Friday, February 21, 2014

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Understanding The Difference Between Japanese and American Denim

Japan vs USA Denim Rolls, Japanese and American Denim

Japan and the United States have worked long and hard to establish themselves as the two premiere manufacturers of raw selvedge denim in the world. A slightly antiquated process, the milling and production of raw selvedge jeans has all but disappeared in many areas of the world. In spite of this, the Japanese and the Americans have continued to produce the highest quality, most coveted denim in the world.

The question still remains though in the minds of potential buyers – which is better? Whether or not there is a clearly superior denim could be debated endlessly and would likely boil down to personal preference. However, we are going to dive into the details and look at some of the differences between Japanese and American denim. Does one have a clear advantage over the other? Let’s find out.

Japanese Denim

Japanese Raw Selvedge Denim, Japanese and American Denim

As we highlighted in our feature on Japanese Mills – unlike in the United States, Japan can boast of multiple denim mills that crank out top-quality premium selvedge jeans. This means that Japanese denim will inherently have a wider range of fades than American denim, which primarily comes from one mill. The fading all depends on which mill the denim was manufactured at as well as the characteristics of that specific mills’ production process.

Additionally, because there are multiple mills in Japan they are able to produce a greater variety of selvedge products. For example, Naked & Famous uses primarily Japanese denim, and their product offerings range from glow in the dark jeans to scratch and sniff jeans. Other mills, of course, are known for producing less innovative but higher quality replicas of American denim that are simpler in design.

Generally speaking, when compared to American denim from a fading perspective, Japanese denim is known to produce higher contrast fades. However, for many people these fades take longer to set in, but develop more character and personality in that time. The denim is made on old Toyodalooms (not co-opted American looms), that operate slowly and produce an uneven – but sought after – texture and slub in the denim, especially when compared to the quicker and more precise denim mills used around the world today.

Jeans that are made in Japan, from Japanese denim, are also known for their top-quality construction and incredible attention to detail. For this reason they are often considered the best jeans on the market. The denim is also known for being dyed using natural, rather than synthetic, indigo. The natural indigo dye leads to a more pure, darker indigo color, as well as better fades. Japan has a rich history of textile production and dyeing, and this shines through in their denim offerings. Again, there is quite a range in the color of Japanese denim. Some mills try and replicate American style denim, while others look to make colors unique to their mill.

Of course, there is variety in the Japanese denim market and with over 40 brands touting the “Made in Japan” label, not all the denim produced in Japan is made to the highest quality standards. The characteristics we have outlined, however, generally hold true for the ones that are.

American Denim

Cone Mills Denim, Japanese and American Denim

Generally speaking, American denim is considered to be of equal quality when compared with similarly priced Japanese denim. Unlike Japanese denim however, the vast majority of denim that is produced in the United States comes from thelegendary Cone Mills plant in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a result of the limited amount of mills, the fade patterns associated with American denim are much more consistent than those of Japanese denim. What this results in is the majority of jeans made with American Cone Millsdenim looking very similar. Some people enjoy this, while others prefer more variety in their indigo and fade contrasts from jean to jean.

The fades associated with American denim are more even and consistent, giving a vintage feel to jeans made from American denim. In comparison to the high contrast fading that Japanese denim produces, the blue hues that develop from a well-worn pair of American jeans are very distinctive and easily recognizable. These distinctive fade patterns are even replicated by Japanese brands.

Unlike Japanese denim, American denim often does not have the same slubiness and texture that many denim enthusiasts look for. The denim does have a unique texture, but it is not as pronounced as the texture tends to be with Japanese denim. Outside of changes in weight, or maybe a different cotton used in the production of the denim, American denim mills are not nearly as adventurous as their Japanese counterparts.

That being said, American mills including Cone Mills still produce denim in a similar way to that of the Japanese mills. The denim from Cone Mills is woven on vintage shuttle looms – American Draper x3‘s from the 1940′s – that produce the material slowly and give the denim a texture that is unique and contributes to the fades. They even go so far as to say that the bounce from the old wooden floors of the mill gives the denim a unique character. The indigo dye is also natural, rather than synthetic, assuring a similar rich indigo color and quality fading over time.

selvedge lines

The differences between Japanese and American denim are subtle, but for many denim enthusiasts they make a huge difference. While denim quality is obviously a large factor in differentiating pairs of jeans, a considerable portion of the difference in denim quality can be made up in the construction of the jeans themselves.

