Looking to buy new denim and jeans. Traveling to Japan soon ... should I wait until I go there?
I'm in the market for some decent and perhaps somewhat expensive jeans. I've been looking at the Naked and Famous Strong Guy pants but, in my research, I've found that people cant stop ranting about how good Japanese denim is.
Pants from Japan seem to be a little more pricy and look like 'end tier' fashion pieces. That being said, I'm going to Japan for vacation and I'm wondering if I should save my money and buy stuff there (USD to JPY is highly favorable at the moment).
I'll primarily be in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.
I had lived in Japan before but while I was there I was paid in Yen, and it's a hard sell to spend 40k yen on pants. With my USD power now, maybe it would be worth it?
Let me know what you think,
Walker
12 Replies
N&F denim is made in japan, the actual pants are sewn in canada mostly some in japan. both are going to be very good pairs of pants but japan does have lots of denim and if you enjoy going to a cool store in person it can be a fun thing to do
the yen conversion right now will for sure make the "value" higher but generally most of the well known Japanese brands are a bit more expensive than N&F so it still may wind up being more than a pair Strong guy jeans
Okayama is considered the denim capital of Japan. It's about an hour from Osaka by train. You'd have access to all the major Japanese denim brands there and many lesser known brands. You'll also find most major Japanese denim brands in Tokyo and Osaka.
yeah I'd save your money and buy things on your trip. A lot of fashion people proxy from Japan for a reason
beyond the cost savings, buying in japan also usually allows you to try the jeans on and to avoid potential stock issues/delays from proxying
also, its fun
theres tons of cool shops to go to
Hm. Got it! Thanks everyone :D I've never heard of Okayama but I'll head up
If you're going to Tokyo or Osaka, you'll realistically have access to more well regarded and unique denim stores than any city in the US. Don't feel like you absolutely have to add a new city to your itinerary
i was going to say the same thing, okayama is neat but tokyo is massive and has tons of shops and osaka also has an area that is just as known for denim shops as okayama just not for the actually production of denim.
also a lot of the denim shops I went to in Japan are sales tax exempt, just bring your passport
the stores in the US tend to have truly raw denim, which doesn't always make for a good estimate of shrinkage when washed. Japan mostly has once-washed stuff that makes it far easier to try on and take out the guesswork of that
If you dont know what brands you want to focus on, Hinoya and Americaya are on the same street with a bunch of other related retailers. Generally not the absolute best prices but convenient and with a large brand selection. Lots of fun
Don’t go to Okayama specifically for shopping unless you’re dead set on going to the main store for a given brand. Most have branches in Tokyo, where I assume you will be going.
Kojima Jeans Street http://jeans-street.com/smp/ (which is probably what you’re after) is kind of a pain in the ass from Okayama, at least 45 minutes each way. The Momotaro main store is by the Okayama station, but unless you’re dying to go to Koraku-en or something, save yourself some time and energy.
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This may sound weird, but I'd also recommend going to Levi's stores in Japan. They are much higher-end than the US, and have some good, interesting, made-in-Japan stuff.
Also check out vintage stores, if you are open to that.
I dont got the dough for a momotaro pair of jeans but I'll poke around there