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Hello and Welcome
What’s up, Snailiens? It’s Michael, and today I have a theory as to why Levi’s selvedge denim jeans cost 260 dollars, and I would like to let you know that theory. I do want to preface this by saying the pants that I got are too small for me, and I know that.
Oh well, can’t wear them, just another idiot writing a little article. So, long story short, ignore the fact that they don’t fit perfectly, and I think we’ll get along okay.
Quick History Lesson: What’s LVC and Why Should You Care?
Anyway, we’re talking about Levi’s LVC 1947 jeans. If you don’t know what LVC is, it’s Levi’s Vintage Clothing reproduction, and they basically painstakingly reproduce vintage versions of clothes that they had. This is an exact – well, I guess as exact as they can be, we’ll get into that in a bit – replica of Levi’s 501s from 1947, down to fit, down to denim characteristics, the rivets, the buttons, everything, although some things just had to change.
Also, just so we’re all on the same page here, there was a big Levi’s fire – I forget when – they basically lost a ton of information, so they didn’t have the denim information on hand.
Levi’s says they don’t even know what 501 means, so they had to recreate these jeans from scratch and take existing pairs and try and copy that, which is also what a lot of raw Japanese denim companies did with Levi’s, and they made reproductions which we’ll get into later. Like Sugar Cane is, that’s the one we’re going to narrow in today, and then maybe we’ll eventually spread it out.
Let’s Talk About Post-War Denim Changes
Quick overview before we get into the three specific things, ending with why these jeans cost so much because if you’re not in the raw denim world, you’re probably like that’s kind of ridiculous, and even if you’re in the raw denim world, you may think that’s kind of ridiculous.
So, after the Second World War, these jeans came on the scene, and there were a bunch of differences. One, there were no suspender buttons anymore because people were too cool – they didn’t need suspenders. They just belted their pants. There was also no back cinch, which the Type One jacket and the older Levi’s had. There was a denim cinch in the back to tighten your pants.
Fun fact – during the war, the arcs on the back of Levi’s were considered not needed basically, and they could save the thread and use it for other reasons, so Levi’s painted the arcs on the back pockets of the jeans because it was so recognizable to customers. Pretty cool!
The Game Plan
Okay, so this article is split into three different parts: we have fit, and that’s the first part. Second, details which we will get a little obnoxiously into for this pair of jeans for a specific reason that we’ll get into, and then three – why do these jeans cost so much? That’s the layout. Let’s get into Levi’s selvedge denim.
Sizing: Learn From My Mistakes
Okay, so like I said, I messed up the fit. Levi’s recommends you go two sizes bigger in the waist and then two inches longer than you would normally wear. It’s like one of those things where if someone says, “Don’t touch that stove. It’s hot,” you’re like, “Okay, that sounds good,” and then you put your hand on the stove, and you’re like, “Oh, what happened?”
That’s kind of what I did, and it took me three Levi – well, four Levi 501s to realize that Levi’s is correct, and that’s what you should do. Size up two in the waist and one iteration in the length. So, if you usually wear a 34, get a 36, although I don’t think a 36 exists, so you’re kind of screwed then.
But if you follow those instructions and you size up two and one in length, your pants will fit regularly after you get them wet. I wore these babies in the tub.
The reason I did a tub soak this time instead of what I usually do, which is just put them in hot water, is because these jeans are very tight around the waist and they’re very high-waisted, and usually what I have to do with 501s when they shrink is pull them really hard and they’re really tight, so I was hoping the tub soak would alleviate that issue, and it’s also pretty nice to do. Who doesn’t love a nice clothed bath? If you try them on before you get them wet, they’ll be too big, but trust me, it’ll work out.
Also, side note: when you’re looking at Levi’s 501s in the LVC line, they have the 1954, 57, 66, and 70, and we’ll get into those in a second – they all fit different so make sure that you like the general silhouette of the fit before you buy them. The 501 fit is never the same fit. It changes throughout the years. That’s why it’s always Levi’s perfect-fitting jeans because Levi’s just makes it.
