When Edward VII popularized the Glen Check it definitely wasn’t in a jacket like this one. The Pure Blue Japan Glen Check Type II Jacket is a wacky take on the classic outerwear piece that brings some pattern to the mix.

It bears the resemblance of a Type II in many ways: pleated front, dual chest pockets, and waist adjusters. They even use indigo to dye the yarns of the fabric which will result in fading over time. But, rather than a traditional twill denim, they used several different shades of rope dyed indigo yarns to form the classic Glen Check pattern.

If you’re feeling bold enough, you can pick up this atypical Type II for ¥27,000 or about $225 over at Pure Blue Japan.

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Today’s Fade of the Day features one unique pair of Pure Blue Japan XX-010‘s worn and submitted by Evan Hsieh from NYC. Over three years of wear with at least one 10 month stint of continuous wear has rewarded him with some gnarly whiskers and a really pronounced deep purple hues in the cuffs and seat. The slubbiness of the denim itself becomes even more apparent during the fading process, and has left Evan with an awesome pair of jeans.

DETAILS

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-010
• Fabric: 100% cotton PBJ original slubby Japanese selvedge denim
• Weight: 14 oz.
• Fit: Slim straight
• Unique Features:
  • Herringbone twill pocket lining
  • Deerskin leather patch
  • Deep indigo warp threads woven with purple dyed weft yarn
• Available for $315 at Blue in Green

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-010 (3 Years, 4 Months, 9 Washes) appeared first on Heddels.com.

The fades keep coming and today’s is a pair of Pure Blue Japan XX-013‘s. As a classical musician, Samuel Walter spends much of his time sitting in orchestra. That in combination with biking around have produced some strong honeycombs in just one year. But you can’t ignore the whiskers, too. Equally impressive, they’re nice and thick with a considerable amount of contrast to show off the slubby fabric.

DETAILS

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-013
• Fabric: Japanese slub selvedge denim
• Weight: 14 oz.
• Fit: Slim Taper
• Unique Features:
  • Deer skin leather patch
  • Hidden rivets
  • Herringbone twill pocket bags
• Available for $285 at Blue in Green

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-013 (1 Year, 1 Wash, 3 Soaks) appeared first on Heddels.com.

Your first pair of raw denim jeans can lead you through a lot of different paths. They could be your first and only pair. Or, they could be just the initial snowflake in an indigo avalanche. For today’s Fade of the Day, it led to, among other things, opening up a first rate menswear store.

From Jeremy Smith, co-founder of Standard & Strange, comes his first, a pair of Pure Blue Japan XX-003′s. He obliged them no water for the first year of wear and thereafter a biannual wash for a total of 13 washes. For those of you counting, that’s about 7 years of total wear.  After several repairs, they’re sporting some vintage-looking fades, and although they don’t get much wear these days, they do hang around the Oakland shop as a testimony to the pleasures of raw denim.

You can visit Jeremy, and see his PBJ’s on display at the shop, located at 5010 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609. Or, if you’re not in the area, you can follow the team over on Instagram.

DETAILS

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-003
• Fabric: Slubby Japanese selvedge denim
• Weight: 14oz.
• Fit: Regular taper
• Unique Features:
  • Sheepskin leather patch
  • All cotton thread
• Available for $275 at Blue in Green.

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-003 (7+ Years, 13 Washes) appeared first on Heddels.com.

At first, seersucker will probably conjure up images of sweet tea, sweaty southerners, and buttoned up gentlemen. But the traditional striped seersucker button down shirt this is not. Pure Blue Japan‘s Indigo Seersucker Check Shirt is primed for the both the trad folk and the denimhead braving the swelter.

Using two different indigo dyed yarns, PBJ makes the lightweight seersucker into a gingham pattern. As preppy as that might sound, they’ve not foregone the workwear details entirely. You’ll find two work pockets, one flapped, one with a pen slot, so you can go ahead and draft up a mean blueprint before smashing down some walls for that renovation. And, if you look to your side, you’ll find the side seams are reinforced with gussets as well as some chainstitch runoff.

Before it gets too hot too late, you can grab one for 16,000 JPY (~$143 USD) at Pure Blue Japan.

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Clothes with bandana prints on them, Komon, I’m dyeing over here! Pure Blue Japan, swears they didn’t mix up their swatches when they released this collection of bandana print items including a shirt, scarf, and the titular item itself.

The Japanese denim brand has long been revered for its slubby fabric and their unusual dyes, but it’s the removal of the dye that’s turning heads this time around. The Komon printing process involves the discharge removal of the indigo dye to reveal the white “shoai” indigo leaf pattern. Everything’s once washed, so you don’t have to worry about shrinkage, and all made by PBJ in Japan.

