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- June 11 - Selvedge Ecru Jeans – Five Plus One
June 11 - Selvedge Ecru Jeans – Five Plus One
David Shuck
June 11, 2024
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/ Five Plus One /
Selvedge Ecru Jeans
While you can certainly wear classic blue jeans in the summer, having some quality ecru denim opens up a world of styling opportunities. It goes with everything — seriously, everything — and its light, natural tone just works wonders on bright, sunny days. Sure, you don’t have the same level of denim evolution as you would on a raw indigo pair, but you can opt to either keep your ecru jeans clean, or wear them as hard as your raws and watch them gain a rugged, grubby patina.
Some of your favorite brands are making high-quality ecru jeans out of premium fabrics, from selvedge denim to cotton piqué. And with warmer upon us, there couldn’t be a better time to give the ecru jeans market our beloved Five Plus One treatment.
When it comes to Japanese denim, Fullcount simply cannot be ignored. A name that holds a lot of weight on both the East and Western hemispheres, Fullcount makes some of the world’s finest selvedge denim jeans — including a few Ecru pairs.
The 0105 is one of its Fullcount’s classic cuts, and despite receiving a minor update in the last couple of years it’s still a true wide-straight fit with a Goldilocks top block that allows it to remain flattering despite the loose cut. And guess what? It looks absolutely killer in this 13.75 oz. ecru selvedge denim. Woven on vintage shuttle looms from 100% Zimbabwean cotton, expect this fabric to soften up quickly and drape nicely underneath your favorite camp collar shirts.
Each pair is made in Japan with vintage jean construction details and one washed to remove shrinkage.
Available at Blue in Green for $330.
The Japanese cellulosic yarn, Washi, has started popping up in our corner of the clothing world and it’s an interesting addition to say the least. Made from the same natural material that creates the paper screens on Japanese Shoji doors, Washi fibers and their resulting yarns can have some cool benefits like moisture wicking, odor prevention, and a soft skin feel.
Japanese denim-centric label, Hatski, has taken to using Washi in a fair few of their denim offerings, including this 15.6 oz. sanforized ecru selvedge denim. Made from 72% cotton and 28% Washi yarns, this ecru fabric is available on Hatski’s Loose Tapered and Wide Tapered fits, both of which offer roominess levels ideal for summer fits. Made in Japan, each pair is sewn up with classic five-pocket jean details like hidden rivets, a button fly, contrast stitching, and a debossed cow leather waist patch.
Available for $282 from Calculus.
You can always count on Freenote Cloth to introduce a style that errs on the Western side of things, offering a unique Americana flavor that few other brands can. Seriously, you can easily see these Wilkes Western 14 oz. Ecru Denim jeans hanging in the window of an American dry goods store 60 or so years ago — a great compliment to a proprietary, non-reproduction design.
Made in the USA from 14 oz. Japanese ecru selvedge denim, it’s safe to say that this rendition of Freenote Cloth’s Wilkes jean looks excellent in ecru. If you’re not familiar with the Wilkes, it’s a ‘Western’ straight-leg silhouette with a high rise reminiscent of, but slightly wider than, the iconic Wrangler 13WMZ.
Each pair is made with neat ‘n’ tuff flat felled seams, Japanese herringbone pocket bags, double-needle accents, and a two-piece waistband. Aside from the custom rivets and button tacks, the most interesting piece of hardware is the love-it-or-hate-it zipper fly, made in Georgia by YKK.
Available at Iron Shop Provisions for $265.
Companion Denim is a hidden gem denim label that’s been making super high-quality denim goods on the outskirts of Barcelona for over 10 years, now. They set their goods apart with a range of unique details like hand-felled yokes, selvedge loops for your keys, shell stitching, and even cord belts.
Companion’s 029N fabric is a sanforized 13 oz. ecru Japanese selvedge denim that’s perfect for summer. Each pair is made to order, which is great because it means you can choose from any of Companion Denim’s fits, from a hugging slim fit to a wide-straight. Regardless of what silhouette you choose, each pair will be cut and sewn by no more than 2 pairs of hands in their Sabadell workshop, complete with a hand-felled yoke, selvedge loop above the left hand-pocket, chain stitch hemming, “peek-a-boo” selvedge coin pocket, and more.
Available at Companion Denim (2-4 week lead time) for €295 (~$320USD).
