At any time, anyone: a mining big brother from the Wild West, a hippie punk from a rebellious era, a US president who loves vacations, a hip-hop king dressed in gold and silver, a fashion guru who doesn't resist styling and doesn't go out, a design master holding a model's bow on a runway, can all wear a pair of jeans.
Accompanied by the timeless nostalgia of the fashion industry, washed jeans full of texture are undoubtedly the most eye-catching. The so-called "washing water" refers to the process of manually making old products. Because jeans that fall into water and are washed will produce varying degrees of discoloration, as well as natural wear and tear caused by mud, coal stains, oxidation, long-term wear (and not washing!), and high-intensity labor, these traces of time are collectively referred to as "washing water". But it is no longer possible for someone to wear only one pair of pants all year round, and it is difficult to achieve a beautiful wash.
So, "antique jeans" began to become a target for some people, as those antique pants left a natural wash after being worn by their former owner. But how difficult and precious it is to find a pair of pants that are decades old? At this time, replica jeans appeared - finding an antique pants with a story, restoring the original details one by one according to the textile and sewing methods of the time, and then limiting production - this is "replica jeans". Although most mass-produced jeans also have a washing effect, the texture is completely different due to different old craftsmanship. Old denim brands Levi's, Lee, Wrangler, and some new Japanese brands are all doing this job, developing many complex and advanced processing techniques: kneading, kneading, fading, and grinding, all to create beautiful washing water.
Cowboy Antique Element 1: Red Flag
The red flag began to appear on jeans in 1936 and gradually became a very important symbol of jeans. Red Flag is also a highlight of replication. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the uppercase "E" on Levi's Red Flag began to change to lowercase "e" because the production year of the prototype jeans selected for replication was mostly before 1971 (except for 7950183501), and many people used to refer to "replication" as "big".
Cowboy Antique Element 2: DingTalk
Jeans were originally called Riveted Pants, indicating the importance of rivets. In the replica version 501, the collision nails may also vary depending on the year. Generally, the collision nails in the replica version tend to be darker, antique bronze, while those in the mass production version are generally bright bronze. Equally unique is the 1944 replica 501, which only has four bumpers. There are no bumpers on the small watch case, and there is no lettering on the bumpers.
Cowboy Antique Element 3: Car Flower
The car decal on the back pocket is one of the most important design positions for various Bull brands nowadays. The most iconic eagle shaped car flower was not officially formed until around 1947, and before 1947, Levi's was a parallel line with two arcs. The radian varies depending on the year. A special one is the 501, also known as 44501, from 1942 to 1947, commonly known as the "World War II version". At that time, in order to save materials, the back pocket car flower was printed on it.
Cowboy Antique Element 4: Button
When making a replica, pay attention to making the buttons look very vintage, and there won't be brand new buttons like mass-produced jeans. The more special one is also 44501, which was used at that time
The hollow laurel tree buckle is not only Levi's, but also used by Lee and Wrangler at that time. It should be a call for peace.
Denim Antique Element 5: Fabric Edge
Before 1983, 501 was sewn with narrow width tannic fabric woven by primitive manual weaving machines. This type of fabric has not undergone pre shrinking treatment, and will shrink by 1-2 yards to varying degrees after being washed into the water. This is also the origin of the legend that 501 will fit better and better after being washed. This type of cloth usually has red thread edges and is called "red ear" in Japanese. Of course, there are also a few earlier years that used white cloth edges and blue line cloth edges. Opening the hem of the pants to see what kind of edge is also an important criterion for distinguishing replica jeans.
Cowboy Antique Element 6: Leather Label
The brand logo is displayed on the back waist of the pants.