You can find the whole set for 30-190 GBP ($43-$269 USD) at Rivet & Hide.

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Dream team meets the jean team in one of the craziest collaborations we’ve seen in a while. Not one, not two, but five names take credit for these Gosha Joint jeans. With details from Pure Blue Japan, Strike Gold, Kawataco, Daytona Bros., and Hong Kong’s premier denim shop Take5, it’s a jean not likely to be outdone.

Cut into a straight fit, the slubby denim fabric is woven and sewn by PBJ. You can also find the PBJ logo stamped on the inside of the pocket bags. Kawataco provides the green leather patch with homage paid to Daytona Bros. magazine. Strike Gold branded copper and iron hardware keep it together. You’ll also find dual arcuates with Strike Golds on the left back pocket and a special Take5 arcuate on the right.

To get in on this super limited, super collaborative release, it’ll run you 11,320 NTD (~$350USD). Find it on the Take5 site.

The post Pure Blue Japan x Strike Gold x Kawataco x Take5 x Daytona Bros. “Gosha Joint” Jeans appeared first on Heddels.com.

You may have been put on to the more textured variants of denim on the market like a good neppy denim or even a solid slubby jean. But have you heard of knubbed selvedge jeans? Of course you haven’t. Dubbed ‘knub’ by Pure Blue Japan their latest jean, the KS-013, uses their newest fabric, a super textured, super irregular denim.

Okay, so they’re basically just a slubby fabric. But, these knubby knockaround jeans show off an irregularity that’s hard to convey through a jpeg. It’s weighty at 16oz., and is cut into a slim taper fit. The usual PBJ accoutrements abound like a lambskin leather patch, roped belt loops, and custom branded hardware.

The fabric’s personality comes out with wear, so if you want to get to know it, you can start by introducing yourself with $250 over at Okayama Denim.

The post Pure Blue Japan KS-013 “Knubbed Selvedge” Jeans appeared first on Heddels.com.

Get ready for some fades from Down Under, because that’s what we have for you with our Fade of the Day. Reader Amir Ridhwan Mohd Yazed of Melbourne, Australia, has worn this pair of Pure Blue Japan XX-015‘s for a little over a year. They’re showing wear in all the right places, and his one wash and a soak have helped them fade nicely and not loudly.

Amir has worn these to his university classes, and part-time job. Although they’ve suffered two crotch blowouts, Amir has repaired one, and will repair the other when time allows. With some quality repairs, these jeans can keep on trucking, and we hope to see them back here soon.

Details

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-015
• Fabric: 100 % cotton selvedge denim
• Weight: 14oz.
• Fit: Slim straight
• Unique Features:
  • Hidden Rivets
  • Sheep skin leather patch
  • Iron buttons
• Available for £239 or $366 at Rivet and Hide

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Some people hear the acronym “PBJ” and think of their favorite childhood sandwich. When we hear it, we are stoked because it means another great pair of Pure Blue Japan‘s.

Today’s Fade was sent to us from Sean Bryan in Illinois, where he wore his XX-011‘s for the last seven months doing merchandising at a major retailer. From crawling on the floor to climbing shelves and making sure all those displays are just right, he has put some serious wear on his jeans and even made a sashiko repair on the back pocket where his box cutter wore through. Keep ’em going, Sean!

Details

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-011
• Fabric: 100% cotton Japanese selvedge denim
• Weight: 13.5oz.
• Fit: Slim straight
• Unique Features:
  • Left hand twill weave
  • 100% cotton thread sewing construction
• Available for $285 at Blue in Green

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-011 (7 Months, 3 Washes) appeared first on Heddels.com.

With another stunner of a fade, Samuel Peck from NYC brings us his Pure Blue Japan XX-005. Putting some serious fades in these PBJ’s in just over a hear is no small feat. Peck is a landscape photographer and has traveled all over wearing these and it shows. His whiskers barely have any indigo left in them and stack all the way up to the top. There is some fraying near the pocket seams adding the character to make them his own.

You can check out more from him over on Instagram.

Details

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-005 BK
• Fabric: 100% cotton selvedge denim
• Weight: 14oz.
• Fit: Slim straight
• Unique Features:
  • Sheepskin leather patch
  • 100% cotton thread sewing construction
• Available for $275 at Blue In Green

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-005 (1 Year, 4 Months, 3 Washes, 1 Soak) appeared first on Heddels.com.

It’s finally Fade Friday and here is a beautiful pair of PBJ’s to make the start of the weekend that much better. Noel Ong from Singapore has worn these everyday for the past three years and it shows. The overall front fade looks like it came straight out of a mineshaft with its dirty fades.

