Warehouse Japanese Denim Fit Guide
Since 1995, Warehouse & Co. have been masterfully producing Japanese denim. The brand is a member of the ‘Osaka 5’- a group of companies responsible for revolutionizing the Japanese denim industry in the 80s / 90s. Founded by brothers and former Evisu employees Kenichi and Koji Shiotani, Warehouse was created under the philosophy of ‘the faithful reproduction of authentic vintage garments’. The brand is painstaking in their inclusion of period-specific details, such as iron buttons, copper rivets, and red rayon pocket tabs. To create their iconic ‘banner’ denim, they sourced and deconstructed denim Levi’s banners from the 1930s, examining the textile so they could accurately reproduce the structure and feel of the weave. Selvedge denim is definitely their bread and butter, but they are also renowned for their Warehouse Lot 4601 loopwheel tees, and their ongoing collaboration with renowned vintage collector John Gluckow.
You may also notice that some of the denim featured below is produced under the name ‘Denime’, rather than Warehouse & Co. Denime is another member of the Osaka 5, founded in 1988. They offered some of the cleanest reproductions of vintage Levi jeans out of any member of the group, and they quickly became a favourite amongst repro aficionados. Today, Warehouse holds a stake in Denime, and Denime denim is produced under the Warehouse brand umbrella.
A NOTE ON PRODUCTION:
Part of what makes Warehouse denim so special is the loom it’s produced on. Warehouse uses Toyota G3 looms to produce their jeans– looms first put into production in the 1950s. They weave slower than modern machines and are so old there’s no replacement parts available, but the character of denim they produce is unmatched. G3 looms create denim with a slightly rough, uneven texture that closely resembles denim produced in the 30s and 40s. With this, Warehouse develops their own yarn for their denim, from raw cotton to spinning. Yarns are rope-dyed and rinsed with low-temperature water, which isn’t typically done. Room temperature (as opposed to hot water) functions to keep a sharper contrast between the white core of the yarn and the indigo-dyed edge. If hot water were used in a rinse, it would smooth this transition and denim fades would be less sharp. This is the level of detail that Warehouse takes in producing their selvedge denim.
Now to the fits! We’ll go over these from slimmest to widest.
Warehouse’s Lot 800XX denim is made in a slim fit, with a low-to-mid rise and a slight taper below the knee. It’s made in 14.5oz denim, and it features a button fly, hidden rivets on the back pockets and white / yellow selvage. Our 800XX model is made in a one-wash, so you can expect less shrinkage than other Warehouse denim. More on that below.
The Lot 220XX- 47 model features a slim leg, mid-to-high rise, and a slight taper at the hem. It provides more room through the thigh than the 800XX model. The denim used on this pair is produced in collaboration with renowned producer Kurabo Mills to closely replicate jeans made in the 1920s- 30s. It’s a custom woven, brown-cotton blended denim, with American company Fox Fiber supplying the naturally-pigmented brown cotton. The 1947 model is a quintessential Warehouse style, with a slim, straight fit.
The 220A features a slim straight fit, with a slight taper below the knee and more room through the seat. It’s made in a 14.5oz denim, with a yellow selvage, leather patch, and button fly. An interesting note on these is that they have curved, offset belt loops (they don’t run straight up and down), to reduce belt bending and general strain. Based on 50s Levis, the 220A has a straight, slimmer fit.
Denime’s Lot 221 denim is also called the ‘Big E’ model; it’s inspired by vintage Levi ‘Big E’ jeans, where the red tab on the back pocket featured all capital letters. The Lot. 221 is a 1960’s inspired, mid-rise, slightly tapered fit. It features a straight, slightly wider leg, with hidden rivets, a button fly, and a paper patch. This model provides a bit more room through the leg than the styles above, but we’d still consider it to be a slim-straight fit.
‘WPA’ stands for ‘works projects administration’, which refers to the American New Deal Agency that hired millions of Americans in the 1930s to produce public works, like roads and public buildings. They were given government-issued workwear to carry out construction, and this is a reproduction of a pair that would have been issued. It’s got quite a wide fit that balloons out through the top block, and comes to a straight leg. The Lot. 1239 is made in a 10oz lightweight cotton denim, with a high rise, selvage belt loops and a button fly. These are definitely a wide fit.
The Warehouse JG-01s Netmaker’s Trousers are developed in collaboration with John Gluckow, a world-renowned US-based vintage collector. Together with Warehouse, he reproduces vintage pieces from his collection, making slight tweaks where necessary to improve fit and functionality. The Netmaker’s Trousers are based on early 1900s USA maritime workwear. This is the widest fit of our Warehouse denim collection, with a high rise and roomy fit all the way through the leg. The JG-01S is made in 10oz denim, with a one-piece wrapped leg (there’s no outer seam).
SHRINKAGE - A NOTE ON UNSANFORIZED DENIM:
This is important! These are the unsanforized models we currently carry from Warehouse:
Warehouse Denime Lot. 220XX-47 (1947 Model) Denim Indigo
Warehouse Denime Lot. 220XX-54 (1954 Model) Denim Indigo
Warehouse Denime Lot. 220A (Offset XX Model) Denim Indigo
Warehouse Denime Lot. 221 (Big E Model) Denim Indigo
Warehouse Lot. 1239 1930's WPA Double Knee Denim Trousers Indigo Denim
Warehouse Lot. JG-01S 1910s Netmaker's Trousers Indigo Denim Original
Unsanforized denim is also known as unwashed / raw denim, and it will shrink up to 8% in the wash (even a cold wash). This amounts to 1-1.5 inches of shrinkage both through the length and the waist. Warehouse denim is cut long (typically a ~34 inseam) to account for shrinkage through the length, but we recommend buying the waist loose.
For the first wash, there’s a couple of different ways you could go about things. You could either:
- Not wash them, and build a super strong fade
- Do a cold rinse / wash to remove sizing, and be confident that they won’t shrink much moving forward
A cold soak should be performed first, followed by a warm soak or wash afterwards. Some purists even wear them in a warm bath for the first wash, so the denim conforms to the body. Or you could walk them into the ocean for a first wash if you’re feeling young, wild and free.