The Denim Deep Dive
This is where it all begins. I hope you brought your mutton chops because we’re gonna get filthy. I have to look up real quick just what a mutton chop is to make sure. Oh, it’s a sideburn! You never know – well, I guess some people know. Okay, so shave your mustache and slap your face.
The denim for the original Levi 501s came from Cone Mills in the United States – that is no more. We will get into that in the last part, but this 1947 reproduction denim comes from Kahara Mills in Japan.
Let’s Get Technical: The Fabric Breakdown
So after Cone Mills in the United States closed down, Levi’s had to find another denim manufacturer that would basically break down their 1947 fabric and say, okay, it’s 12 ounces, it has this much slub, this much irregularity, this much hair, it’s not singed or anything like that.
They had to find someone that would reproduce the exact denim from 1947, and if you’re not like a really big denim head, that was an interesting thing to do because they were on old machines where the machines, for example, I believe Cone Mills had wooden floors so it would shake the loom when the loom was working which would give slight irregularities to the denim.
There’s a bunch of stuff they had to consider, and Levi’s said that when they were looking for another mill, Kahara Mills was the one that was most down for Flavor Town to get everything looking right, which, to me, I feel like if Levi’s came to any denim mill anywhere they’d be like “Uh yeah sure we’ll figure that out, you’re gonna be our client.”
This denim is 12 ounces unsanforized, so after you get it wet and it shrinks, it is 14 ounces because the fabric is, you know, condensing. Denim that was over here is now over there, which 14 ounces is a medium-weight denim – that’s pretty good.
I feel like usually Levi’s sanforized denim, which is, you know, pre-distressed denim or 501s that you don’t have to soak or anything, that is 12 ounces so these technically are heavier, and if we’re getting specific, it may be 14.25 ounces. I’m not 100% sure on that. I’d rather go with 14, but I think it could be 14.25.
The Twist and Turn of Raw Denim
Since this is unsanforized denim, when it gets wet, it shrinks, and since denim is a twill, the denim sometimes twists when it shrinks, and that’s called leg twist, and you’ll see the selvedge line basically should be on the side of the pants and it goes more towards the center of your leg or just a little bit whatever. I got some of that. I love that. I love leg twist.
People after the war weren’t excited to get leg twist. They were, I’m assuming, still out of breath from the war, and they’re like, “Oh great now, my pants are twisting.” 65 years later – I just double-checked my math, and apparently, it’s 76 – I couldn’t be more thrilled that my pants are twisting.
But in 1947 jeans, there’s a light amount of hair throughout. After the first wash, more fuzz came up; it was probably napped down or something like that. There’s a very subtle slub that is still there, just very, very subtle.
So it’s pretty classic American fabric, which makes sense since they were the pioneers, and they probably saw the beginning of their denim making as having a lot of imperfections so they tried to make it more and more perfect and uniform.
As denim became more of an art form and was taken by Japan, they wanted to go back to when looms were low tension or shook and had all those different characteristics. So when you look at modern Japanese fabrics or stuff like that, there is usually more character than straight American, still traditional fabric. I couldn’t find this information anywhere, but I’m pretty sure all this is true.
Construction Details: The Hardware Truth
So we have iron buttons and cotton rivets. There’s information I can’t really find anywhere – I think that Levi’s reproduction all uses polyester thread or cotton polyester blend thread, but I can’t find that information anywhere.
Reproduction-wise, any pants after 1955 could use polyester thread, but before that, technically, they should have been using cotton thread, so I don’t know what thread this is on these pants. I would assume that since these are $260 reproduction pants that pride themselves on being exact reproductions, they would be cotton thread, but I did read a lot of forums on the internet that say it is polyester thread.
There are hidden rivets in the back pockets which Levi’s, when they were advertising these pants, had to put arrows basically saying, “Look, they’re still hidden rivets, we didn’t take them away, we just hid them,” so they didn’t scratch your new 1947 Chevrolet.
But the reason I’m pointing those out is because that’s where we see the most wear on the back pockets, and it looks like the thread is thinning out there. It could be cotton, but I don’t know. I’m not 100% sure. Levi’s gives basically no information on their website.
The Big Question: Why Do These Cost So Much?