The back of the jean probes to be just as impressive. The back pockets are almost white and the honeycombs are thin and neatly stacked. Noel only has two repairs, one under the left back pocket and a minor crotch blowout. But considering he’s worn them climbing cliffs in Vietnam, that ain’t too bad.

Details

• Name: Pure Blue Japan XX-011 
• Weight: 13.5oz.
• Denim: 100% cotton selvedge denim from Okayama, Japan
• Fit: Tapered
• Other Details:
  • Left-hand twill
  • Indigo warp with grey weft
• Available for $331 at Rivet and Hide.

The post Fade Friday – Pure Blue Japan XX-011 (2 Years, 7 Months, 4 Soaks) appeared first on Heddels.com.

Pure Blue Japan has just released a hand-dyed indigo jean that leaves slightly more cash in your wallet than previous iterations we’ve seen. A cool $355 gets your legs in a pair of pants that’s dyed by hand with natural indigo harvested from Japan’s Tokushima prefecture (an historic source of indigo with government-certified expertise required to administer it to denim).

Constructed with 13.5oz. selvedge denim, the jeans also feature a deerskin leather patch, herringbone twill pocket lining, a button fly, and 100% cotton stitches. Plus, of course, the usual delights of hand-dyed denim: a visibly variable slub texture, and radiant, long-lasting indigo color.

Available for $355 at Okayama Denim.

The post Pure Blue Japan AI-13-TSM Hand-Dyed Natural Indigo Jeans appeared first on Heddels.com.

If you remember recently, Pure Blue Japan premiered what they called their ‘knub’ selvedge jeans in their KS-013. This time around, they’ve come back with their KS-013 WID, a darker take on the first.

It’s the same slubby, knubby denim as before, but this time with an indigo warp and indigo weft. You can expect gobs of texture as they fade, which should take a little longer than your average denim. However, the results should also be more contrasting as well. It’s stealthy, too, with tonal indigo dyed threads and black pocket bags.

It’s cut in their slim taper fit and you can get knubbin’ for $255 at Okayama Denim.

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One of the best things about denim is that each jean fade is different from the next, like a metaphorical snowflake. Even in hotter climates like Thailand, you can see snowflakes with so many denimheads strutting around.

Dhanainun Dhanarachwattana from Bangkok wore these exclusive Pure Blue Japan x Pronto PBJDEC5 for eight months straight doing all sorts of activities, even using them as his go-to workout gear. That’s commitment on a whole other level. The lap fade has zero remnants of the original indigo and tapers off down over the knee. The back has unique fraying underneath the back pockets but it’s really the honeycombs that everyone’s staring at.

Details

• Name: Pure Blue Japan x Pronto PBJDEC5
• Fabric: Deep indigo selvedge
• Weight: 14oz.
• Fit: Slim
• Other features:
  • Indigo warp and weft
  • Deerskin leather patch
  • Pink indigo leaf embroidery
• No longer available.

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan x Pronto PBJDEC5 (8 Months, 3 Washes, 3 Soaks) appeared first on Heddels.com.

Five Plus One is our weekly series of buyer’s guides. We pick a specific category and dig up five great options along with one that’s a little outside the norm.

I love snap button shirts. Is there anything more satisfying than ripping off your shirt in one fell swoop? The design was perfected by Denver-based Rockmount Ranch Wear. The snap button was their solution for a button that gave way without breaking off if the shirt ever got caught or snagged. This made the shirt especially popular with cowboys and ranch workers, plagued by broken and missing sew-on buttons.

Below, we’ve rounded up five plus one of our favorite options on the market, so get reading, and make it snappy!

1. Rockmount: Slim Fit No Wash Denim Shirt

We’re starting with the granddaddy of them all, Rockmount. Of all the shirts on this list, this is probably the only one you’ll find on the back of anyone working on a ranch (except maybe when Ralph feels like baling hay for authenticity’s sake). The slim fit of the Rockmount was originally a functional feature, meaning the wearer was less likely to catch themselves on stray branches or barb wire. You can pick up the original, which is still made in USA, for a song compared to the others on this list.

Available for $86 at Rockmount.

2. Freenote Cloth: Nep Denim Modern Western

The Cowboys of San Juan Capistrano take the edges off a western with their spin on the classic. Everything is a rounded, nubbed, and comfy on this guy – from the front yoke to the pockets to even the little nubs on the neppy denim. Plus it has a few of those little details we’ve come to expect from Freenote, like selvedge detail gussets and chainstitch runoff.

Available for $220 at Freenote Cloth.

