We have renewed our denim jacket (2021.11.30)
Thank you for your patronage, this is Fukukawa from Danjo Denim. We have recently revamped our products. Although we are calling them a revamp, we have not made any major changes to the silhouette. The current shape of the product is close to my ideal shape, so I have no plans to change the silhouette in the future. Let me explain what has been revamped.
*The price is increased by 100 yen for each item sold, so the original price is 23,100 yen (as of November 30th), but since we have stopped accepting orders for a while, we will be selling it on our official website at the price before orders were stopped, 21,800 yen, until December 5th (we received an additional order on December 6th, 2021, bringing the price to 24,100 yen. Thank you very much for your order). If you wanted to order but couldn't, we hope you will reconsider. For other denim jackets, we will continue to accept orders at the price before orders were stopped for a while after orders resume.
①We changed the fabric
- Before renewal: Okayama Prefecture 12.5 oz. left twill cotton 100% double width denim
- After renewal: 13oz right twill 100% cotton selvedge red edge denim from Okayama Prefecture.
First, I changed from left twill to right twill because I made a denim jacket using both right twill and left twill fabric and checked the color fading after wearing it for two years.I noticed that the right twill had uneven color fading in spots, which suited my preference, so I went with the right twill.
The denim jacket on the right side is made of right-hand twill fabric, and the left side is made of left-hand twill fabric.
Double-width denim is standard width (approximately 150cm). The width of the renewed selvedge denim is about half that, approximately 80cm (single width).
The back is double-width fabric, and the front is single-width selvedge denim.
Selvedge denim is woven slowly on an old loom, which gives it an uneven surface and a richer texture when faded, which also suits my taste.
Also, for someone like me who makes one garment at a time in a small workshop, a single-width roll (about 20kg) requires less cutting load than a double-width roll (about 50m) which weighs nearly 40kg. With double-width rolls, you need a work table of that size to spread out the fabric, and it's difficult to stack multiple pieces together (^_^;)>
I can still do it physically now, but I'm not so sure if I'll be able to carry 40kg of raw material without strain when I'm 70 years old...
In addition, selvedge denim has selvedge edges, so there is no need to overlock. Not only does this eliminate the need for overlocking, but by utilizing these selvedge edges in the pattern, it also eliminates the need to cut one side when cutting.
In addition, regular denim is thick in itself, so it gets thicker as you sew it. This thickness also affects the silhouette. Using selvedge edges gives you the opportunity to reduce the thickness of the fabric. 
Red selvedge is visible at the opening of the wrist cuff.
By the way, the cost per meter of selvedge denim and standard denim is almost the same. However, since the width of the fabric is roughly halved, the amount of fabric required doubles. Therefore, the cost of fabric doubles.
②The color of the upper thread was changed.
- Before renewal) 30 count spun yarn dark blue
- After renewal) 30 count spun yarn Light navy blue close to gray
Left: before renovation, right: after
Until now, we've used dark blue thread to blend in with the denim fabric, or rather, to make the thread less noticeable, but as the denim fades, the dark blue becomes more noticeable. Some people think that's a good thing, but we wanted to keep the design as simple as possible, so we used a color similar to faded denim so that it would blend in with the fabric even when faded.
Unwashed denim sewn with thread before (top) and after (bottom) the renewal.
The image shows denim that has been faded sewn with thread before (top) and after (bottom). The fabric is different from unwashed denim. Also, the camera adjustments make the thread stand out, but even with the naked eye, it is clear that the color of the renewed denim blends in better with the fabric.
The reason I chose navy blue is to avoid using too many colors. When coordinating clothes, using too many colors makes it difficult to achieve an overall sense of unity. Of course, there is personal preference, but I want to maintain balance, so I want to keep it to three colors or less. However, if I use two colors in the denim jacket, that leaves me with just one color (black and white are achromatic, so they don't count as one color). Instead, if I stick to one similar color for the denim jacket, I can choose two colors for the remaining items, which gives me a wider range of options, such as what shoes to wear. Incidentally, for the same reason, I generally use plain silver for metal fittings such as buttons.
