/ Fade Friday /

Fade Friday – Pure Blue Japan XX-005 (9 Months, 2 Soaks, 1 Wash)

Pure Blue Japan is lauded as producing some of the world’s finest denim. Woven on vintage shuttle looms at extra low tension, the brand’s XX series denim has been a brand staple since its inception, featuring incredible amounts of slub texturing at a moderate 14oz weight. And if it looks good raw, you know damn well it looks even better faded — just check out this remarkable pair of XX-005 from Heddels reader, Ratchanon.

Ratchanon wears these PBJs while working construction six days a week, attributing his hastened fade patterns to general labor around the site and trekking flights of stairs. At only 9 months of wear, Ratchanon has yielded extraordinary results on the famous XX denim, mirroring jeans worn for three times that length or more. The jeans sport an overall sun-bleached appearance from heavy indigo loss and feature extra-high contrast fading at the thigh, knees, and hem. But most unique to this pair is the fabric’s heavy vertical grain, emphasizing the slub yarns used in the weaving process.

Having only been soaked twice and washed once, this pair captures the essence of hard labor and dedication, both in denim artistry and manual labor.

/ New Releases /

Button Into Knitwear Brilliance with Indi + Ash’s Ren Caridgan

There’s no stopping the quick descent into Winter now, but there’s also no denying that this is a great excuse to invest in some layers. And if it’s layers you’re after, then look no further than Indi + Ash‘s show-stopping Ren Cardigan.

These chunky knits are inspired by antique Japanese saki-oro Hanten — Hanten being a traditional short winter coat worn by farmers and saki-oro being a durable cloth where older, shredded fabric is used as the weft and new cotton is used as the warp, closely connected with the more well-known technique of Boro. Indi + Ash’s modern version of this takes degraded alpaca yarns and weaves them with cotton yarns for a highly textured knit. To add to the cardigan’s unique look, the two panels are fixed together in the back with a distinctive blanket stitch, and three large, real horn buttons keep the front secured.

There are two different versions on offer — a Black/Dark Indigo that combines black, dark charcoal, and charcoal alpaca yarns with a dark indigo cotton. And the other — the Brown/Clay — mixes undyed alpaca yarns with logwood and clay-dyed yarns.

Available in Black/Dark Indigo and Brown/Clay at $598 from Franklin and Poe.

Indigofera Introduces Wide Leg Fit Inspired by Vintage Lee Jeans

If your years in the selvedge denim realm have mainly had you in slim straight cuts, tapers, and perhaps even the odd skinny jean, wide leg jeans may have you feeling like you’re back in your childhood JNCOs. In this situation, finding that Goldilocks level of width is the answer, and Indigofera‘s Duke Jeans present a nice option.

With the Duke Jeans in 14.5oz selvedge denim, you get the widest jeans in Indigofera’s roster. Featuring a truly wide leg with a flattering high rise, are we sure these jeans didn’t fall out of a time machine set to the 1930s? In fact, they’ll be the first to say how they are inspired by vintage Lee Cowboy jeans from back in the day. An homage most noticeable with those sweet acorn-shaped back pockets with bar tack reinforcements instead of hidden rivets. Closed out with triple-stitched construction throughout and a full button-fly, if you’re after a full (but not ballooning) cut that will never go out of style, you just came across the right pair of jeans.

Available for $319 from Franklin & Poe.

Go Nuts with Momotaro’s MMGJ6000 15oz #002 “Onigurumi Dyed” Type II Jacket

When dealing in such sacred designs as the Type II trucker jacket, riffing is usually kept to a rigid minimum, no pun intended. Dual chest flap pockets, button-front design, boxy shape, and of course, denim construction. But strict guidelines can sometimes lead to incredible ingenuity. And it should come as no surprise that Japanese denim stalwarts Momotaro lead by example time and time again.

With their 15 oz. Onigurumi Dyed Type II Jacket, Momo checks all the boxes while writing in a few choices of their own. Hip pockets are cleverly hidden in the side seams, which are perfect for storing all your gear while not sacrificing the simplicity of the Type II silhouette. However, this is, of course, just the appetizer. The main course is clearly this earthy brown hue, which comes from the 15 oz denim fabric being dyed with the shells and husks of special walnuts called onigurumi. For dessert, a slightly tweaked cut, which extends the length of the originals, so there’s no crazy croppage that you’d get with more traditional designs, if that’s not your thing. Custom hardware, chainstitch construction, and a cowhide neck patch all come with the end-of-meal toothpicks. An easy nut to crack.

Available for $460 from Redcast Heritage.

/ Weekly Rundown /

• Sunglasses and Eye Health - Shinzo Tamura

• Are New U.S. Tariffs Even Legal? – Jeansland Podcast

• HAVEN Sound Vol. 1 – HAVEN

• Fit for You: A Short History of Sizing – Crown Northampton

• The First-Ever Nicks Boots x Stitchdown Collaboration is Here (and It’s Chonky) – Stitchdown

• Material Mastery: A chat with Haven’s Arthur Chmielewski – Acquire

• How Boro Became Art | The Quiet Survival of Japan’s Patched Cloth – Carryology

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