Putting Pure Blue Japan back in the spotlight after taking up two spots in 5 Pairs of Raw Denim Done Differently, here’s an example of why you should consider Pure Blue Japan. The XX-007 denim is an amazing piece of work itself with its unorthodox slubby indigo dyed warp and weft (traditionally, the warp is dyed and the weft is undyed). Also, superfuture member, stukovxx, showcases the potential of this denim very well. Read more about the denim below.
With any Fade Friday, the photo quality and lighting make the jeans much more tantalizing (see 5 Tips for Raw Denim Photography), so take note on a great combination of beautifully worn-in jeans and stunning photography.
Details
- Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-007
- Weight: 14 oz.
- Denim: Original Japanese slubby texture selvedge denim. The XX-007 fabric is from a series of denim by Pure Blue Japan that are all woven using the same single shuttle loom machine which was manipulated and rigged to create a unique loose and uneven weave, and only for use by Pure Blue Japan. The XX-007 is done on one machine which must be shared and divided into small productions of each denim from the series throughout the year. Because of this, the productions are small and infrequent which make these denims much more special and unique. The XX-007 uses genuine indigo dyed warp and weft yarns to create a solid blue indigo jean. The cores of these threads and yarns remain undyed since the indigo does not fully penetrate to the centers. This allows for contrast fading similar to that of traditional blue jeans but with a unique blue overcast (source: blueingreensoho.com).
- Fit: Slim straight
- Length of Wear: 3 years
- Number of washes: Unknown. I imagine there weren’t too many washes because the jeans remain dark in most regions. As you know: with more washes, there will be more overall indigo loss.
Notice the indigo weft on the inside of the jeans. One word of caution: don’t wear white underwear or else you’ll get a double-sided indigo attack.
Two main things pop out: the patch and the trademark leaf.
You’ll notice the top button says “Pure Blue Japan Syoaiya.” Pure Blue Japan and Syoaiya are the same company, but Syoaiya is the international brand of Pure Blue Japan.
The blue selvedge line is a mark of Pure Blue Japan denim.
The patch is decorated with a silhouette of a Medieval dyer at work, immersing a pair of jeans into a indigo dye bath.
Excellent contrast on the whiskers. You’ll notice that the belt area is still very dark because he wore a belt. You can also appreciate how much indigo loss that these jeans experienced when comparing the colours.
A lot of wear came from the friction of biking 1.5 miles (or 2.4 km) to and from campus when he was wearing them everyday. Also note the random white spots around the back pockets – these are an excellent illustration of slubby denim. The fatter yarns lose dye more readily than the smaller yarns because they come in contact with the outside world much more. As a result, you get random white spots/denim with character – whichever you prefer.
The result of a button that lived a good life.
Selvedge detail shot. You can see the magic of indigo dyed warp and weft denim. There’s fading that occurs on both sides.
The leaf is one of the indicators of Pure Blue Japan denim. The blue dye is initially produced from the indigo plant. The blue leaf stands for Pure Blue Japan. The red outlines of the leaf symbolizes the original red selvedge of a jeans. So much detail and meaning packed into one symbol.
The mandatory whisker shot.
Combining two of the most coveted creases for all denimheads. I’m actually more impressed how well the crotch is holding up after so much biking.
Last, but not least, the fit picture.
