Sugar Cane Jeans

Sugar Cane is a brand of selvage-denim DUNGAREES, not jeans. The word, ”jeans”, has become the vernacular for faux denim fashion wear that masquerades as the tough, classic waist overalls history made famous. You see, “dungarees” are what John Wayne and Gary Cooper wore when fighting off Indians and bad guys. Dungarees are what Marlon Brando and James Dean wore when fighting off girls. And it was dungarees that were worn when the depression-era farmer fought off the bank, the wartime steel worker welded the ships of victory and Mr. Jones entered the army. Sadly, all we have today are “jeans,” until now…remium Okinawa Selvage-Denim Dungarees are for those who can appreciate the myriad of nuances and character found in the finest single-malt scotch, the clearest, most colorless diamond or a handcrafted, centuries-old oriental rug. They comprise a blend of traditional dyeing techniques and styling with innovation and creativity in textile development. These dungarees represent the absolute epitome of Japanese selvage denim and are at the heart of the pride of the Sugar Cane brand, being constructed of fibers derived from the plant that gave rise to the brand name – SUGAR CANE. It starts with a basic vintage selvage dungaree style, in this case the famous Lee 101B button-fly, five-pocket cowboy selvage-denim dungarees of 1945. The cut and fit is identical to the original style, which is with a slightly higher waist, looser seat and a straight, wider, non-tapering leg design commonly called the “stovepipe.” Naturally, the famous Lee-brand horseshoe-shaped crotch is retained, making these the true cowboy cut for comfort in the saddle. This means that while still a high-rise waist design typical of vintage styles, the rise in the front is lower than at the rear, keeping the front from digging into the waist when seated. The traditional vintage design style is then married with the result of 25 years of research and experimentation into making the hardest wearing, most-exotic and innovative vintage selvage dungarees ever attempted, incorporating knocked –out distinctiveness in detailing and style.Sugar is made from sugar cane, that seems simple enough, but not everyone knows that sugar cane and its byproducts contain essential amino acids and enzymes necessary to fuel and rejuvenate our bodies. Likewise, byproducts from sugar cane are used to fuel automobiles in Brazil in order to have a less harmful impact on the environment than found in burned fuels of a purely fossil origin. Following these facts in a rather philosophical approach, the textile specialists at Sugar Cane were the first in the world to produce a selvage-denim fabric made from woven cotton yarns and sugar cane fibers. Cotton and sugar cane yarns are dyed completely by hand (no machines of any kind are ever used) following an ancient Japanese technique using only 100% all-natural indigo dyes (no artificial or blended dyes are ever used). In this specific selvage dungaree style, the indigo plants, cotton and sugar cane are all harvested from the Japanese island of Okinawa, hence the style name. The naturally dyed yarns are turned into the prized, coarse-weave Japanese selvage denim on slow-moving, vintage shuttle looms from the “good old days” of manufacturing in the USA. Capturing the essence of true vintage selvage dungarees can only be achieved using vintage machinery, so goes the philosophy behind Sugar Cane, so it logically flows that this sumptuous selvage-denim fabric is lovingly crafted into the finished product by the most meticulous technicians using sewing machines from the 1920’s. This philosophy of obsessive attention to detail, historical purity, unsurpassed quality and cutting-edge innovation gives birth to a Hand-Dyed, All-Natural Indigo Okinawa Selvage-Denim Dungaree weighing in at a super-coarse and beefy 14.25 ounces that dazzles the senses with deep, dark indigo coloring and an intoxicating, delicately sweet scent, thanks to a strong helping of sugar cane in the fabric. Over time from wear, laundering and use, this luscious denim yields fade marks, whiskering and striations that could never be achieved with machine-dyed selvage denim made from the typical diluted man-made dyes.Other features of this Premium Selvage Denim include: pockets lined with colorful fabrics made from sugar cane, in this instance it is a centuries-old Japanese print; leather patch on the waist is dyed with pure indigo and features the Kenji characters of Sugar Cane and the area of origin of the dye and fabric; detail stitching on rear pockets is sewn by hand using heavy cotton thread made from sugar cane, and this style has its own unique green-line selvage edge on the denim that distinguishes it from one any of the other Sugar Cane styles. Topping off this style is an Okinawa-theme bandana fabricated from sugar cane in a traditional Japanese print derived from ceremonial robes, plus a matching heavy sugar cane carry sack tote bag. This is the finest denim in the world, where the exotic meets luxury and durability. This is Sugar Cane. Or, as the Japanese call it – Satokibi!

Sugar Cane Hand-Dyed, All-Natural Indigo Okinawa Selvage-Denim Dungarees are only available in the rigid unwashed finish. Denim of this rarified type should be laundered as infrequently as possible (the manufacturer suggests not more than once per season) to maintain all of the nuances and functionality of the sugar cane & indigo dye, as well as to help create your own personal wear marks and fit. The delicately sweet scent of the sugar cane in the selvage denim will gradually diminish over time from laundering. This prized feature of Sugar Cane selvage dungarees can be rejuvenated by washing with a special detergent treatment engineered specifically for Sugar Cane to revive the function of enzymes in sugar cane. Sugar Cane special vintage detergent is available from us @ $5.50 per packet, plus shipping costs, which yields one washing per packet. http://www.kitmeout.com