Mister Freedom Cali Denim

[regius]

This is a denim fabric question, not so much about the MF brand or construction. I have two of their California denim jeans, both claim to be made of Deadstock material, I think one is in fact cone mill. As far as their webpage goes, these are not of any type of Japanese denim. I’m never astute about denim origin and quality, Kohl’s Levi and Lee are just fine, Lee Japan and Aero’s vintage Levi’s, Naked and Proud, IH etc, all are very good, while obviously of a variety of weight and origin. But, with these two MF jeans I started to actually question if the fabric on these are of any good??!
here’s the cause of my concern: the fabrics feel crispy, practically they wrinkle like paper, form a sharp fold line. No denim that I’ve owned crease like this. The thin and soft ones on today’s $45 Lee of course is irrelevant but say IH or StrongHold or Aero’s stuff, they all tend to “roll”, there’s an internal tension that prevents them from collapsing onto each other. Picture 1980s Sears Men’s Shop leather vs Horween CXL. The MF are not even thin, they are beyond 14oz, but the creasing behavior has nothing to do with thickness.
wondering if any denim expert can comment.

 

[Blackadder]

The choice of cotton threads and the vintage loom that needs to be tuned which can be modified to recreate those vintage coarse denim.
Check out the part about texture
https://www.heddels.com/2013/06/what-makes-japanese-denim-so-special/
There are those who are obsessed with recreating those old fabrics which are not necessarily better (in fact with lots of imperfections) just less efficient and more time consuming therefore costing more. IH is not a exactly one of those.

 

[Boyo]

Regius, Could be the starch used to stiffen the fabric prior to cutting and sewing. If you plan to keep them I’d give them a soak in the tub or a bucket..the water will turn yellowish green.. they'll still be stiff when dried but will soften with wear

 

[regius]

Thanks gents. I do believe the starch has something to do with it, I’ve never properly washed these. The Lee high waisted one with goatskin, painted label sold by Aero, is from Japanese denim and used to be somewhat crispy but has fuzzed up and softened. I’d hope the MF would age like that.

Regius, Could be the starch used to stiffen the fabric prior to cutting and sewing. If you plan to keep them I’d give them a soak in the tub or a bucket..the water will turn yellowish green.. they'll still be stiff when dried but will soften with wear

 

[Blackadder]

Thanks gents. I do believe the starch has something to do with it, I’ve never properly washed these. The Lee high waisted one with goatskin, painted label sold by Aero, is from Japanese denim and used to be somewhat crispy but has fuzzed up and softened. I’d hope the MF would age like that.

The texture would smooth or rather thin out as the cotton becomes thinner and finer after wash and wear. The jeans actually are smoother albeit more rigid with starch.

 

[regius]

adding some further comments. In terms of preference, I find the hickory twill used by Pointer Brands/LC King, on their carpenter pants and overalls, to be absolutely heaven. It's not thick, but when new it has a rigid hand and feels just coarse enough when running hand over it, after a month of wear or two washes, it becomes very drapey. I think "drapey" is the word and it's the characteristic that the MF fabrics don't have. ALL of the other denims and twills and ducks and chinos drape, regardless of thickness or startchiness, but not the MF, I look like I'm wearing paper. The Aero Levi series using cone or Japanese, they are similar due to the starch but very quickly start to drape as well.

 

[Sonero]

What people are calling denim these days is highly subjective. Most of the big companies add stretch fabrics to it which IMO dumbs down both the quality and fit of the jean. Some jeans I have picked up in the store don't even feel like denim. They feel like they are made from an artificially engineered denim. These days I only buy rigid or selvedge denim. The rest IMO isn't the real deal.