However, we understand that some people may have requests such as "I would like golden brown thread" or "I like red so I would like red thread." In that case, you can change the color of the upper thread as an option, so please feel free to request it.
3) The manufacturing date and month are now indicated on the woven label.
- Before renewal) Manufacturing date and other information are written on embroidery and leather patches
- After renewal) Woven labels are used to indicate the date of manufacture, etc.
Until now, we have used a home embroidery machine to write the manufacturing date and size (e.g. Jan. 2021 M) on pocket flap fabric, and a laser engraving machine to print on leather patches. However, with embroidery, there were some issues that needed improvement, such as the stitching being visible on the back of the fabric, data entry taking some time, and small print being difficult to read.
From now on, we will use woven labels, which are letters woven into the fabric, to indicate the model number, size, (sleeve or hem length) adjustments, manufacturing date and month, and fabric. Using woven labels has advantages such as not needing to input data and being able to write in a small space. However, it takes time to arrange the woven labels and costs to create the woven labels themselves. I don't think there are any other brands that do this... I can't say for sure, as I haven't seen clothes from all over the world... By the way, I have arbitrarily named these woven labels "Dunjo Names."
④ The buttonholes have been changed to male and female. (As of December 2023, they have been changed to the standard shape.)
- Before the renewal) Creating buttonholes using a buttonhole machine
- After renewal) Create original buttonholes using a bar tacking machine
When making buttonholes on denim items, a special buttonhole sewing machine is usually used. However, we have decided to make the buttonholes using a "bar tack sewing machine," which is a machine that is originally used for reinforcing stitches.
The new bar tacking machine allows you to specify the stitching shape by creating a program. Following a suggestion from a sewing machine shop I regularly use, I tried programming the buttonholes to be in the shapes of "♂" and "♀" for men and women.
Photos of the test on white fabric. From the top: "male", "female", and "general shape".
It's hard to tell, but does it look like a "male"?
Bar tacking machines usually don't make holes automatically, so we have to make them by hand. This takes more time than sewing with a buttonhole machine. I don't think there are any other brands that do something so inefficient... I think. Please think of it as a unique style that can only be achieved by sewing each garment individually.
(As of December 2023, the buttonhole design has returned to the standard shape.)
⑤The transition of the front facing has been lowered
The back of the area where the buttons are lined up on the front of the denim jacket (placket) has been changed as shown in the photo below.
Please note that the navy blue part of the endpaper on the right is longer after the renewal. It used to be between the first and second buttons, but now it is lowered to between the third and fourth buttons.
The reason why the facing is divided into top and bottom is to avoid the indigo of the denim rubbing against white pants when worn together if it were all navy blue (the denim surface), resulting in color transfer. However, the seam allowance of the facing overlaps the transition point, and it also overlaps with the top edge of the pocket, making that area appear thicker. Also, when wearing the garment and the front is slightly open, a glimpse of the underside of the denim inevitably draws the eye in that direction. So we lowered the transition point.
⑥The neck area is slightly wider
The distinctive feature of the Danjo denim jacket is its collar. It didn't feel particularly strange in the seasons when you only wear a T-shirt underneath, but when autumn comes and you wear a sweater underneath, the neckline can feel a little tight. So we made a slight modification to the pattern, widening the neckline a little.
⑦ I adjusted the sleeve length to match a Uniqlo denim jacket.
I thought about how to set the sleeve length. The sleeve length can be adjusted when ordering, but what length should I use as a reference? I decided to match the sleeve length (from the center of the neck to the end of the sleeve) to that of a denim jacket from Uniqlo, a major apparel manufacturer. Therefore, I adjusted the size so that the size after washing and drying would match that of a Uniqlo denim jacket.
These are the main changes made in the renewal. We've made the names and buttonholes more unique, and I think the cost of fabric has gone up, resulting in an improvement in quality. We also renewed the work environment during the renewal, installing a large-format printer and a parts rack to increase productivity.
We started by renewing the Danjo denim jacket, and will gradually complete the renewal of all our products. Next, we plan to expand our size range beyond S, M, and add customization options. With our motto of "Making men and women look cool with denim," we hope to continue creating cool products that suit each and every customer. We appreciate your continued support.