At the end of the day, 100% of the choice comes down to personal preference over what you’re looking for in a denim. There remains no clear winner in the competition for a superior denim fabric from either Japan or the United States, but we’re always curious for you to let us know which you prefer and why in the comments section below.

Knowing Your Raw Denim: Slub and Nep

Slub (left) v.s. Nep (right)

When it comes to the realm of raw denim, two of the most pertinent, yet often misunderstood, characteristics are nepand slub. Though these terms may seem like silly, redundant jargon, we can’t stress enough the importance of these denim traits. Not only do they affect the feel and texture of raw jeans, but they also impact the overall fade and evolution of any pair of denim.

Slub

Close up of a raw slub denim

We’ve previously broken down the meanings of slub and slubiness, but in essence slub refers to denim fabric made with indigo warp yarn which differs in thickness throughout. When the denim is woven and made into garments, the result will be a denim without a uniform texture which will have a much different hand than a denim woven with traditional yarns.

In some slubby denims, a technique called loom chatter is employed during the weaving process to help make the finished fabric even more textured. The layman’s explanation of loom chatter is that the shuttle looms that are used to weave the fabric are set to a low tension level while they weave.

This lower tension setting makes the looms literally shake while they weave the denim – an action which, in addition to the naturally uneven nature of the yarn used to weave the denim, makes the product even more uneven and textured.

As a picture says a thousand words, this detailed look at a pair of Naked and Famous‘ Big Slub Jeans is a classic example of some fantastic slub fades.

Faded Naked and Famous Big Slub Jeans

Slub fading detail on Naked and Famous Big Slub Jeans

Alternate Close up of Naked and Famous Big Slub Jeans

Selvedge fade on Naked and Famous Big Slub jeans

Slub will be quite textured and is able to either posses a softer or rougher feel, depending on the actual cotton used, than most raw denims. Aside from the difference in texture that slubby denim is noted for, its irregularity in yarn thickness also tends to result in more interesting fades.

Specifically, these fades tend to run more vertically along the fabric than horizontally. The reason behind the unusual fading characteristics in slub denim is very interesting as the vertical fading occurs because the indigo dyes tend to fade at different rates based on the varying thickness of the yarn used to produce the denim. This vertical fading characteristic is also known as Tate-Ochi, or “vertical falls”, in Japanese.

Nep

Nep has often been confused with slub because of the textural characteristics that they both share. However, the difference between the two often needs to be very clearly defined. Have you ever stumbled upon a pair of jeans that seemed to have little particles of white fluff protruding from the main part of the garment? It may have looked a little bit like below.

Close up on horizontal and vertical nep fades.

When a garment is neppy, or has nep, it usually just means that the fabric of the garment has been woven in a way that some of the cotton fibers extend and protrude from the main surface. Usually these fabrics tend to posses a “snowy” look, as if fresh fallen snow is sitting on the surface of the denim. The texture in this type of denim will be more noticeable on the surface of the fabric than the peeking glimpses of white in the composition of a slubby fabric.

Nep denim also possesses some peculiar traits throughout life of the fabric. It still fades naturally like most raw denim, but the neppy fibers will become more pronounced in the appearance of the jean; bringing about a furrier look. One of the most desirable features of a nep denim is their uncanny ability to fade horizontal, as well as vertically like the snowy nep denim below.

Snowy Nep Whiskers

Loom chatter also plays a role in the production of nep denim. As noted neppy denim usually has visible fibers exposed from the main surface of the fabric; fibers which are usually knots and broken fibers within the yarn that occur as it is spun and then woven. Loom chatter exacerbates the nepping process by further agitating the fibers and leaving them more exposed through the shaking and tangling of the yarn while the loom weaves.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Rawr Denim Dictionary

Raw Denim Dictionary Terms (Listed Alphabetically)

# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V |W | X | Y | Z