Warehouse

[mlyngard]

My opinion about this J Crew thing is that they are likely doing it as a small scale loss leader which helps establish/ maintain their "hip" credentials .

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On point. I agree with that assessment. The 'tiering' of their more urban brands (Madewell & Liquor Store) is smart for that strategy. Those sub-brands/stores seem to be the test-bed for their loss-leaders. It's a really smart way to structure.

and not to be a dick, but it's the internet, other people are gonna read it, even people who work for j.crew. who's really surprised?

anyhow, the bottom line for me is that supporting small brands doing good work is great, but so is having easy access to nice denim.

No dick at all. Solid points. I suppose we're all aware that anything we share here is going to be publicly consumed by not just denimheads but also by the corporate world. That lack of secrecy is only a good thing.

Public knowledge sharing is way more important in the long run. The market will decide the rest.

[aho]

^Just to re-iterate, nothing really groundbreaking here in the long run...Those that like the raw denim lifestyle will stick with it no matter what, and those who don't care won't get on track...If we're all secure with our own style/taste then it shouldn't matter what is mainstream or not! Let's not forget, they came up with different washes and non-selvedge jeans for a reason...Once the "trend" passes, it'll be interesting to see what direction denim goes IMO...

[salaami]

the made in china thing shouldn't scare or shock to many of us, we should by now be well aware that most of the MIJ jeans we wear are made on japanese soil by chinese women. kuniyoshi-san said it, and that's enough for me. cheep said that the evisu heritage jeans are quality, and they are MIC. still with all that said, i refuse to wear non MIJ jeans. i'm an asshole.

[rnrswitch]

the made in china thing shouldn't scare or shock to many of us, we should by now be well aware that most of the MIJ jeans we wear are made on japanese soil by chinese women. kuniyoshi-san said it, and that's enough for me. cheep said that the evisu heritage jeans are quality, and they are MIC. still with all that said, i refuse to wear non MIJ jeans. i'm an asshole.

I don't know about everybody else who is opposed to made in china stuff and their reasons, but for me it comes down to good labor practices. I don't care what nationality the person is that sews my jeans together. I care if they are being treated fairly and compensated relatively well. I will buy MIJ stuff and made in the usa stuff, because I like that the person putting my clothes together is being paid relatively good in comparison to other countries. And before someone goes off about, "Have you ever seen the sweatshops in Los Angeles. They're horrible." That shit may be true, but the worst factory practices in the states and i assume in Japan are nothing like the worst sweatshops in china.

By the way, if you can point me to a horrible factory in the US that manufactures clothes, tell me so that I can boycott its ass and help unionize it.

Also, this isn't directed at you salaami (even though I quoted you), just in general.

[fardin]

some more of the warehouse blog

http://ameblo.jp/forgetmyself/image-10505295716-10490991242.html

[heflys]

That shit may be true, but the worst factory practices in the states and i assume in Japan are nothing like the worst sweatshops in china.

Someone posted an examination of some denim factories in China, and the places looked pretty well maintained. However, these were likely the more prosperous factories. Also, not surprisingly, a number of sweatshop workers actually like their jobs, since it's better than the alternative.

And, no, I'm not condoning deplorable working conditions.

I also found this article to be interesting:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200904/20090418/article_398076.htm

Came across this too:

http://moreyeah.blogspot.com/2009/04/chinese-denim-factory-cheap-one-i-guess.html

[mlyngard]

I also found this article to be interesting:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200904/20090418/article_398076.htm

Those are good. Thanks man.

[rnrswitch]

Someone posted an examination of some denim factories in China, and the places looked pretty well maintained. However, these were likely the more prosperous factories. Also, not surprisingly, a number of sweatshop workers actually like their jobs, since it's better than the alternative.

And, no, I'm not condoning deplorable working conditions.

I also found this article to be interesting:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200904/20090418/article_398076.htm

Came across this too:

http://moreyeah.blogspot.com/2009/04/chinese-denim-factory-cheap-one-i-guess.html

Thanks for the links. The lack of knowing where my stuff is being made is driving me to buying clothing from people that make the clothes on site, like Rising Sun and now that the Roy dude in Oakland is selling his jeans I will definitely be looking into those.

While the slave laborer may appreciate their job this does not justify the practice, as you mentioned, but that doesn't mean that we should condone it by giving money to the company that employs them.

I don't think this Chinese-cheap-labor shit is gonna be around for much longer. China is going through a transition much like the US did in the early 1900's - 1920's. I foresee the worker demanding more rights from the factories and we as American consumers must demand that the American companies that use such labor be put into check. If your going to ship jobs overseas then pay them a living wage.

[Tarmac]

Funny thing is, many lame trend whore labels have been trying to do the "authentic americana" jean thing for over 10 years, and they basically fell short and failed, and we ridiculed them for it. Supreme or Stussy Redlines, Old Navy Selvedge, Gap Selvedge, RRL Selvege, etc etc. Now everyone is mad that jcrew, this time, actually hit ALL the salient points? Japanese, raw/1-rinse, rivets, leather patch, selvege, even a chainstich service, etc.... we mad because they hit it on the head?

