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Post by exophobe on Nov 22, 2014 0:51:54 GMT -6
 #159 JAPAN OLIVE
Launched at the beginning of the summer with the ill-fated Japan Sky Blue and Fire, the Japan Olive is, unsurprisingly, olive green Japanese denim. |
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Post by exophobe on Nov 22, 2014 0:54:31 GMT -6
I'm not going to go into fit details as with some other reviews because there's a lot of data out there and our audience here is fairly familiar with how Gustin jeans fit. If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask. Overview12.5 ounce Japanese Denim. Feels far more substantial than a 12.5 ounce Italian denim, I don't think they're being weighed on the same sort of scale (narrow vs wide loom?). Olive green warp, darker forest green weft. I ordered a 33 slim, and they fit out of the bag, which means they came in about .25" over spec in the waist. Feels perfect on me, so I'm not going to complain. Brown leather patch, dark green tonal stitching. What I Like About These JeansI was pretty excited when these showed up on the Gustin store, and even happier when they didn't go the way of the Japan Sky and the Japan Fire that they showed up with. Having received these, I'm guessing those sky blue denim would have made some awesome jeans, but green is a little bit easier sell, I guess. This is a very military green, a couple shades darker than, say, a "Vietnam Era" M65. Once I opened the bag it smelled like my local Army Surplus store, which I was happy about (kinda like the smell of a waxed cotton tarp). There are definitely no egregious construction errors, but I'll be giving them a more thorough look tomorrow, and providing pictures. These are really crispy jeans, so the first couple hours have been a bit rough on the backs of the knees, but they're already developing creases, so I'm interested to see if they're going to do any fading. What I Don't Like About These Jeans I'm not really finding that I'm disappointed with anything in these, which is part of why I was so enthused to come write a review of them. As I said, I haven't found any flaws, but once I've got the daylight on my side it'll be a bit easier to examine the fabric and locate any potential issues -- and put together some pictures. ConclusionIf you're a (Mr.) Green Jeans fan, these are a great color that's not too bright, as green can sometimes be, so it's a much more versatile look than, say, a kelly green. If you have an aversion to a military "feel" in your style, you may want to avoid, but I'm a big fan of these jeans only a couple hours in, so I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for green denim. I'd keep an eye out for a re-run or BST/ebay/stock, these ones are cool. Gallery Link (fyi: details, no fit pics) |
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Post by wdw on Nov 22, 2014 1:20:53 GMT -6
Thanks for the interesting review. Mine are incoming, so your good vibes are encouraging.
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Post by exophobe on Nov 22, 2014 10:52:00 GMT -6
Gallery link added, no fit pics.
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Post by Mattbert on Nov 22, 2014 20:24:45 GMT -6
Those look pretty fly, exophobe. I was sorely tempted by these at the time, but I'd just backed a pretty big slug of stuff and needed to pull back on the reigns a bit. Looks like the Japan Olive will be chucked on my pile of unbacked regrets. |
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Post by exophobe on Nov 24, 2014 23:07:13 GMT -6
I love these so much. A couple days in and I really couldn't be happier. Really the best color of green I've found for pants (been looking for a while, and have a bunch I can't wear cause most are just too bright). They're the heaviest 12.5 ounce denim I've encountered, and look, feel, and behave more like a heavy canvas. Very pleased with this purchase, and totally bummed Gustin killed the Sky Blue color, cause if they were anything like this, they would have been awesome.
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Post by oatwilly on Nov 27, 2014 19:22:18 GMT -6
I wore mine for the first time today. I was trying to picture how they will fade. Could look really cool in a few years, or really horrible
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Post by Subsound on Nov 28, 2014 6:37:54 GMT -6
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Post by exophobe on Nov 28, 2014 10:09:03 GMT -6
I'm 99% certain these use the same denim as RRL's recent limited edition olive slim jeans, which were advertised as 14.5oz. If I'm correct, then that would explain your comment about them feeling more substantial than their advertised weight. I'm a big fan of green & brown jeans, but I skipped these Gustins because the RRLs are almost identical. I should point out that I did pay $340 + tax + shipping to Australia for mine! I'm with you. Looks like the exact same fabric. I didn't get sweet camo herringbone pocket bags, though. |
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Post by wdw on Nov 28, 2014 12:18:28 GMT -6
Got these today and I like them. Nicely different, and the darker weft is unusual when they're cuffed.
