Selvedge

[VKK3450]

Does Levi's no longer produce any jeans with selvedge? I have a pair of 501s which I "borrowed" from a friend about a year ago which have what appears to be selvedge (or what I understand as) on the outer seams. This is with a white thread as opposed to the red that I hear Levis used to use.

These are European 501s that have this different edge as opposed to some US bought ones that I have which do not have this edge.

Anyone have any idea what's up with this?? Do I give them back or not ;-P

K

 

[Brian SD]

The thread on the edges of the fabric can be any color for selvage, so long as they are closed. It's quite easy to tell really - with selvage, the fabric simply will not look like it's been cut off at the end.

That said, I did see quite a few pairs of shrink-to-fit 501s in the San Francisco Levi's store that had selvage with no red-line. Most companies that put out selvage jeans put the colored thread in there for style (it was originally used so that the denim mill could distinguish between the different brands they manufactured denim for). but it is not necessary for the jeans to be selvage.

 

[JohnMC]

As far as I know Levi's have only ever made jeans with selvedge in their US and Japanese factories.

 

[hermes]

the red stripe disappeared from levi's selvage denim back in or around 1983 when cone mills stopped manufacturing it for levi's

the japanese call this 'akanimi', meaning 'red ears'

if i have it correct, wrangler used gold and lee green but as brian sd indicates, the colour wasn't for any purpose other than show

 

[policy]

Is there any place that defines Selvedge and why someone would want this in their jeans?

 

[ken]

Is there any place that defines Selvedge and why someone would want this in their jeans?

No. No such place exists.

Or maybe it's right in front of you. I can't remember.

 

[Geowu]

hey hermes, it's actually Akamimi (with an M)

 

[Brian SD]

the red stripe disappeared from levi's selvage denim back in or around 1983 when cone mills stopped manufacturing it for levi's

the japanese call this 'akanimi', meaning 'red ears'

if i have it correct, wrangler used gold and lee green but as brian sd indicates, the colour wasn't for any purpose other than show

Lee was either blue or green, and wrangler was gold/yellow.

They SHOULD be saying "akamimi," but instead they say "serubicchi", when pronounced outloud, it sounds like selvage.

On the spelling frontier, I did notice that Levi's spell it "selvage" in their booklet that comes with the Vintage Collection jeans, so I would consider that pretty official.

 

[hermes]

you know, i've seen akamimi spelt many times akanimi

and selvage can be also be spelt selvedge
i've never been able to figure out if it's a uk v usa spelling difference as i see selvage used more often in the uk with selvedge in the usa
but both spellings of the word are from middle low german selfegge (self edge) so "selvedge" makes sense but i don't know how it got corrupted to "selvage"

but being a canadian, i was taught selvage, not selvedge

 

[VKK3450]

Ok, well it looks exactly like the selvedge edges I have seen on other jeans, so I figure it is. Nothing like the edges on other jeans.

These are from a European friend, but I have no clue where he got them.

Thanks all..

K

 

[policy]

No. No such place exists.

Or maybe it's right in front of you. I can't remember.

So you don't know is the answer?

 

[Brian SD]

On the top of the forum list, there is a thread called "Denim Terminology and Links."

 

[policy]

Can you help me find a pair of dark wash, boot cut, Selvedge jeans that are 38x34? The Evisu ones I found have a 9 inch wide opening at the bottom. I'm looking for something closer to 22 inches, and as far as I can tell this denim appears to be hard to find via US Etailers.

 

[LA Guy]

Can you help me find a pair of dark wash, boot cut, Selvedge jeans that are 38x34? The Evisu ones I found have a 9 inch wide opening at the bottom. I'm looking for something closer to 22 inches, and as far as I can tell this denim appears to be hard to find via US Etailers.

You're not going to be able to find this, unless there is a designer out there who I haven't heard of who has figured out a way to make a bootcut (by which I mean with a bit of a flair, not the cowboy bootcut, jean, by manipulating the inseam somehow, without making the jean look really bizarre.

The "selvedge" dictates that the outseam is straight, so the flair at the end can come only from the inseam.

I think that your best bet is the Regular Ralf Dry selvege by Nudie, which has about a 20" leg opening or so on a pair of 32/32s. Look up the jeans on the Nudie website, and then call Fred Segal's Hollywood Trading Company in LA, and they'll hoook you up. The jeans are cut a little loose, so you might want to go down a size. Be warned though, that finding a 38 may be pretty tough,

 

[policy]

Be warned though, that finding a 38 may be pretty tough,

I've found this to be the case, is that a facet of Selvedge jeans being made mostly for the Japanese market? I haven't found anything close to a 38 in any sort of nice jeans

Even Abercrombie and Fitch who made my 2 favorite pairs of jeans that I own (Purchased in 1996, they are still going strong) no longer makes 38/34 jeans.