LVC 501s

[Swing]

I've got 3 pairs of Lee Japan jeans - 1934, 1952, and 1959. They are fantastic jeans, the left twill on the 50's models is identical in weight and wear to two original examples I have.

How do the 52s fit, and how do the Lee's compare to the LVC? I see the Lee's are supposed to measure 2" over at the waist, so I assume the 36 should fit like my raw size 38 1937 Levis do.

I've kicked around the idea of getting a pair of the Lees, but they aren't cheap!

~Swing

 

[Anonymous]

So regarding the purchase of Levis its only available from Germany and Japan why dont they sell them here is there no call for them .I find this very strange I cannot buy an American product here in the USA .
All the best Jeff

 

[Burnsie]

The Lee's are "sanforized" (= pre shrunk) so they fit true to size. I wear 36 in the old LVC's, they shrunk to 34. The newer LVC's aree too baggy in 36 so they must've changed something.
My 52 Lee's are 36 and are quite baggy. I got the 59's in 34 and they fit right.
The cut is VERY true to the originals I have i.e. higher waisted than LVC and U shaped "saddle crotch"

 

[Burnsie]

So regarding the purchase of Levis its only available from Germany and Japan why dont they sell them here is there no call for them .I find this very strange I cannot buy an American product here in the USA .
All the best Jeff

Are LVC's still made in the USA?
Check the conversion rates on Britsh pounds, Aero stocks tons of LVC product

 

[Swing]

So regarding the purchase of Levis its only available from Germany and Japan why dont they sell them here is there no call for them .I find this very strange I cannot buy an American product here in the USA .
All the best Jeff

Lurking at superfuture, it looks like Levis stores in the US that stocked the LVC line have put their inventory on clearance and aren't going to stock them anymore. Not suprised. $150+ Levis are a niche market, and the corporate stores want to stock items that will turn over quickly, not items that sit on the shelves. I think you might be able to still buy some models online direct from Levis.

There's a reason Levis and Lee don't make jeans like this any more, the vast majority American's don't like that style of jean. Straight legged, shrink to fit, rolled cuff, dark blue jeans are "out". I don't know how many times I've had people comment on my cuffs ("Got your high waters on? Where's the flood?") and I think to myself "They're 40s jeans you dumb fuck, this is how they're supposed to look!". Even my mom has commented negatively on them ("you look like a farmer"), and she grew up in the 50s when everyone had jeans like these.

~Swing

 

[airfrogusmc]

So regarding the purchase of Levis its only available from Germany and Japan why dont they sell them here is there no call for them .I find this very strange I cannot buy an American product here in the USA .
All the best Jeff

They sell LVCs here Jeff they're just hard to find and have a very limited selection as compared to Europe and Asia. Sales of LVCs in the US are poor when compared to the other markets. I guess most Americans aren't willing to pay the premium when it comes to denim. Dejan (cultizm) prices and selection are both OUTSTANDING and I've ordered stuff from him on a Wed and had the jeans in hand by that Friday of that SAME week.

I have him sending me a pair of 1915 501 cone mills collaboration jeans as soon as they arrive from the F/W line.

 

[airfrogusmc]

So regarding the purchase of Levis its only available from Germany and Japan why dont they sell them here is there no call for them .I find this very strange I cannot buy an American product here in the USA .
All the best Jeff

Are LVC's still made in the USA?
Check the conversion rates on Britsh pounds, Aero stocks tons of LVC product

I think all the RAW LVCs are made here US in a plant in Calif.

 

[stanier]

anyone know where raw LVC Japan is made? Are there Levis factories in Japan, or possibly even made in the US?

 

[Doug C]

Well the japanese LVCs are made from denim produced at Kurabo Industries in japan, I wouldn't doubt in the least that the jeans are manufactured there as well. I know Levis have plants everywhere including Asia so, I highly doubt the denim gets sent to us and then back to japan. What I'd like to see is a concise list of what weight denim each year model is made from. It's hard enough to keep track of when viewing english based sites but near impossible when you throw the japanese vendors in the mix.

Doug C

 

[Doug C]

WOW!! Get a load of the Arcuates on the Japanese special edition '44s. They're so "out there", man love 'em!
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 034bup.htm

and leave it to them... they got the off-set belt loop on the '55s too.
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 046bup.htm

Doug C

 

[airfrogusmc]

Well the japanese LVCs are made from denim produced at Kurabo Industries in japan, I wouldn't doubt in the least that the jeans are manufactured there as well. I know Levis have plants everywhere including Asia so, I highly doubt the denim gets sent to us and then back to japan. What I'd like to see is a concise list of what weight denim each year model is made from. It's hard enough to keep track of when viewing english based sites but near impossible when you throw the japanese vendors in the mix.

Doug C

Doug no doubt the Japanese make great denim but from what I understand the LVCs from 08 and now 09 are about as accurate weight, texture and color wise as you can get. A lot of the Japanese denim is to heavy and to slubby compared to originals. Go to sufu and e-mail Paul T or e-mail Lynn Downey at Levis. This wasn't ALWAYS the case in the past but according to Cone Mills and Paul they are making the correct weight for the different years that LVC is reproducing.