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 21:31:04 GMT -6
exophobe and wdw - how are the Japan Olives after 5 months of living? Are you still feeling favorable? I'm considering pulling the trigger on the offering from Ciano - I think a military green will be a great addition to the collection. And for about $25-30 less with some more custom elements, it may be the unique path to venture.
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 21:57:29 GMT -6
exophobe and wdw - how are the Japan Olives after 5 months of living? Are you still feeling favorable? I'm considering pulling the trigger on the offering from Ciano - I think a military green will be a great addition to the collection. And for about $25-30 less with some more custom elements, it may be the unique path to venture. I have to say I don't wear them a lot, but every time I do I tell myself I need to wear them more. I imagine they be developing quite nicely if I wore them more often. I just don't want to be known as Mr Green Jeans.  |
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:01:57 GMT -6
I'd be super-interested to see how the RRL's are working out for Subsound. If I dropped 340 on these they'd be just about my only jeans. Regarding Ciano, I've been tempted to order a pair with different thread but then I'd have to split the limited wears between two pair. I'd almost rather have these from Ciano based on how my 23 oz ducks came out -- they'd be amazing with his new copper button fly and (I believe standard) copper rivets. I can also think of a number of different awesome ways to thread them -- and his signature orange thread on the inside would make these look amazing. |
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 22:02:01 GMT -6
exophobe and wdw - how are the Japan Olives after 5 months of living? Are you still feeling favorable? I'm considering pulling the trigger on the offering from Ciano - I think a military green will be a great addition to the collection. And for about $25-30 less with some more custom elements, it may be the unique path to venture. I have to say I don't wear them a lot, but every time I do I tell myself I need to wear them more. I imagine they be developing quite nicely if I wore them more often. I just don't want to be known as Mr Green Jeans. Mr Green Jeans was a pretty decent local cover band when I was growing up in the Philly area. Could be worse things to be know for. I'm thinking that a contrast stitch option could be in order if I pull the trigger with CF. Thanks! |
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:06:15 GMT -6
Old26 probably knows what I'm talking about.  
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 22:06:32 GMT -6
I'm in the process of cleaning out/"refining" my collection. I missed the G first run (or maybe balked at $132 for a 12 oz denim) but feel like this might make a nice addition. I feel more inclined to try an olive over brown. Not sure why. But yes, the Ciano options could make for a unique offering.
I wonder how close this will be to my Olive Drab workshirt eventually coming in from LD. Military tux.
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 22:07:22 GMT -6
Old26 probably knows what I'm talking about. Oh sh*t...you just answered my question on the military tux. Looks like I'm gonna put that idea on hold. |
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:17:37 GMT -6
Since I haven't really worn them a lot, and there's not really enough there to make it stand out in pictures, it's worth mentioning a couple things that the fabric appears to be doing. First, it could just be that they're starchy, but they feel closer to a 15 or 16 oz than 12, but after a wash or so I suppose it's possible they'll feel lighter. It feels heavy compared to say an Italian 12oz (black x aqua), totally different hand-feel. The highs seem to be a more muted olive color, not quite yellow -- you can see a little bit of it a bit to the left of the second button.
I ordered the Kennedy in that cone drab overdye, I'd love to be able to compare them too. Based on what I saw of the fabric on that Flint and Tinder campaign, I think that's going to come out a lot darker than this denim. Could be totally wrong, though. I'm just afraid that Lawless sold the fabric to F&T.
