Sunday 29 December 2013

Raw Denim http://www.rawrdenim.com/2012/08/raw-denim-myths-the-truth-about-selvedge-denim/

Even though this is an old article, it is an interesting read...

Raw Denim Myths - The Truth About Selvedge Denim

Raw Denim Myths – The Truth About Selvedge Denim

I overheard a conversation in a local denim shop today, and it got me worried. Two teenagers were looking at jeans a table away, one of them kept flipping up the cuffs to check the outseam. When his companion asked him why, he replied “I’m looking for selvedge…that other stuff is peasant sh-t.” Seriously.

Now, it’s no secret that raw denim is everywhere these days. From Converse to Burberry to artisanal Japanese brands, raw denim has staged such a strong comeback that it’s now a household term. (When I tell people I manage a website about “raw denim”, most of them give me a funny look but they usually know what I’m talking about.)

However, with raw denim’s sharp increase in popularity has come equally increased interest in selvedge denim. It’s pretty common knowledge that jeans made from selvedge denim are considered more desirable than those with flat-lock seams. The typical explanation for this sounds something like this:

Selvedge denim can only be woven on shuttle-looms, which are rare because they’re the same exact vintage machines that Levi’s sold to the Japanese when they upgraded to modern, high-capacity looms. The Japanese have continued the artisanal methods using these vintage looms that produce better quality (and subsequently more expensive) denim.

Sound familiar?

Raw Denim Myths - The Truth About Selvedge Denim

The above explanation is not completely false, but it’s also not entirely true. Selvedge denim can only be woven on shuttle-looms, yes. Levi’s (as well as other brands) did sell their shuttle-looms when they upgraded, yes. Japanese mills have continued using the arduous and less cost-effective shuttle-looms to produce denim of an artisanal sort, yes.

All that being said, shuttle-looms are not that rare. A number of manufacturers still produce modern shuttle-looms, many of which are being used to produce selvedge denim at lower costs than the mills which do still employ the vintage looms. A perfect example of this is the aforementioned $40 Converse Selvedge jeans versus the $2,000 hand-woven Momotaro jeans.

Raw Denim Myths - The Truth About Selvedge Denim

Photo Courtesy of TaylorTailor

Contrary to seemingly popular belief, selvedge denim does not always equate to high-quality denim, just as wide-loom denim is not necessarily synonymous with mediocrity. The adage of “You get what you pay for” still stands (Up to a point. Those $2,000 Momo’s aren’t made of unobtanium and unicorn hair…the crotch can still blow).

As for the vintage Toyoda Type-G looms from the American brands, most of them did, in fact, end up going to Japanese buyers after the Second World War. The Japanese brands continued using them largely due to the availability of spare parts in Japan, where the looms had originally been manufactured. Many Japanese mills continue to produce selvedge denim on modern looms of the shuttle variety.

Raw Denim Myths - The Truth About Selvedge Denim

The 1924 Toyoda Type-G Automatic Loom. (Photo courtesy of AutoReview)

All of this is not to say that selvedge denim is worthless or overrated, but I start to worry when I hear selvedge getting hyped up to be the ultimate in denim. I guess caveat emptor ultimately applies to everything. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get off my soapbox.

Raw Denim Myths - The Truth About Selvedge Denim

An amusing advertisement for Toyoda looms.

Related Reading:

    Monday 23 December 2013

    HOSHIHIME JAPANESE Embroidered SOUVENIR JACKET

    HOSHIHIME JAPANESE Embroidered  SOUVENIR JACKET

    While holidaying in Japan, besides Evisu jeans, to shop for a 100% AUTH HOSHIHIME JAPANESE Embroidered  SOUVENIR JACKET is a must. Please be aware that there are similar products sold that are made in cheaper at more then 60% cheaper then the original Made in Japan version. Please sure to look for the authentic jacket..

    There are many versions and different icons but I have chosen an all black dragon on the black jacket.








    Evisu Japan & 泰八郞 : holiday in Japan


    When in Japan, there is two key tasks, namely to visit my favourite jeans stores Evisu and to look for my favorite 泰八郞眼睛店



    Information from the internet:


    行很多很多年的日本手工眼鏡,例如:白山眼鏡、泰八郎、金子眼鏡、西野正美、小竹長兵衛、角矢甚治郎、EFFECTOR …等等,眼鏡的品牌與設計師都會使用所謂賽璐珞( Celluloid )材質來製作,而這樣子的眼鏡售價也相當的不便宜,至於什麼是賽璐珞呢?
    其實簡單的說它就是一種類似塑膠,卻比塑膠更早發明的化學材料,在 19 世紀 60 年代( 1860-1869 ),由於象牙供應不足,缺乏製作桌球的原料,所以當時極需代替的材料,1866 年 John Wesley Hyatt 打翻火棉膠,發覺它凍結後會變成一種堅韌有彈性的塑料,後來真正製成的方式是由硝棉與樟腦混合加熱加壓製成,在 1869 年正式取得專利。
    賽璐珞的誕生在 19 世紀末被廣泛運用,曾經被拿來製作假牙,不過也因為許多男性抽煙而造成口腔受到傷害。賽璐珞這樣子的塑料出現後,更多的發明家及科學家不斷的研究,後來也衍生出更多種的合成塑料,並廣泛運用於現今每個人的日常生活中。
    20 世紀開始賽璐珞被運用在眼鏡的製造上,不過由於賽璐珞的製成不易,且有著笨重、染色不易、可塑性低…等等的缺點,最大的缺點是易燃,所以被歐洲的眼鏡製造商禁用,全世界只有日本持續使用賽璐珞製作眼鏡,1947 年設立的白山眼鏡就算是日本手工眼鏡的代表之一,而日本的福井縣鯖江市更有日本手工眼鏡聖地的美名,福井誕生了許多手工眼鏡的名師。
    賽璐珞的表面擁有特殊的光澤與無法形容的高質感,所以日本的眼鏡老師父堅持以手工打造將賽璐珞發揮極致,但也因為如此手工打造的眼鏡框無法大量生產,加上商人的炒作賽璐珞的眼鏡價錢越來越高貴,當然也因為如此所以現今市面上少數充斥著不肖業者打著賽璐珞的口號,販售仿冒品牟取暴利。在現在,賽璐珞的手工眼鏡框延伸變成一種品味的象徵,有些愛好者會依照不同的眼鏡造型搭配服飾穿著。最後貼心的小提醒,賽璐珞的手工眼鏡不能使用酒精擦拭,不然會容易損壞喔!

