Brown-Duck & Digger - Jeans Just As They Ought To Be

BD&D's line up of jeans at Bread & Butter in Berlin.

Japanese denim brands had a strong presence at Bread & Butter in Berlin in January. The stand out for me was Brown-Duck & Digger (BD&D) - the new sub label by Warehouse & Co specialising in authentic workwear jeans from 1900 to the 1960's.

The jeans lineup consists of four fits, the 12.5 oz Rough Rider Trousers, the 12.5 oz Big Bill, the 14 oz Golden Straight and the 14 oz Ivy, the fits getting gradually more modern (read slimmer and lower) as you go.

The 12.5 oz Rough Riders

Predictably perhaps I immediately got exited over the earliest pair in the range - the Rough Riders. 
Named after President Teddy Roosevelt’s volunteer cavalry unit that fought in the Spanish American War of 1898, in terms of fit they are are entirely accurate for jeans of the period - with an uber high waist, wide leg, brace buttons, cinch and single back pocket.

The back pocket has been placed close to the outer seam - a throwback to a time when workmen needed easy access to the tools they kept there. The yolk is so deep that it goes through the inside top corner of the pocket - giving a very high back rise.

Cinch back and donut brace buttons. Two of my favourite things to see on a pair of jeans.

Detail Is All

Befitting their rugged name these jeans have been robustly constructed.  As you would expect from a Japanese brand immense attention has been lavished on the detailing. 
Unusually the outer seam is felled - essentially the two seams are interlocked and top stitched, giving a much stronger result - a technique that would have been widely used on denims and other workwear of the era.

The felled seams in all their glory - a much stronger seam historically used on work wear, it makes for an unusual single selvedge edge.

The same can be said of the beautiful single needle stitching, the lock stitched hem on the leg and donut buttons.
Another detail that stood out is the single piece selvedge edge fly. Sturdier than a crotch rivet, it’s a feature that BD&D have replicated throughout the entire range.

Continuous selvedge fly and green button hole stitching. Commendable detailing.

A core part of the brand's identity is the indigo leaf - a theme that runs throughout the line-up from the painted & stitched leaf arcuate, the green button hole stitching to the deliberately aged copper rivets that show a slight green oxidisation. 
On the more contemporary models green thread has been used to bar-tack the belt loops and pockets too. 
Painted arcuates are not normally my cup of tea, but they're something of a Japanese tradition and it will be interesting to see how it ages.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of the painted arcuate when I first saw it, but it's growing on me. 

The Jeans In Hand

The fabric is beautiful. The Rough Riders and Big Bills are 12.5 oz 3x1 twill - denim of the time was usually 2x1. When I spoke to Keita Senzaki at BD&D he said he preferred to adopt 3x1 twill for these two models “to stress the thickness and stiffness of the fabric.” 

And the fabric on the Rough Riders is quite slubby, giving the denim a wonderful texture. Again this would have been a feature of turn-of-the-century denim - a characteristic BD&D have reproduced by tweaking the tension on their vintage looms. I’m excited to see how the these jeans will fade.

Beautiful period donut buttons and deliberately aged copper rivets. Note the slight green oxidisation, consistent with the indigo leaf theme. Other brands should take heed - that's how you do detailing. 

Even the pocket bags are denim. The back of the cinch has also been lined with blue &  white hounds tooth cotton. Rather than leather, BD&D have plumbed for an unbleached cotton patch, maintaining the eco friendly feel of the natural indigo leaf.

Heavy duty denim pocket bags - I'm expecting to end up with indigo stained boxers whilst I break these in!

Billiken Man - Success Is Sure To Follow

BD&D use Billiken as their brand icon -  a good luck charm that was hugely popular in both America and Japan in the early Twentieth century. Largely forgotten in the US now, it was even used as a mascot for William Howard Taft’s 1908 presidential election campaign - the name for BD&D’s Big Bill jeans was Taft’s nickname. 
Billiken hit the shores of Japan that same year in the form of a huge statue in an Osaka amusement park and the figure remains popular today.
As Keita says, “we think Biliken and B&DD have something mutual in common - American culture, forgotten history.” 

The Billiken icon - on the patch, and here tucked away in the back pocket.

Others have characterised Biliken as “the God of things as they ought to be.” For me this is perhaps the more relevant link to BD&D. They produce jeans as they ought to be. 
Whether you’re in to historically accurate garments or not BD&D simply make beautiful jeans as they ought to be made.

As you'd expect from Warehouse & Co painstaking research has gone into the BD&D range and it's clearly been crafted with uncompromising attention to detail. What more can you ask for in a pair of denims? 

Some Japanese brands can be hard to get hold of in Europe, however BD&D intend to distribute globally. With more of the range waiting in the wings to be released soon, these are exciting times for fans of Japanese denim. 

Check out Brown-Duck & Digger here.

Pike Brothers 19 Oz. 1948 Roamer Pant

Japanese Denim, German Engineering.

Taking their inspiration from both European and American workwear, Pike Brothers focus on making beautiful authentic clothes, eschewing trends that seem to govern most of the denim industry in favour of simply producing what they like. This makes them a firm favourite of mine.

Most of Pike Brothers’ other denim is only 11 oz, a trifle light by selvedge standards. However, they did cause a bit of a stir with the uber heavy 23oz 1958 Roamer Pants, and this is where the inspiration for the 1948’s came from.

As Pike Brothers’ founder, Fabian Jedlitschka, says, “we had several people asking for a little bit lighter version and a wider fit.” 

Clearly I wasn’t alone in wanting them to do something in between the two, with a cut closer to the 1937 Roamers.

As their regular mill in Turkey is only capable of working with denim up to 16oz, Pike Brothers had to turn elsewhere.

For Fabian only Kurabo in Japan could deliver the quality needed. 

