Inspiration II – The Real McCoy’s

Editor’s Note: be sure to check out Part I, Part III, Part IV, and Part V in this multi-part series.


For those not familiar with the brand, The Real McCoy’s is a Japanese reproduction brand founded by Hitoshi Tsujimoto. They focus primarily on US military and sportswear of the 1940s and 50s—there are some serious cult followings behind their A-2 bomber repros and loopwheeled sweatshirts. The whole idea that “Japan does Americana better than America”? Yeah, you can thank The Real McCoy’s for that.

One of McCoy's iconic loopwheeled sweatshirts

One of McCoy’s iconic loopwheeled sweatshirts

Beyond the jackets and sweats, though, McCoy’s offers two lines of raw denim. I was able to speak with Kento Tsujimoto from the McCoy’s team who walked us step by step through all of their raw offerings.

Not Kento, but another member of the McCoy's team.

Another member of the McCoy’s team. Not Kento, but we can pretend.

First off, the brand is bifurcated into two lines of jeans – their sportswear line, Joe McCoy, and their military influenced mainline.

A Sample Of The Real McCoy's

WWII Inspired Mainline

The WWII inspired mainline is pure reproduction and thus features fuller cuts, 14.25 Oz. sanforized selvedge denim, and historically accurate details like laurel leaf buttons and bar tacks instead of metal rivets (there’s a war on, remember). However, despite their slavish attention to detail, their take on the Levi’s leather patch shows they still have fun with the designs.

Real McCoy & Co. Patch

Joe McCoy

The Joe McCoy line is all unsanforized and runs the gambit from turn of the century cinchback work pants to modern slim-fit five pockets. The real standout from this line, though, was their pink-line 14.75oz. selvedge denim. The fabric has a satisfying crunch to it and a certain hairiness — you can’t help but imagine the glazed patina the denim will achieve after running a hand along it.

Joe McCoy pink-line 14.75oz. selvedge denim

Kento was cagey about its source, but let me know that it’s been McCoy’s exclusive for at least the past decade. Right now, it can be found on their 1960s inspired 906 cut, their Type II jacket, and the XH model of their slim 991 cut. See Kento modeling his 991XH’s below.

Kento modeling his pair of 991XH’s

The Real McCoy's Type II Jacket

And of course we had to include some pics of their other offerings, including this B-7 Arctic Parka that looks like it was lifted from the Smithsonian.

The Real McCoy's B-7 Arctic Parka

The Real McCoy'sThe Real McCoy's

For those of us in the western hemisphere, all of McCoy’s new offerings should be available at Blue in Green and Superdenim by the time of this post.

The Real McCoy's

What’s up next? Don’t miss our next Inspiration interview with Miles Johnson – creative director of Levi’s Vintage Clothing – with two new 501 replicas and a full review of their Hot Rod line!

Levi's Vintage Clothing