    Friday 29 November 2013

    Russian Leather from 1786 (Hand crafted by Celtic Empire, Canada)

    I am lucky to be able to find these lovely vintage leathers handcrafted by Rudy from Celtic Empire from Canada.

    http://www.celticempire.com/about.php

    From initial design

    To the finished products. Messenger bag that is big enough to put my ipad and wallet during the weekend.


    In addition to the weekend messenger bag, I have also ordered the following small leather accessories from Rudy namely the journal book, credit card holder, name are holders...



    Saturday 9 November 2013

    The mystery of Russian leathers

    In the 18th century, Russian leather was widely considered to be the finest in the world. It was known for being incredibly rich in color, supple, and water resistant. There was also something about its aroma that allowed it to repel insects. It was truly unique.
    Tanneries in Western Europe tried to duplicate Russia’s distinctive, beautiful, and hardwearing leather. They even sent spies to try to uncover trade secrets. Unfortunately, very little became known. What they did find out, however, was that the pre-tanning stages alone took up to six months. During the tanning stage, the hides, soaking in previously-used tanning fluid, were more or less continuously turned by hand for about four months. Then they were transferred to pits where they soaked in water mixed with bark from willows, poplar, oak, and larch trees for about eighteen months. After that, they were cured, dried, beaten with mallets, pared with shaving knives, and then pulled over sharp-edged rings, which cut them with the fine cross-hatched scores they were known for.
    Though the process was vaguely known, Western tanneries couldn’t reproduce it because they could never identify the formula for the mysterious dressing oils. By the time the Russian Revolution came in 1917, the new provisional government shut production down, and secrets of how it was made became lost for good.
    Source : http://www.centurion-magazine.com/nc/sections/post/sunken-leather.html
    In the late 1700s, Russian leather was sought after for not only being exceptionally beautiful, supple and water resistant, but for its aroma so rich it could repel insects. Leather craftsman throughout Europe tried to duplicate the results, even sending spies to Russia, but genuine Russian leather remained a rare and valuable enigma of the time.

    In 1786, the Metta Catherina, a 100 ton Baltic brigantine, set sail from St. Petersburg with a full cargo of hemp and Russian leather bound for Genoa. When she encountered a storm on a dark December night, the captain ordered her into the safety of England's Plymouth Sound. The storm took a violent turn, though, and the ship was torn from its anchor. The crew survived, but the Metta Catherina and her cargo were lost, sinking more than 100 feet to the bottom of Plymouth Sound to rest in the silt and black mud for almost 200 years.
    Centuries later, in 1973, a local diving club was exploring Plymouth Sound and happened upon a ship's bell on the ocean floor. After identifying it as part of the Metta Catherina, the complicated process of salvaging the sunken ship began. Not sure what they would find, or even what they were looking for, the divers worked to bring the ancient wreck to the surface piece by piece. They didn't know what they had, but as luck would have it, a young leather worker named Robin Snelson did. He introduced himself after overhearing one of the divers talking about the mysterious cargo in a Falmouth pub, and was later able to confirm that among the sunken treasure was indeed the lost Russian leather from 1786.
    The hides were pulled up in bundles, and amazingly a remarkable number were found to be almost perfectly preserved, protected by a combination of water pressure and sediment – and miraculous good luck. Although early attempts at restoring the hides were disappointing, Snelson eventually perfected his technique, and the original beauty and magic reappeared almost flawlessly. The restored Metta Catherina hides were primarily reindeer, glowing anew in a range of rich red hues and even giving off the same distinctive aroma (now known to be birch oil) that made them so famous and treasured centuries ago.
    Being a history student, I am always fascinated with items with history. As a result, I have requested a leather expert craftsman Rudy,  to hand made one messenger bag for me to put my ipad and small items, using these rare vintage leathers..

    Below is the initial design:

    I am eagerly waiting for the bag to be completed... Will keep you posted...



    For those who is keen to find leathers goods made from these lovely vintage leathers can find the link below.

    http://www.celticempire.com/about.php

    Monday 7 October 2013

    Friday 4 October 2013

    Saturday 3 August 2013

    Vintage polo Ralph Lauren bag

    Vintage Authentic Polo Ralph Lauren Equestrian Plaid Leather Cross Body Bag - Original Hang Tag - Inside Zippered pocket
    Maker: Polo Ralph Lauren 
    Materials: Coated Canvas - Leather 
    Measures: 11" Inches in length - 8" height - 4" width - adjustable strap +25" (dropped) 
    Condition: Excellent vintage condition 




    Thursday 1 August 2013