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:20:31 GMT -6
Mr Green Jeans was a pretty decent local cover band when I was growing up in the Philly area. Could be worse things to be know for. I'm thinking that a contrast stitch option could be in order if I pull the trigger with CF. Thanks! Do me a favor and go with brown cause I totally wanna see that. |
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 22:26:40 GMT -6
Since I haven't really worn them a lot, and there's not really enough there to make it stand out in pictures, it's worth mentioning a couple things that the fabric appears to be doing. First, it could just be that they're starchy, but they feel closer to a 15 or 16 oz than 12, but after a wash or so I suppose it's possible they'll feel lighter. It feels heavy compared to say an Italian 12oz (black x aqua), totally different hand-feel. The highs seem to be a more muted olive color, not quite yellow -- you can see a little bit of it a bit to the left of the second button. I ordered the Kennedy in that cone drab overdye, I'd love to be able to compare them too. Based on what I saw of the fabric on that Flint and Tinder campaign, I think that's going to come out a lot darker than this denim. Could be totally wrong, though. I'm just afraid that Lawless sold the fabric to F&T. The fabric is still there. They've got rolls of fabric in the shop, a lot we haven't seen yet. Besides, the Cone olive drab from LD is just the "Natural" died accordingly. They can certainly get more of that fabric dyed for the orders. At least that's what I'm telling myself. |
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 22:27:14 GMT -6
Mr Green Jeans was a pretty decent local cover band when I was growing up in the Philly area. Could be worse things to be know for. I'm thinking that a contrast stitch option could be in order if I pull the trigger with CF. Thanks! Do me a favor and go with brown cause I totally wanna see that. Brown stitch or brown denim? I assume you mean stitch. |
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:33:16 GMT -6
The fabric is still there. They've got rolls of fabric in the shop, a lot we haven't seen yet. Besides, the Cone olive drab from LD is just the "Natural" died accordingly. They can certainly get more of that fabric dyed for the orders. At least that's what I'm telling myself. I just worry because, well, it's obvious why. I don't actually think they sold it to F&T, that was more meant to be a joke based in a slight fear than a jab at Lawless, but I shouldn't be poking the angry masses with my thoughtless jokes. Every time anyone sells the natural they say it's deadstock, however Cone always seems to find some more, and then you see it again every six months or so. I think the only one that doesn't call it deadstock is Taylor Stitch who just wrapped up a crowd-funding campaign for them. |
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Post by exophobe on Apr 17, 2015 22:34:54 GMT -6
Brown stitch or brown denim? I assume you mean stitch. Right. Brown thread. |
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Post by wdw on Apr 17, 2015 22:57:59 GMT -6
exophobe and wdw - how are the Japan Olives after 5 months of living? Are you still feeling favorable? I'm considering pulling the trigger on the offering from Ciano - I think a military green will be a great addition to the collection. And for about $25-30 less with some more custom elements, it may be the unique path to venture. matt, I wear them quite a bit, more than I thought I would. They do seem heavier than 12 or 13oz, more like my 16oz HAs, and the initial starchy stiffness has gone, but they still feel quite substantial. I'm glad I bought them and like them as an alternative to the ubiquitous blue.
Ciano's price and hopefully relatively quick delivery are good, so I'd recommend getting them if you can see yourself wearing green.
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Post by matt on Apr 17, 2015 23:27:48 GMT -6
The fabric is still there. They've got rolls of fabric in the shop, a lot we haven't seen yet. Besides, the Cone olive drab from LD is just the "Natural" died accordingly. They can certainly get more of that fabric dyed for the orders. At least that's what I'm telling myself. I just worry because, well, it's obvious why. I don't actually think they sold it to F&T, that was more meant to be a joke based in a slight fear than a jab at Lawless, but I shouldn't be poking the angry masses with my thoughtless jokes. Every time anyone sells the natural they say it's deadstock, however Cone always seems to find some more, and then you see it again every six months or so. I think the only one that doesn't call it deadstock is Taylor Stitch who just wrapped up a crowd-funding campaign for them. I'm beginning to think Cone had a ton of it lying around and was trying to figure how to unload 1 million yards of the Natural..."I know, let's call it deadstock and see how many clothing manufacturers jump all over it!"...yeah, that sounds about right. Or maybe it's deadstock like sourdough...they keep taking a little from the previous run and making more...damn, come to think of it that color is kinda close. |
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