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TCB Jeans, The “Two Cats Brand” – History, Philosophy, Iconic Products
David Shuck
April 28, 2026
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TCB Jeans, The “Two Cats Brand” – History, Philosophy, Iconic Products
We look at the Japanese brand that's been Taking Care of Business by producing top-quality vintage-inspired denim goods for over a decade.
James Smith
There’s no doubt that the modern denim industry is leaning heavily towards slimmer cuts, innovative fabrics, and all manner of bells and whistles when it comes to the five-pocket jean. If anything, the new wave of raw denim brands offering the myriad of heavily tapered jeans with buckets of slub and nep has arguably expanded the denim scene to a wider audience. But there will always be some of us who appreciate denim in its classic form. And for those people, TCB Jeans offers a beacon of hope.
TCB has become a mainstay in the Japanese denim scene, offering a wide range of time-honored jeans, jackets, and other garments, all inspired by early-to-mid twentieth-century workwear. We’re delving into the history, philosophy, and iconic products of TCB, all of which are intrinsically linked to its founder, Hajime Inoue.
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TCB Jeans History
Hajime Inoue via Japanalogue
Born in Hiroshima, Hajime Inoue got into denim in the 90s, attending junior high school. A passionate baseball player, Inoue immersed himself in other elements of American culture. While looking for clothes for himself, he found that the only inspiration he had was magazines that were channeling the American denim boom that was sweeping Japan at the time.
The generation before Inoue had to source actual vintage articles of American denim, but Inoue was able to access the stellar reproduction denim that was beginning to emerge across Japan. Inoue recalls this in an extensive interview with Japanalogue:
“Yes. So for me the 90s went on, and my friends and I really got into all the vintage replica brands that were starting up. We’d try all the different ones we could, head down to the coin laundromat together to see what we could do with the fades and colors and all that. That was such a fun time for us.”
Inoue worked in a small atelier in his hometown of Hiroshima, but wanted a job that channeled his passion for denim. He headed north to Kyoto, where he got a job as a salesman in a heritage menswear store called Porky’s. After doing this for a few years, Inoue decided that what hr really wanted was to make jeans. After quitting Porky’s, he headed for Okayama, Japan’s denim capital.
Porky’s in Kyoto, via Denim Manila
Upon arriving in Okayama, Inoue used the phone book to ring local factories and sewing shops for employment opportunities. With no sewing experience, the only job Inoue was offered was maintaining and repairing vintage sewing machines in a local factory. It so happened that the factory manufactured jeans for a very famous American brand, and the work he was doing saw him repairing and maintaining old Union Specials. Work in this factory eventually dried up as the denim company moved production to another location, so Inoue left.
“It was, now that I think back. After I’d been there just over a year, the famous American jeans brand I mentioned moved their production out of Japan and into somewhere else overseas and suddenly the occupancy rate of the factory dropped down to 60%, and we were suddenly in a position with nothing to do, no work. You know, then you’re stuck in that kind of job where you’re just kind of waiting, hoping maybe that business might come back. Once there are no orders coming in from the top down, you can’t do anything, you just grind to a halt. I was still young and didn’t want to be stuck in the position of having no control over what I was doing or whether work would be there for me or not, so I left.” – Inoue, speaking with Japanlogue
After working in sales for a number of years, Inoue still found himself unfulfilled. He noticed that sewing as an industry was in serious decline across Japan, and worried that if he was ever to fulfill his dream of producing jeans, there would be no one to sew them. With this in mind, Inoue took the gamble of opening his own sewing factory in 2007. Located in Kojima, the factory eventually had all of the necessary machines needed to produce the jeans that Inoue had aspired to make since a teen.
Hajime Inoue and cat via Medium
Inoue christened his factory TCB – standing for Taking Care of Business. However, when thinking of concepts for his own brand of jeans, Inoue was influenced by Levi’s moniker of Two Horse Brand. A lifetime admirer and owner of cats, Inoue thought about his two cats at home and realized that TCB could also stand for Two Cats Brand. Thus, TCB Jeans was born.
TCB Philosophy
Hajime Inoue in an Okayama Denim mill via TCB
TCB products are inspired by American Workwear from the 1920s to 1970s. Although TCB’s iconic 50s and 60s raw denim jeans are direct reproductions of archetypal Levi’s 501s from those eras, Hajime Inoue states that no garment he produces is an exact replica, and usually the design process involves taking cues and details from two or three vintage articles. The result is something faithful and original, with the brand’s playful cat branding keeping things down to earth.
TCB cat motifs via vIGGiou riou on. Superfuture
Special attention is paid to ensure that garments will age and develop an authentic patina that is comparable to their vintage counterparts. The brand only uses proprietary fabrics, custom loomed in Okayama based on vintage samples. For example, Inoue searched high and low for the perfect fabric for his 50s and 60s jeans before discovering that Zimbabwean cotton provided the most authentic charm he was looking for in terms of fade, puckering, and color evolution.
All TCB Products are sewn in the TCB factory by passionate and skilled craftspeople. The brand uses rare machines by Union Special, Reese, and Singer, which provide the vintage construction required to meet the TCB philosophy.