 

[Burnsie]

WOW!! Get a load of the Arcuates on the Japanese special edition '44s. They're so "out there", man love 'em!
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 034bup.htm

and leave it to them... they got the off-set belt loop on the '55s too.
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 046bup.htm

Doug C

To be fair LVC got the offset loop way back in '96 on the first ZXX repro. But the pocket shape of these '55s is GREAT. Back pocket size and shape has long bothered me on the LVC line.
Every year brings some improved features that keep us buying....

 

[airfrogusmc]

WOW!! Get a load of the Arcuates on the Japanese special edition '44s. They're so "out there", man love 'em!
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 034bup.htm

and leave it to them... they got the off-set belt loop on the '55s too.
http://www.jeans-neshi.com/mensjeanskan ... 046bup.htm

Doug C

To be fair LVC got the offset loop way back in '96 on the first ZXX repro. But the pocket shape of these '55s is GREAT. Back pocket size and shape has long bothered me on the LVC line.
Every year brings some improved features that keep us buying....

But again according to someone that knows and has seen more 55s than any of us Paul T he said that the offset loop was a quirk of one factory and he has seen original 55s with centered loops. I've actually seen origianls 55s raw NWTs against the same size LVC 55s from a few years ago and they could have come off the same line but the originals had the offset belt loop.

 

[Doug C]

Yea, I assumed that was the case, it only makes since really that one factory would be doing the loops that way back in the '50s. It probably came down to a couple or a few workers that favored the ease of sewing it this way and it just so happened that their quality controll people weren't catching it or didn't care or just didn't send them back for rework in order to maintain production output. A quality controll issue I bet. But either way, I'd prefer my repro '55 to include this little anomaly because it's accurate and makes them more unique (and the '55s could us that IMHO). It's a good detail that helps distinguish the particular year.

Doug C

 

[deeb7]

Hi guys I have listed the Levis on ebay if you want to follow the action here is the link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0327206457

$658.00 with two days to go ... there's going to be a profit here.

 

[Burnsie]

A quality controll issue I bet. But either way, I'd prefer my repro '55 to include this little anomaly because it's accurate and makes them more unique (and the '55s could us that IMHO). It's a good detail that helps distinguish the particular year.

Doug C

Can't say for sure what the design advantages/disadvantages of the feature might be but I doubt it's a quality control issue - too many Levi's models over varying years had this detail and Wranglers did as well...

 

[Burnsie]

LVC did the offest loop in '96:
1963 551ZXX repros:

And here's a pair of crazy hippie jeans (from a yard sale - not to wear! Historical interest only!), also with offset loop:

1957 Wrangler offset loop:

 

[Doug C]

burnsie wrote:

Can't say for sure what the design advantages/disadvantages of the feature might be but I doubt it's a quality control issue - too many Levi's models over varying years

Burnsie, I wasn't aware of the '63 501ZXX having the offset loops, that's intersting to know. Have all years of those (LVC) had that feature? As for advantage/disadvantage well the only party that it would benefit would be the sewing machine operator I'd think, hence my quality controll comment. The hippy jeans of course could be a one of a kind also, unless you've seen other's with the offset? It's probably a certainty though that the real quality controll issue was in the fact that LVC stopped doing the off set loops after the first year, while japan is still doing it. As for wrangler I have no idea but that's probably just the way they were designed, but I still doubt Levis did it intentionally as it hadn't been their tradition and it didn't stick either, JMHO.

Doug C

 

[Burnsie]

burnsie wrote:

Can't say for sure what the design advantages/disadvantages of the feature might be but I doubt it's a quality control issue - too many Levi's models over varying years

It's probably a certainty though that the real quality controll issue was in the fact that LVC stopped doing the off set loops after the first year, while japan is still doing it. As for wrangler I have no idea but that's probably just the way they were designed, but I still doubt Levis did it intentionally as it hadn't been their tradition and it didn't stick either, JMHO.

Doug C

:lol:
Either way it's a cool looking feature! I know Wrangler did it in the 40's and 50's, as for Levi's I've seen zipper and button fly's with the offset loop from various years...those hippy jeans began life as Levi's - there's still one hidden rivet backing on one back pocket and the front top fly button is a copper Levi button (copper color = 60's zipper fly)...the plot thickens - so who knows if there was a method to the ofset loop?

 

[Burnsie]

burnsie wrote:

Can't say for sure what the design advantages/disadvantages of the feature might be but I doubt it's a quality control issue - too many Levi's models over varying years

Burnsie, I wasn't aware of the '63 501ZXX having the offset loops, that's intersting to know. Have all years of those (LVC) had that feature?
Doug C

Sorry missed that - yes all the '63 551's had the offset loop - the pairs pictured are mine and my wife's but ALL pairs I saw at that time had that feature. Someone more well versed than I could tell us if the originals were all known to be that way but since the hippy jeans were certainly 551's (since they apper to have been zip fly w/ hidden rivets) I would guess the answer's yes...