Benzak Denim Developers has always got a range of denim fabrics to choose from, so it comes as no surprise that they’ve got some ecru goodness in their ranks. The Dutch denim label is coming in hot with 14 oz. ecru selvedge from Japan’s famous Collect Mills, available on both the brand’s B-04 Relax Taper and B-01 Slim Straight cuts. We’re loving the little flecks of darker natural cotton running through this mid-weight fabric, which is complemented by the equally tactile jacron (paper) waist patch. Texture for days.
Made in Portugal and one-washed to remove shrinkage, each pair of Benzak B-04 and B-01 Ecru Selvedge Denim Jeans is constructed with stainless steel buttons, copper rivets, a button fly, and tonal Ecru cotton-poly pocket bags. Benzak has also specced the jeans with cotton-poly core-spun thread for heavy-duty stitching that should see these jeans live out many summers.
Available at Benzak Denim Developers for €190 (~$206USD).
At first glance, these Iron Heart jeans may not look like they’re ‘different’ enough for the ‘Plus One’ spot of our Five Plus One guides, but take a second look and you’ll see that they’re made from cotton piqué, and not denim (also not selvedge, but that’s what the Plus One is for).
Corduroy and Cotton piqué jeans were popular in the 60s, with Levi’s and Wrangler being big producers of five-pocket pants from these alternative cotton materials. Looking back to this era but applying their Japanese-made, robust production formula, Iron Heart has arguably resurrected this style but even better.
Coming in Iron Heart’s 634 silhouette that offers a slim-straight leg with a medium rise, the IH-634-PIQ is made from a 14 oz. cotton piqué and comes with all the classic IH trimmings like reinforced belt loops, lined rear pockets, hidden rivets, and poly/cotton constructional stitching for ultimate durability. They’ve been one washed to remove shrinkage, but Iron Heart states the waist will stretch out approximately one inch with wear — so keep that in mind before ordering.
Available at Iron Heart for $265.
/ Giveaways /
If you’ve always lusted after a pair of top tier Viberg boots but couldn’t find the cash, this could be your lucky break. We’ve partnered with fellow shoegazing publications Stridewise and Stitchdown as well as Viberg retailer Redcast Heritage to giveaway a pair of Viberg 2030 Service Boots in your choice of either Black or Brown Chromexcel.
All you need to do is enter your email on this page before Wednesday, June 19th and wait to be notified by email if you are the lucky winner. By entering, you’ll also be signed up for our newsletter and Stridewise, Stitchdown, and Redcast’s, all of which you can unsubscribe from at any time. If you are the winner, you’ll have 24 hours we email you to confirm your size and shipping address or we’ll draw another winner.
/ New Releases /
As a wide-legged fanatic, I have to say I am officially geeked and completely impartial when it comes to writing about these 3sixteen RS-100X Jeans.
Made in the USA using 14.5 oz. raw selvedge denim from Okayama, Japan, the RS-100X features iconic five-pocket construction with gunmetal rivets and shanks for understated flair. Speaking of flair, you’ve got a slightly sassy roughout waist patch, too, which will only look better as it develops patina with age and wear.
Available from Iron Shop Provisions for $250.
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The Papa Nui A-26 Shinki Horse Hide Cap in Rough Out is one of those caps you’ll want to consider if you like one-of-a-kind hats (and, if you want to match your accessories to the lining of your A-26 flight jacket).
Cut from Shinki-Hikaku tannery produced leather in Japan, this is quite literally some of the nicest leather you can find out there, and that includes their rough out/split leathers. Generally, Shinki leathers are clean, free of blemishes, and are made to function for a lifetime (and beyond).
The hat features a Japanese olive herringbone twill sweatband, olive poplin taped seams on the inside, pliable brim so you can wear it flipped up, Papa Nui tag, and it even comes with an olive twill herringbone carry bag.
Available for pre-order for $273 from Papa Nui.
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Suppose you’ve appreciated the splendor of the Turquoise, Black, and Ice versions of Freenote Cloth’s Tiger Shirt but haven’t felt comfortable taking your shirting to that corner of flavor town. In that case, this Night Tiger edition will have you purring. It’s made from a Japanese 100% cotton fabric, with Freenote’s iconic tiger design jacquard woven in tonal black. Different levels of light exposure will expose different amounts of the design, which makes this one of the coolest Hawaiian-style shirts on the market this year.
Each shirt is sewn up in California using single and double-needle stitching and customer Italian mother of pearl buttons. The silhouette is what you’d expect from a Hawaiian shirt, featuring a relaxed fit, camp collar, pleated shoulder seams, and a straight hem. It’s pre-shrunk, too, so you can put it on right out of the bag and get to being king of the jungle.
Available for $250 from Freenote Cloth.
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