Simply put these jeans are a thing of beauty. Fabricated from 19oz right hand twill raw selvedge denim they’re satisfyingly heavy. 

The indigo really is quite a deep, well, indigo. The contrasting blue and golden stitching on the selvedge, replicated again on the coin pocket, is a great touch. 

Selvedge detail on the coin pocket

At 19oz I was interested to find out whether these jeans presented any of the same production problems as the 23oz Roamers, “production was a bit more difficult. We had to sew the denims a bit slower not to risk any needle damages but besides that it wasn't too bad.”

 The 1948 Roamer has lost the cinch and brace buttons of their 1937 cousin.

Fabian argues that by 1948 manufacturers had ditched these in favour of belt loops, “we looked at our archive and also studied pictures from the 40s and decided not to outfit the 1948 with suspender buttons and a cinch. These features are hardly found during that era.” 

By way of comparison the 501 lost its brace buttons in 1937, younger workmen preferring to sport a belt.

D ring for your watch or wallet chain

In cut the 48’s retain an authentic "anti fit" feel, with a decent rise and a wide, un-tapered leg, again entirely accurate for the era. 

All the details you expect to see from Pike Brothers are present and correct - the honey yellow stitching, the heavy bar tacked belt loops, seam ends and pockets.

As is the lock stitched hem. In an earlier interview with Denimhunters, Fabian argued that European work wear manufacturers would not have had access to Union sewing machines capable of chain stitching. Maybe an issue for some people, but I don’t see a problem. 

Lock-stitched hem

My one quibble is that it would have been nice to see Pike Brothers dispense with the light zinc finish buttons and rivets in favour of something worthy of such heavy denim. In all other respects they’ve gone the extra mile with these jeans. A minor point though. The quality of this Kurabo denim is such that it’s not a deal breaker.

Maybe too light? Zinc buttons..

Pike Brothers recommend that you break in the jeans from dry. It’s been covered before in the Denimhunters Rinse Guide, but I always give raw denim a pre wear soak. Not only will a soak make your denim last longer, it will prevent them shrinking after the first wash. 

There’s not much point investing months of your time breaking in such beautiful jeans only to have them not fit you afterwards.

That said, post soak the jeans had lost only an inch off the leg. The waist stretched by just 3/4 of an inch. 

I’m genuinely excited at the prospect of breaking these in over the next few months. At 19oz this will take some work, (just buttoning the fly is a challenge), but that’s why we love raw denim, right? Thank Christ it’s winter though, these baby’s are heavy!

Pike Brothers have surpassed themselves here. Clearly a lot of hard work went in to developing the 1948 Roamar Pant, and the end results are impressive in almost every way. Tempted? You should be.

Available direct from Pike Brothers in two inseam lengths, 34” and 36”, you can order them here.

(With thanks to Fabian & Olivia at Pike Brothers for letting me try them out on behalf of Denimhunters)

Pike Brothers 1937 Roamer Jeans

Simple Yet Beautiful Denims

   

Three months solid wear...

... and developing lovely honeycombing

Continuing on a denim theme it's time to turn to the German brand Pike Brothers. Taking their inspiration from both European and American workwear these guys focus on making beautiful authentic clothes, eschewing trends that seem to govern most of the denim industry in favour of simply producing what they love. This makes them a firm favourite here at New Utility.

11oz Raw Selvedge Denim. Note the lock stitching.

I had been searching for the right pair of selvedge jeans with brace buttons for a while, so was quite excited to find the 1937 Roamer Pant. Pike Brothers jeans are listed by date, with the year denoting the type of cut. They also have 1958 and '63 versions that gradually sport a more narrow, lower modern fit.

Fabricated from 11oz raw selvedge denim, milled in Turkey, the 1937 Roamer has an authentic "anti fit" feel to it. A high rise at the back and wide, un-tapered leg are entirely accurate for the era. This commendable attention detail extends to the heavy bar tacked belt loops, seam ends and pockets.

The 1930's were a cross over period for mens trousers - by the end of the decade brace buttons were being phased out in favour of belt loops. Levis added belt loops to the 501 in 1922 but retained brace buttons through to 1937. Though, even then Levis gave their customers the option of snap on buttons, just in case. To absolutely make sure your trousers stayed up they also had a cinch back. All details that have been faithfully replicated by Pike Brothers.

Features typical of mid 1930's trousers - belt loops, brace buttons & a cinch - once on these trousers aren't going anywhere!

In keeping with Pike Brothers functional aesthetic there are a minimum of frills. There is no arcuate on the back pockets, a simple branded leather patch and - denim heads look away now - no chain stitched hem. In an interview with Denim Hunters Pike Brothers argue that the lock stitch is actually more authentic - European work wear manufacturers would not have had access to Union sewing machines capable of chain stitching.

Beautiful leather patch.

Pike Brothers suggest that you don't wash the jeans for 3 to 6 months. As with  all my raw denim these jeans had a pre wear cold soak in the sink. The inseam shrunk just over an inch and I lost a little off the waist. In my view there is no point expending the effort to break them in for half a year, only to have them shrink on you during their first wash. A pre wear dip will help prevent this.

After roughly 3 months of wear they have softened up and are developing some pleasing honeycombing. Unlike the pre-aged nonsense, one of the most satisfying attributes of raw denim is that you break them in yourself over months & years - your reward being a garment that is deeply personal to you.

Button fly... of course.

Riveted heavy natural cotton pockets

At 11oz these are perhaps a little light by selvedge standards. Pike Brothers raised quite bit of interest recently, producing an über heavy 23oz version of the 1958 Roamer. I'm sure I am not alone in thinking that the 1937 in a heavier denim would be A Good Thing!

If these jeans tickle your fancy you can order them online here.