In the early 1900s, every pair of Levi’s jeans was made using Cone Mills denim sourced from the legendary mill’s North Carolina factory. When Cone Mill shuttered operations stateside, though, Levi’s found a more-than-adequate alternative in Japan, the global capital of premium jeans, where it now sources all the denim for its much-heralded Blue Tab sub-label.
It’s been a few months since we discussed Blue Tab, the brand’s most exciting new initiative in decades, so perhaps a reintroduction is necessary. The first drop from the line arrived this past April in the form of a tight capsule collection predominantly made in Japan—or, at the very least, using best-in-class Japanese fabrics. We mention all this because Blue Tab just dropped its second collection, and as expected, it’s a worthy sequel to the inaugural release. This time around, Levi’s has significantly expanded the offering, which now includes a grip of different jeans, a handful of sleeper-hit shirts, and a host of fall-ready jackets.
One of the unexpected breakouts is the wonderfully boxy Work Shirt, rendered in a gorgeous light blue chambray that will age like denim, sans the fabric’s usual weight. The Relaxed Button-Down, on the other hand, is about as good a gingham shirt as you can find at this very moment. You could also point to the surgically-distressed 505 Jeans, which look every bit as interesting as their highly-coveted vintage counterparts, minus the issues you might encounter looking for said vintage counterparts (sizing, durability, and stench come to mind pretty quickly).
Frankly, you could also argue that the made-in-Japan Type III Jacket is the headliner of the entire show and elicit zero pushback from me. Or you could point to the bleached-out 1980s 501s, the funky Chore Blazer, or really any indigo-drenched product in the assortment and you’d probably be right, because the beauty of a collection this focused is that everything is hyper-considered and well-executed. And the beauty of this collection in particular is that it’s made with some of the most gorgeous denim on the planet.
The only downside, really, is that because of all the reasons above, there simply isn’t a ton of it available—hence why the last round sold through faster than you can Google “should I put my selvedge in the freezer?!” See something you like? Jump on it fast.
