Fade update: TCB '50s after 12 months of wear
I've been wearing these TCB '50s for a little over 12 months and I've probably worn them approximately 300 times since I've purchased them. As great as these jeans are, there are some problems that I've had with them after 12 months of ownership. Though I'm aware they don't look as superbiously faded as they could after a year of wearing, I'm now retiring them to use as a spare comfy pair that I don't intend to wear nearly as often.
To begin with what I like about these jeans, I think that from the beginning to the end the fit of these jeans has been relatively flattering on my body and they've been (mostly) comfortable for daily wear. The denim began as a very uniform denim, with little to no slub or nep; however it was very hairy when I first got them. I also really appreciate how accurate of a reproduction piece they are; TCB took very little creative liberty with this product and aside from a few very minor details, they look incredibly accurate to 1950s era Levi's 501 jeans. The cotton thread has added nicely to the overall wear and patina of these jeans, as it has faded in colour and frayed with time. One of the most stand out details that I've really loved about these jeans is the chain-stitching that caused some pretty aggressive puckering at the seams; most notably, the hem of these jeans looks fantastic in my opinion! These jeans are unsanforized, and I really appreciate the way they stretch and shrink with my body, along with the leg twist. Lastly, the inseam length—it can often be a struggle to find japanese brands with a leg longer than a 32" inseam, and I believe these are approximately 35"–36", which is really appreciated as someone who is a bit taller.
As for some of the things I dislike about these jeans, as much as I like the fit of these, I do find that they fit a little slim on my body and I felt like it kind of limited what I felt comfortable wearing with these. I believe that this also contributed towards premature wear of the crotch, due to friction and stress on the fabric. I felt that at times the thighs could also be a bit slim for my liking, as I could not sit with my phone on my front pocket and I could not raise my legs/squat very comfortably in them. Additionally, the pocket bags were very shallow (contributing to my phone not fitting); this isn't an objective con, as they are a reproduction piece, though I think it's worth noting. As seen in one of the pictures, the pocket bag has worn through after ~12 months of wear. Though I do like the cotton threading a lot, it was somewhat disappointing to see how significantly it has worn down after a year of wear.
Overall, I really think that these are great jeans (especially for the price) and they're exceptionally well made. The issues I experienced with sizing are completely personal; however I felt like it might be useful for some people. Prior to owning these, I owned a pair of Nudie Jeans Rad Rufus, and the difference between owning jeans that are sanforized, and ones that aren't is really noticeable—stretching them out after I washed them, and having the legs twist with wear is definitely new to me. I don't do any labour intensive work in these jeans, and I was aiming for vintage fades with the jeans, which I feel like I achieve decently well with the amount of time that these were worn. I wore them daily for the first 3 months of ownership without washing, and from then onward I washed them monthly, inside out on a regular cycle with warm water. As an attempt at mending the impending crotch blowout, I tried my hand at a sashiko repair, twice. Both times, due to (I believe) friction, the threading had disintegrated, so in the end I gave up. Though I've said a lot of negative things about these jeans, they are really great and especially for the ~$230AUD that they cost, I believe that they're incredible bang for buck.