Okay, so here’s the interesting part – I don’t know why these cost so much, and you probably know raw denim costs more anyway, but I don’t know why these pants cost this much. I do have a theory, though, so let me vomit on you.
Okay, so there’s a YouTuber named Stridewise who’s great. He made a video breaking down seven reasons why Japanese jeans are so expensive, and on that video, Naked and Famous commented, and basically, the guy that commented, Bahzad, broke down the specific reason why jeans cost so much.
Typically, people in this space thought it would be denim weight, the buttons used, the thread, the rivets, those materials, and stuff like that, and Bahzad said yes, of course, those add to the price but not as much as you think – what you’re really paying for is exclusivity.
So, with that being said, Levi’s is a massive company, the biggest denim producer in the world, and the only company that’s publicly traded and basically specializes in denim, I think.
They’re huge, and they have a lot of weight in the denim industry and a big punch. So LVC is exclusive, but I would assume that they have a pretty big fan base, and they do – although it’s exclusive compared to other exclusive companies like Pure Blue Japan or ONI and stuff like that, they sell a lot more, I’m assuming. I’m not positive.
The Price Breakdown: Comparing the Market
So the LVC line, the LVC 501s, which there’s a bunch of, used to have their denim sourced in the USA and cut and sewn in the USA. Now, neither of those things is true – the denim is from Japan, and the manufacturing is done in Turkey.
Japan denim, I feel, isn’t a reduction in cost when they’re going from the United States to Japan, but going from the United States to Turkey and Portugal, I believe, is a cost-cutting measure. So that’s one thing I think they use to cut costs. Also, they’re public so they always have to be pushing revenue forward.
I should also say that there is nothing against manufacturing in Turkey and Portugal – their construction is top-notch. It’s just not made, I feel like, in spots that people can justify a higher price for yet.
So okay, now if we look at the denim coming from the 1947 Levi’s LVC lines or just the jeans itself, this is what we get: 12 oz denim coming from Kahara Mills, which I’m assuming is bought in bulk, and it’s from Levi’s so I’m assuming they can throw their weight around and get a great price.
Construction in Turkey, which, again, Levi’s, I’m assuming they can get a great price and basically could theoretically run a factory on their own, which I believe they do because Levi’s says most of their R&D comes out of Turkey. Iron buttons, copper rivets, poly thread, cowhide patch – total cost $260.
If we look at Sugar Cane’s exact reproductions of the same jeans, they have a pair of 1947s with all the same details, except I believe they use cotton thread, not polyester. Their jeans come in at $200, made in Japan, fabric in Japan – they are a Japan domestic company, so I don’t know if that helps at all.
Then, if we don’t look at Sugar Cane, we look at a company like the pair of pants I actually own – LSG denim. They have a lot more details than Levi’s, different heavier fabric, which I know doesn’t add to the price a lot, thicker thread, better pocket bags, still hidden rivets, and leather washers on the front buttons of the pants. Their jeans come in at $198 U.S., which is important to note because they get their fabric from Japan, and they do their construction in Canada.
Watch This Review
The Final Theory: It’s All About Exclusivity
So there’s $60 that we basically don’t know what’s happening with that, and here’s what I think is happening – I think they could price these jeans lower. I don’t think they’re really riding close to the line of profitability, but if they are, this is why they have so many pairs of Levi’s LVCs that they launch at certain different times.
They have the 1890s, the 1933s, the 1944s, the 1947s, the 1955s and 1954s, the 1966s and the 1978s. So, they technically have a lot of different lines of the same pair of pants, but since they’re all exact reproductions, all the actual hardware itself is different.
So, if we look at the 1954 pants, like I said, the button on the front looks like it’s covered in nickel, so they can’t use that button on these pants. So, they technically have all those different lines of 501s that can’t use the same hardware, which makes them a lot more exclusive than they may seem, which would raise the price.
Most companies use the same buttons across all of their products – the LVC line can’t tell if they’re going to keep it accurate. I think that’s the reason for the price hike.
Anyway, though, that’s about it for Levi’s selvedge denim. Thank you, and I hope you’re all well!
This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.
The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.