[cheapmuthafukr]

i see it as jcrew admitting that the cant do it as well as warehouse.

[lostinthesupermarket]

I don't buy MIC myself but don't diss those who do...I figure people should inform themselves and make their own choice.

That implies that labeling be accurate however, which is why those fake union tags on a lot of MIJ repro pieces piss me off.

[mlyngard]

Funny thing is, many lame trend whore labels have been trying to do the "authentic americana" jean thing for over 10 years, and they basically fell short and failed, and we ridiculed them for it. Supreme or Stussy Redlines, Old Navy Selvedge, Gap Selvedge, RRL Selvege, etc etc. Now everyone is mad that jcrew, this time, actually hit ALL the salient points? Japanese, raw/1-rinse, rivets, leather patch, selvege, even a chainstich service, etc.... we mad because they hit it on the head?

We mad (well, I mad) because they never would have hit it on the head without the love of this forum and Warehouse owners here.

We mad because they then stated in their press release that they 'discovered' Warehouse in Japan. No props to the dudes who explored WH here, or BiG.

JCrew never could have or would have had the guts to venture into Japanese denim without this Forum developing it over the last five years. To even imply in that P.R. that they were the first American market to 'discover' Warehouse is crass.

[partytaco]

"he" discovered warehouse. I interpret this as a personal discovery. I dont think he's claiming Magallen status.

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[blm14]

he discovered warehouse like al gore invented the internet.

This has been an interesting discussion to read. From the beginning I've been fine with it. Let them educate more people about heritage/classic jeans. How is this a bad thing for anyone?

[mlyngard]

"he" discovered warehouse. I interpret this as a personal discovery. I dont think he's claiming Magallen status.

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Heheh. True. But I think it's very strongly implied in the "he discovered" part that "he" is also 'JCrew", since he's speaking for the brand in this context:

"Frank Muytjens, J. Crew's head of men's design, said he discovered Warehouse denim while on a trip to Tokyo last year.

"I haven't been able to take them off since," said Muytjens of the pair he purchased.""

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he discovered warehouse like al gore invented the internet.

This has been an interesting discussion to read. From the beginning I've been fine with it. Let them educate more people about heritage/classic jeans. How is this a bad thing for anyone?

lulz. Ultimately, that's all that matters I guess.

[milosz]

He says that he discovered Warehouse on a trip to Japan. Not that he's the first paleface to come upon this unknown and unheralded brand that will revolutionize the world before being bought out by J. Crew.

I discovered Warehouse on a trip to Blue in Green's website, for the record. Just like most Superdenim posters.

Kinda amazed that folks think the denim/fashion world revolves around Superdenim (the thought that he had to have read about it here). These are rather large companies that have existed in Japan for decades.

[Quills]

you guys are thinking of ALD. they used to make their jeans in france, switched to china like last year I think.

[akka225]

shot of my 800s after about 2 months. onewash, TTS, no subsequent washes or soaks.

[aho]

I'm continually surprised by the lack of press/popularity of the 800 model...It's basically the perfect high rise IMO...great fit akka, look forward to more updates!

[salaami]

seconded. one day i'm going to go to the lendo lair and demand he wear his 800s exclusively for a while. but then i might end up in a kimora or some kind of figure4 leg lock.

[braille_teeth]

*fuck JCREW echo*

MAGELLAN. yeah, discover that shit.

Al Gore, BTW, did exert a huge influence on funding the development of the internet, MUCH more so than these profiteering comedians exerting an influence on the development/being instrumental in the discovering, marketing and study of Japanese selvedge denim.

[Lendo]

seconded. one day i'm going to go to the lendo lair and demand he wear his 800s exclusively for a while. but then i might end up in a kimora or some kind of figure4 leg lock.

i have been wearing them quite a bit actually.

[mkyy]

I'm continually surprised by the lack of press/popularity of the 800 model...It's basically the perfect high rise IMO...great fit akka, look forward to more updates!

I love my 800. Like you said, perfect cut for a mid/high rise. I have been wearing it for 4 months daily but not a lot of development so far. Will post pic later.

[HAZARDkid]

just to clarify when sizing down on 660's you size down from true waist not from BIG measurements so if im 32 id just grab a 31 right? and for 700/800 just size according to big measurements

thanks in advance

[Lendo]

i'd say to maybe size down 2 on them. just one man's opinion though.

[ThinFinn]

^even if i don't own them i'd say the same just from reading through the "size-advice-thread" and the wh-thread...size down 2!

[dawei69]

how much does the warehouse denim stretch??

if they fit just right pre-soak, will they stretch back out to the pre-soak measurements?

[aho]

EDIT: Being informed that this is possibly the 800 cut...Must be the angle and a shorter inseam but actually that doesn't seem too far off! Apologies for the mix up

[Pi-tol]

those look like women jeans. lol

[aho]

^Petite Standard looking almost.....The only reason I'm mad about the J.Crew collab is that J.Crew is wasting Warehouse's time when WH could be focusing more on making my cinch/1004XX with arcs and tab for their 15th Anniversary that I've been begging for forever....