3. Rogue Territory: Nep Denim Western Shirt

Is it Christmas, Rogue Territory, or are you just happy to see us? The white neps are strong with this one, making it an excellent choice for those who love fabric with character or are just trying to camouflage their dandruff problem. The denim is also the beefiest on this list, with a 9oz. 2×1 from Nihon Menpu. The RGT fam even managed to sneak in their signature pen pocket.

Available for $255 at Rogue Territory.

4. Pure Blue Japan: 5oz. Knub Denim Western Shirt

If you’d prefer to feel the irregularities in your denim rather than see them, this one’s for you. Pure Blue Japan, masters of the slub, have turned their efforts above the waist to produce a shirt with just as much character as their jeans. This shirt also has a lighter caste to go with it’s lighter weight, making it an ideal multi-season contender.

Available for $245 at Rivet and Hide.

5. RRL: Slim Fit Denim Western Shirt

Things haven’t looked great for the almighty Ralph as of late. With profits plunging and the main man no longer at the helm, many have surmised that his passion project brand RRL will get the axe. That would be a shame, as it’s been the standard bearer for the company for quite a while. As such, you’d better get your hands on their standard staples, like this Platonic ideal of a Western shirt, quick.

Available for $265 at Ralph Lauren.

Plus One – Kapital: Sashiko Thunder Western Shirt

While all the other shirts on this list adhere strictly to the ideals of a standard Western shirt, Kapital takes a different path. They laugh at the standard, corrupt it, break it down to its component parts and build it back up so what we have left is an ironic joke of heritage. I love it.

This shirt is from a couple seasons ago but I still can’t forget it. The pockets angle inwards with a play on the standard sawtooth, the fabric itself is an overdyed indigo canvas, and the yoke (which buttresses the stress points on the shirt) has been replaced by intricate sashiko stitching, a technique most often used to reinforce and repair old leather and textiles. They took everything that you’d expect and replaced it with a much more interesting equivalent. It’s like those fancy burgers that use foie gras instead of mayonnaise, except this actually works.

One left for $389 at Unionmade.

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Sometimes nothing beats the simplicity and nostalgia of a PB & J sandwich to satisfy those lunchtime cravings. Today, however, we are looking at a different PBJ that we feel is equally enjoyable. This pair of Pure Blue Japan XX-013‘s has been worn for just over a year and a half by Siman Mohd Safaren from Malaysia, and mostly only during the weekends at that.

A lot of denim heads take pride in their jeans’ lack of watery encounters. Siman took a different approach with his PBJ’s, giving them a healthy 10 washes and 1 soak in this time period, which also means his jeans are probably among the better smelling of the bunch too – and there is nothing wrong with that. Keep up with Siman’s denim journeys on Instagram.

Pure Blue Japan XX-013

• Fabric: Japanese slub selvedge denim
• Weight: 14 oz.
• Fit: Slim Taper
• Unique Features:
  • Deer skin leather patch
  • Hidden rivets
  • Herringbone twill pocket bags
• Available for $285 at Blue in Green

The post Fade of the Day – Pure Blue Japan XX-013 (1 Year, 6 Months, 10 Washes, 1 Soak) appeared first on Heddels.com.

It was a hot one during this season’s Market Week in New York. Amidst the blaze and the viscous humidity that filled the avenues and flooded the underground tunnels, we trudged our way to Liberty Fairs, Capsule, and MAN to see what the menswear industry has to offer for the spring/summer of 2017. Why can’t these trade shows take place in the fall and spring rather than in the winter and summer?

There’s always so much to see at these events. And though we’d like to see it all, there’s just too much product and not enough Heddels to cover it all. At the very least, here’s a taste of what you can expect to see in stores a year from now.

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Pure Blue Japan are out pushing the boundaries of old and new, and have mashed the two perfectly with their latest release. The 14oz. Deep Indigo Selvedge Slim Fit Work Pants are made using PBJ original Japanese slub selvedge denim in a very deep indigo that will surely make for some righteous fades over time.

They combine certain aspects of classic work pants such as the buckle back with leather-backed rivets, hammer loop, and trouser hem with a more modern silhouette. They have been washed once so there’s no shrinkage left, and so you don’t crock your shoes (as much) blue.

Available for $275 at Blue In Green.

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Courtesy of Evan Senter of San Fransisco, today’s Fade of the Day showcases a very well-aged pair of three-year-old Pure Blue Japan XX-011’s. Having worn them for almost a year before washing them for the first time, they’ve since gone through an unknown number of washes, which may explain the severe indigo loss.

Being “beat to hell”, as Evan describes them, gives these jeans amazing character. Almost all of the original indigo has faded, but what we do have are some pronounced honeycombs and streaky fades. The lap and knees are nearly white and coupled with the minor repairs, what we’re left with is a pair of raw denim jeans that you make your own. The formula is simple, folks: wear, wash, repeat!

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