Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408180050
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TOKYO LENGTH: Medium
``I wanted to buy ones like I used to wear as a teen-ager,'' the 44-year-old fast-food franchise owner explained. ``Because they bring back memories of my good old days.''
A vintage-jeans craze in Tokyo has given rise to about 100 boutiques catering to connoisseurs of faded denim and old-style copper rivets. And the demand has pushed prices up to levels normally associated with haute couture.
Murata's purchase was two years ago, and he regards it as a great buy. These days, a pair of the same vintage jeans - Levi's, circa 1950 - fetch around $5,000.
Conspicuous consumption was common during Japan's free-spending 1980s, but several years of recession created a strong demand for discounted goods. Vintage jeans, though, seem to be an exception to the backlash against big spending. Luxury designer wear may have lost its luster, but somehow it's OK to drop a splashy amount of money on down-home denim.
The $2,500 that Murata paid is the average monthly entry-level salary at major Japanese companies.
Murata says if he could find another pair, he'd snap it up in a minute.
``I would pay that much if I can find a pair that fits me, because they are so attractive and high quality,'' he said. ``The 1950s models have nicer color and they are sturdier.''
Until several years ago, Levi's from the early 1950s were priced at $40-$50, only slightly more expensive than the ordinary models, said Hideyuki Kawamura, manager of the Tokyo boutique Delaware.
``The price has skyrocketed since recent years. ... Many people began fighting for a limited number of pairs in stock,'' Kawamura said.
As is common with Japanese fads, demand is fed by trendy magazines that provide readers with detailed instructions on how to be hip. Usually, this involves a purchase.
``Jeans are the champion of vintage goods. ... They often cost as much as a car,'' said the August issue of Goods Press magazine. But it said they were worth it ``because they're so precious.''
Price varies according to jeans' age and conditions. For vintage fans, the dream jeans are Levi Strauss from as early as the 1930s, which go for thousands of dollars.
Customers search for the leather back patch and the logo on the red tab. They turn the jeans inside out to see if the famous hidden copper rivets for the back pockets are there. The stitches and seams must be all-cotton and yellowish.
The demand shows no sign of slowing, purveyors say.
``When it comes to used and surplus stock jeans, the boom is still continuing,'' says Hideo Wakui, manager at the Tokyo-based used-clothes outlet Voice. ``We have at least one customer a day who buys $1,000 pair just like that.''
The boom has sent floods of Japanese buyers to the United States, inflating the price of used jeans around Los Angeles. Now reasonably priced high-quality vintage models are hard to find, says Yoshifumi Yamamoto, an owner of the Delaware boutique.
by CNB