***The official LVC thread*** - Page 36

BTW am I the only one that feels an urge to do a DIY project when you see really old repro jeans?

I have been thinkin about making a pair of jeans for a long time, but I'm not the best sewer, and the little experience with sewing I do have, doesn't extend to making my own pair of jeans.

I have been collecting denim and other vintage fabrics for a long time, but I still haven't made anything noticable.

I think I have everything I need; denim (and other twills, hickory and canvas), rivets (brass and copper), thread, zippers, cinch backs and buttons. Plus some machinery a good, solid Pfaff and a Singer 29K leather sewing machine.

Paul, where can I find a good jeans pattern?

Simon, I wish I knew where to source a good pattern. The time-hallowed way is to find a favourite pair and dissect them. I am told, by a denim expert I respect, that the best way to start out is with shirts -you can start to perfect your technique with stitching, and with usually lighter fabric.

^Make your own, pattern, Simon Start with some cheap canvas or something and mess around with it until you like the fit. Wouldn't that be fulfilling? Paul- I mean the inseam has to be long enough. I'm a tall skinny dude and no suspender buttons (although I'd probably add some) or belt loops is a little scary. And, thanks for the compliments! I always like your style and appreciate your knowledge (and amazing WAYJDT photos on sufu) Speaking of patterns, I must get back to leather pattern making....

Thanks for the advice. I'm probably just a bit too impatient and I want to use all my energy on just one piece. But I should probably just not skip any corners.

It will be a future project. Maybe I'll have enough time around christmas. I'll post some pics if I get around to actually doing it.

PS: My girlfriend is actually studying to become a pattern maker. I just want to do this myself. So buying a pattern seems funnier than asking her to make one for me...


Paul: if you have any other good advice or book recommendations on the subject please let me know?
Oh, I forgot to tell you that I won the bet about Edwin making Leepros. Apparantly it is written in Japanese - it should look like this エドウイン on the tag.

Zissou: Good luck with the pattern making - it is a really good thing to do. I hate making patterns myself. I should invest more time in it though, as I usually "waste" leather in the process of making something right.

I need a little help. Does anyone know if there are fake LVC jackets made in Turkey?

I just bought a Type III off eBay for ridiculously cheap, the model is called Swap Meet, which I've found pictures of only sparsely on the internet... But the thing that threw me off is the label



Thoughts?

Doesn't look good but would need to see better photos, including the whole jacket, and the tags.

I was looking at some of the distressed jackets recently, one in particular - which might have been swap meet - looked unfeaibly like my knackered vintage Big E. Yours looks nothing like, in terms of the fabric as well as that non-standard tag. But wouldn't like to condemn it before a fair trial.

There's also a patch on the back, a wheel with wings. Codes on the label and the leather tag match. *edit* Alright I've just done some more investigation and the guy who sold me the jacket is, I think, the owner of Aero Leathers in Scotland (or someone who works there), which is a legit LVC retailer AFAIK.

Looks legit. Almost all recent LVC jackets are made in Turkey.

You didn't by any chance buy it from an English/scottish guy on eBay with a name that includes water-something-something (if I remember correctly)?
He works for Aero and sells a lot of LVC on the bay.

Ok, didn't see your edit. I was trying to find his user name but to no avail.

That's the guy...

I'm sure it's legit if it's aero. (The black Levi's on the tab is easily explained by the fact it's over-dyed, which I couldn't tell from the first photo. ) I presume it's 2006, there were some nasty looking distressed items around that time. Must be one of the first Turkish-sewn items. THe Sanforized proucts (505 and 557) as well as many of the washed jeans are produced there.

Unfortunately... They should at least make all raw products in the US. Now the jackets, except some of the "old" ones and the 505 are made in Turkey.

I'm fairly certain that the core of the people buying the raw stuff cares about the country of origin. And what that little extra.

Do you know if production is being moved back to the US, Paul?

I know the head of Levi's XX has said that they would like to get more production stateside, but so far that has only extended to a few of the t-shirts (no nearly all...maybe even just the white ones) and the rigid type-I jackets...in addition to most of the raw 501s.

Thanks for the input... I'm not gonna complain for the price I paid (which is less than a gastro-pub lunch...). I knew I should have bought the raw Type I ASOS had in the sale, but missed out after uhm-ing and ah-ing for 30 mins.

AS far as I remember, all the raw items using Cone denim are sewn in the US. I do believe, from talking to odd people at Levi's, that they are planning to produce more in the states, and I have a feeling that a lot more new LVC products (some t-shirts?) are being made there this year. Levi's do have a big plant of their own in Turkey, I believe, and I guess it's easier to control produciton on some short run items there compared to using contract factories. Remember Turkey has some very fine denim mills, including Orta. Wouldn't surprise me if they end up reinventing the wheel and reopening a US factory. I wish they would. IIRC it was Phil Marineau, then Levi's CEO, who closed down their US production after arriving at the company from Pepsi. I don't suppose too many of their customers care where the product is bottled. But, in any case, I expect more US prodcution in the future, and I hope that's not wishful thinking.