection.. It sounds nuts doesn't it?.. but don't blame me.. it's just inbuilt within my nature  .. i can't wait to find one then i can move on from this time consuming madness..

..to something else.. which is why i'm trying to resist buying a single pair of SCSCs .. the only good reason i have found is the fact that the name could encourage other denim collectors to hoard them rendering my future collection mundane.. 

[Maynard Friedman]

Completist

[Double 0 Soul]

Thank you therapist Friedman

[Double 0 Soul]

Remember when I spent nearly a decade collecting every pair of vintage Buckweats in super-vintage condition.. still with the tissue paper stuffing..

..then sold the collection to @MJF9 for a fraction of what I paid for them. 

[MJF9]

... who added them to his collection of pumps from Flash, Geeman, Maynard... and whose collection will not be completed until he has at least one pair of pumps from every Sufu member who wears a UK size 8... OK I made that last bit up... but given the idiosyncrasies on Sufu, no one would bat an eyelid if it were true    

Edited February 17 by MJF9

[beautiful_FrEaK]

2 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Remember when I spent nearly a decade collecting every pair of vintage Buckweats in super-vintage condition.. still with the tissue paper stuffing..

..then sold the collection to @MJF9 for a fraction of what I paid for them. 

You can now start a collection of vintage DENIME WW2 jeans. I'll take them off your hands afterwards 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

And some old AWA AI models, SC40200

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/auction/yahoo/input/h514034645/

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/auction/yahoo/input/c1046719900/

[bod]

Another set of @4 months pics of my 1947’s.. greeeeen fades 

 

[bod]

I folded and gave the 47’s their first wash

 

 

Edited February 28 by bod

[indigoeagle]

The denim of the SC42025 Wide is quite neppy and feels more substantial than the stated 13oz, overall a great pair.

 

Edited March 3 by indigoeagle

[indigoeagle]

Pics are a bit dark unfortunately.

SC42025


 

 

 

[indigoeagle]

@Double 0 Soul If I recall correctly you had written about, how Sugar Cane had started off with detail correct repros and then had a period in which they got very creative to change it yet again back to repros.

It looks like they're back to trying creative stuff again.

https://www.instagram.com/selfedge/reel/DVb1Z7tTJQq/

 

 

Edited March 7 by indigoeagle