Within the last year I've gotten into Japanese Artisan denim. Pretty much the best denim you can get. The construction is impeccable and the material is amazing. It has some real character you can't find anywhere else. The making of jeans for these companies is truly an art. So much work goes into a pair it is just astonishing. There is so much to learn that it is mindblowing. A very interesting culture. If there are any more denim enthusiasts in this nice little community speak up! if not I will crawl back from whence I came and enjoy my denim alone
Not really a denim enthusiast as such , however I gotta agree that Japanese clothing standards are incredible, so much better quality than any other I have tried and that's regardless of what type of clothing it is, from shirts to trousers. It comes from their culture, fashion is a huge part of city life in Japan, or at least it is for the high majority. Just watch a few videos about Japanese city life on Youtube and you will find all of them dress in quality gear.
i love slim fit denims! And yes I like japanese clothes too. We dont get much here in the UK but we have Uni Glow which is a japanese retailer I think and they got great slim fit clothes, and the material is so good ^_^
Uniqlo [Japanese clothing retail chain] opened up a store here in NYC and I've gone there repeatedly for gear. Especially when they have a "theme." Last time I went they had an anime theme. A bunch of tees with random characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion [I got 2 of those ] the old Dragonball series and a couple of others. I've gotten jeans from there too.
http://www.flat-head.co.uk/ is one site and there is also a sister site for Ironheart which is linked somewhere in there. Kiosk78.co.uk is another online UK retailer. I've personally ordered from the flat head site and giles there is a super helpful. I was really surprised to find how much into quality they were in production of clothing. For some reason I used to associate japan with the lackluster quality of "made in china", but that was not the case. I've seen some people say that uniqlo is just basically a gap kind of store with more modern clothing and not such great quality. I know some people who have purchased the dry selvage jeans and like them but the quality still doesn't measure up to the other companies like samurai/flathead/sugarcane/purebluejapan/skull....... it's still a mass produced item. The other companies only do a couple runs a year and ship them off to their retailers stateside. There are only 4 or 5 stores I know of in the states who stock this kind of clothing and I think only 1 or 2 in Canada.
this weekend I had dinner with the ex British High Council to New Zealand at his home... wonderdful chap..veeeerrrry british.....diplomat in various African countries and Scotland over the years... and he wore denim... oh yea the thread...I love jeans (child of the late 60's)...jean jackets..anything denim..had a padded denim wall at one home. Ill have to check some japanese jeans out..Im sure there must be some in NZ...japanese are everywhere here...they LOVE NZ.
@ Doctorie There is actually a guy in NZ, Ande Whall, that makes his denim out of japanese selvage from Okayama I believe. In a year or two I might pick up a pair. I have seen a few people that have purchased some of his denim and have heard nothing but good things. He has a huge range of fits and I guarantee you could find one to your liking. His pricing is really good too.