Comment by Xymist
4 days ago
Which companies are those? My last batch of Levi's moved them into "never again" status - noticeably cheaper fabric than the previous batch, flawed stitching, cheaper logos and tags. I paid more per pair than five years ago (unacceptable for a commodity) and got a worse product (doubly unacceptable for anything). I need tough black jeans I can trust to last a decade; I don't mind spending £250 on them but I do mind getting soft cheap cotton which will go to holes just from daily wear.
* Iron Heart (UK): https://ironheart.co.uk
* Naked and Famous (Canada): https://nakedandfamousdenim.com. They also have a cheaper brand that uses the same Japanese denim but the garments are made in China (https://theunbrandedbrand.com), which is still better than Levi's.
* 3Sixteen (US): https://www.3sixteen.com
* The Flat Head (Japan): https://privateandco.ca/collections/the-flat-head
* SugarCane (Japan): https://sugarcanejeans.com/
* TCB (Japan): https://tcbjeans.myshopify.com/
Most of the Japanese brands are hard to get outside Japan, and flying to Tokyo is often the best way to get one, otherwise you're stuck with buying online but you have to know well what you're doing because Japanese denim is almost always unwashed, meaning it will shrink after use so you really have to know how much higher a size to order so that it will fit you well after 6 months.