TCB Fades via Milled
Iconic Products
In addition to denim goods, TCB offers a strong range of apparel and accessories, which includes shirting, overalls, aprons, and hats. The brand opened its webstore in early 2020, offering worldwide shipping across the full TCB range. All of the iconic denim goods discussed below make use of rope-dyed indigo yarns, woven into proprietary selvedge fabrics by Japan’s Shinya Mills. It’s also worth noting that the majority of TCB’s denim is unsanforized, but the finished garments are one-washed to remove most of the shrinkage.
50s Jeans & Jacket
A TCB fan favorite is the brand’s 50s denim duo, consisting of a trucker jacket and five-pocket jeans, both based on archetypal Levi’s articles of the 1950s. The 50s jacket is rendered in classic Type II style with dual chest pockets and pleats running adjacent to the button placket, while the jeans are a reproduction of Levi’s 501s of the 50s, featuring a regular straight leg with a medium rise.
For this duo, TCBs uses a custom 13.5 oz. selvedge denim woven by Shinya Mills using 100% Zimbabwean cotton. Both garments feature a red selvedge ID, custom TCB hardware, and TCB-branded paper patches.
Slim 50s Jeans
Made from the same proprietary fabric as the standard 50s Jeans, the slim 50s do exactly as they say on the tin. They take all the details and cues from the standard 50s Jeans and incorporate them into a tapered-leg fit.
Available for $217 from Redcast Heritage.
60s Jeans & Jacket
Just as the aforementioned 50s denim range is inspired by the 1950s, TCB’s 60s Jacket & Jeans look to the following decade.
The trucker jacket in this instance is inspired by early issues of the iconic Levi’s Type III, featuring the classic knife pleats and dual chest pockets (and no hand warmers). The jeans are based on Levi’s 501s from the 1960s, which were slimmer through the leg than in previous decades.
TCB’s 60s denim is 13.5oz. unsanforized raw selvedge, woven in Okayama from 100% San Joaquin Valley cotton. It has a slightly lighter tone than the 50s denim, with the white weft being more prominent. This duo features a pink selvedge ID, custom TCB hardware, and a branded two-cats paper patch.
TCB 40s Jeans & Jacket
40s denim is TCB’s reproduction of WWII Levi’s selvedge denim. Woven from EMOT (Eastern Memphis, New Orleans, and Texas) cotton, it weighs in at 14 oz. per square yard and utilizes hard-twisted yarns for authentic texture and fading. Woven on Toyoda shuttle looms, it has a cream colored weft to compound the vintage look, and a salmon pink selvedge ID.
TCB 40s Jeans are a faithful reproduction of the Levi’s S501XX, produced during WWII. This means a straight leg cut, high rise, and ample room in the thighs and calves. Meticulous attention has been paid to the details of the OGs, from the signature wonky back pocket stitching to the steel laurel wreath buttons and more.
Just like the jeans, the TCB 40s jacket reproduces Levi’s’ WWII Type I Jacket. The cut is more relaxed and boxier compared to the brand’s 50’s jacket, with a shorter length and wider armholes. It comes complete with the archetypal singular flap-less patch pocket, exposed copper rivets, and rear cinch.
30s Jeans & Jacket
TCB’s 30s denim is a 12.5oz. raw selvedge fabric woven from 100% Memphis cotton. The Jeans are based on 1930s five-pocket jeans with a relaxed fit, medium-to-high rise, and period-correct details like a crotch rivet and rear cinch-back buckle with exposed rivets.
Inspired by the classic Levi’s Type I denim blouson, the TCB 30s Jacket features all the hallmarks of Levi’s’ earlier blouson, such as the singular chest pocket, pleats that run adjacent to the button placket, and a cinch back adjuster at the waist.
Both 30s pieces come complete with a deerskin patch, yellow selvedge ID, and custom iron TCB buttons.
* TCB’s 30s Denim is scheduled for discontinuation in 2026, so if you like what you see, act before it’s too late!
20s Jeans & Jacket
TCB’s 20s Denim is a 12.5 oz. selvedge woven by Shinya Mills 100% Memphis cotton. The 20s Jeans are inspired by a set of 1922 Levi’s 501s, featuring a straight leg fit with a high rise and fairly roomy thighs. They also feature suspender buttons around the waistbands, and a wide white selvedge– both hallmarks of denim from this period in the early 20th century.
The TCB 20s jacket follows Levi’s Type 1 jacket silhouettes from the 1920s. It features two-piece sleeves, as opposed to the one-piece sleeves on the 30s Jacket, and features a rounded pocket flap.
Jeans available for $243 from Redcast Heritage, Jacket available for $198 from Okayama Denim.
Seamen’s Jumper and Trouser
The TCB Seamen’s products are faithful reproductions of 1940s US Navy uniforms. The fabric is a lightweight 10 oz. denim with a grey weft that helps to provide a beautiful, deep blue tone, which is peppered with snowy white neps.
The ‘Jumper’ features roomy pockets at the waist, a shawl collar, and US Navy anchor buttons with metal ring reinforcements. The trousers come in a wide-leg fit with a high rise and two rear pockets. Both garments come with ‘TCB’ and the corresponding size hand-stencilled on with white paint.
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