In the textile industry, the term “selvedge” refers to the finished edges of a fabric loomed on specific machines, as opposed to the frayed edges of a fabric milled on other types of machines. When applied to the Denim Industry in its most recent history, those two end warp lines some like to flash on the outseam of their jeans have become quite the hype.
Since the rise from obscurity of selvedge denim in the late 1980s~early 1990s — kickstarted at the time by a vintage clothing craze in Japan (then in the USA) unknowingly-creating new international markets — and its follow-up re-introduction by “Heritage Fashion” players in the early aughts, the mighty indigo blue workwear twill has taken many faces: from faithful reproductions of American denims of the Golden Age in traditional weights and colors, to creative interpretations blending cotton and sugar cane fibers (pioneered by Sugarcane co), …, all the way to fashion nonsense in all kinds of silly washes, cuts, and lasered distressed looks.
What started as a niche market mostly catering to vintage clothing aficionados and denim otaku, was bound to eventually evolve in an industry dropping products on the shelves of fast-fashion purveyors such as H&M, Target, Uniqlo, etc… It took a few years, but there they were, selvedge denim bargain pantaloons with a mind-boggling $40.00 retail tag, price landed in the US. Exotic work camps labor magic, I guess?
What is also quite magical is the De Minimis Rule, a little-known loophole allowing consumers to import $800/day without paying duties on the goods, and that since 2016. If this sounds advantageous to the average American fashionista unconcerned by the Country of Origin of what’s in their shopping cart, SHEIN has also been quite thrilled about cheap fashion allowed to cross US borders duty-free, one small package at-a-time…
On the other end of the Garment Industry’s spectrum of nonsense, a pair of $1850 Prada jeans is quite the human feat. Granted those britches are “crafted” in Italy, a country that also produces $7000 faux-denim jeans. All is well.
Back to selvedge denim, not all fabrics woven on narrow shuttle-loom are created equal. Machinery, operators, provenance, yarn content and dyeing process, …, all do matter. An indigo denim slowly-produced in small batches on temperamental vintage Toyoda machines by a reputable Japanese mill will never be comparable to mass-produced renditions milled in China, Thailand, or Turkey.
The fable about Japan purchasing defunct machinery from US mills in the 1980s (when, to boost US domestic productivity and profits, the switch was made from slow shuttle-loom to fast projectile-loom machines) is a well-anchored denimhead myth. Most-likely closer to the truth is that in the early 1970s, a dying textile industry in the Kojima area in Japan decided to switch from producing local school uniforms to making period Taiyōzoku (~rich juvenile delinquent, a Japanese take on 1950’s American “rebels”) style jeans. Kojima makers scrambled to re-rig their old Toyoda looms in order to mill denim fabric the way it was done by the likes of Cone Mills, back in the day. They succeeded, and managed to eventually top their American masters, as crafty Japanese artisans on survival mode often do when on a quest to revive authenticity, and not only in the textile industry. The attention to details, work ethics and dedication, are usually what gives Japanese craftsmen the lead. For those interested in that background, read the insightful 2015 book Ametora.
Back on point, there is a lot of cheap selvedge denim out there. There is also premium non-selvedge denim fabric, woven on projectile loom machines, known as wide-loom denim.
For this special edition of our Californian Blue Jeans, we thought of the unthinkable, and opted for the later.
One of the design decision was made because we happened to stumble across some very handsome NOS (New Old Stock) denim yardage with an attractive and classic indigo-dyed warp color. The other reason is because that fabric was produced by a plant located in Georgia, USA, namely Mt. Vernon Mills. They’ve only been around for 175 years, but that pedigree will work for us!
There is also something kinda cool about sporting a pair of premium denim jeans boasting overlocked outseams in 2024 — made in USA, the old-school way, period construction/trims and all — , as a birdie to fast fashion. For the cuffers out there, the subtle pleasure of looking like the guy who doesn’t know in the eyes of the fashionista/denim snob confusedly-staring at your non-selvedge ankles could be priceless.
For those concerned about #denimfades, especially on Fridays, I’ve seen many well-worn used Levi’s 501s in the rags (i.e. post-1981 non-selvedge loomstate denim) with amazing “blue collar” type fade patterns/whiskers, and many very boring pairs of selvedge jeans. Why? Because the former were properly and frequently worn, while participating in activities not only involving sofa gaming or binging on Netflix.
For the cut, we decided to pull out the Mister Freedom® Lot44 pattern out of retirement, our earliest period cut. Wide leg, mid/high waist, 1930s-40s vibe silhouette.
Trims and construction are in par with our fancy USA-made Californian standards, from all-cotton two-tone thread stitching to rear pocket bartack and riveting, to all around classic detailing. Fabric is the novelty, and the message.
We also decided to release the Lot44WL (Wide Loom) in two options, a buckle-back version (an old garment design feature with roots in 19th Century European tailoring, before the advent of belts helped with keeping one’s britches up), and plain back style.
The CALIFORNIAN Lot44WL “Wide Loom” are designed and manufactured in California by Mister Freedom®, in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
