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Which Denim Brands Are The Best?
Rae Fairbanks Mosher
I’m a mother, teacher, and writer who has found immense joy in the journey of motherhood. Through my blog, I share my experiences, lessons, and reflections on balancing life as a parent and a professional. My passion for teaching extends beyond the classroom as I write about the challenges and blessings of raising children. Join me as I explore the beautiful chaos of motherhood and share insights that inspire and uplift.
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My mom recently got back from a trip to Japan. I had given her a pair of my best fitting jeans and told her to hit up Hinoya in Tokyo and to just pick up anything that best matches the jeans I gave her because she’s very terrible at attention to detail lol. So she came back, opened her luggage and handed me the beautiful plastic Hinoya bag. I pulled the jeans out slowly and the moment I saw those stripes on the back pocket, my heart just fell to the floor! MOMOTAROs?!? She was so oblivious to my reaction because she seriously didn’t know what she had just purchased. Apparently the clerk that helped her knew what to look for (I had given her a pair of Tellason jeans, a prominent American selvedge brand). These Momotaros are now my holy grail jeans and will be getting rid of all my Levi’s and BS denim in my closet! I’m from SF, so Levi’s are of abundance. And those Tellasons are still at the top of my denim wardrobe. An American selvedge brand also from SF I highly recommend that’s a little more accessible than Japanese denim.
Iron Heart is actually not known for a slubby denim. In fact, Haraki San was against slubby denim for ages until they brought out a SLB version last year. IH is known for heavyweight 21oz denim that has yet a very smooth texture and doesn´ t feel as stubborn as some of Samurai´ s 19oz fabric. Edit: I was wondering how you deal with using pics from shop (such as Statement) etc in your articles?!? Also, I wonder whether you have ever worn the companies that you discuss here? In some cases it sounds as if you would describe the brands without proper, deep knowledge (see above regarding IH).
Side note thrift stores in Japan have an insane amount of Levi’s. Could be worth trading in USA made ones there, so you can buy more there. Manga Shoko in Okinawa is amazing with secondhand denim. But it’s going to be 29 inch waists or so. Only wide one I found was called Gold Rush. It’s lower end compared to what you mentioned. Momotaro is awesome. Grabbed a set while there.
The Flathead is my favorite. Why – The feel of the fabric, the vertical fades, and the authentic moderate slub that’s not exaggerated. I also have Studio D’Artisan, Iron Heart, The Real McCoy’s, Oni, Orslow, & Kapital. I like them all and you need different weights for different seasons. Most of mine are midweight 14-15 oz. One heavy Iron Heart pair (and one mid), one lighter weight SDA pair (and one mid), and a lighter weight Kapital pair. May-September down south you almost have to wear lightweight denim unless you just like extra sweating. BTW – Iron Heart only incorporated some slub jeans recently. For a long time they had the smoothest feeling denim around, and still do in most pairs offered.
I ordered a pair of Iron hearts from Iron heart America and it was a great experience. Before they sent me the jeans I ordered, they emailed me and had me measure and take pics of another pair of jeans I had to make sure the sizing was correct. They were very polite and easy to work with. I bought those jeans because I was curious about the product. But there customer service surprised me and turned me into a life long customer.
I’m a lucky guy in that I lived in Okayama and I still go back there every year or so. Back in the 90s, it was Big John and Edwin. I’m kind of a bigger guy now, so I’ve gone with Momotaro because with Japanese denim, the size on the patch is not necessarily the same all around. Momotaro tends to be wider in the hip. I have some Kojima and Schott Japan too. I’ll be there in a couple months again I may pick up an iron heart something or other.
Great topic, few notes, pbj idoes tend to be far more slubby and textured then Momataro, which is why you tend to get the vertical fades on a lot of PBJ’s. I will say that Momataro does get very soft for raw denim and many people find them very comfy. Also while, Iron Heart does have a line of extremely slubby denim, most people who know them tend to know them for their denim with the more standard/normal texture. Although they are known for their insane fades. A brand I definitely recommend, The Flat Head, everything they make is insane quality and feels different, and they have a line of denim combined with a small amount of silk which again feels very interesting.