Trophy Clothing is a brand you should know about. Founded in 2006 by Mr. Masaki Egawa, it's a label that focuses on sartorial deep cuts — textiles, construction methods, and details that fly over the heads or under the radar of the average consumer. While many of Japan's most famous denim brands focus on strict reproductions of mainstream styles from the last century, Trophy Clothing instead focuses on capturing garments that don't exist anywhere else, borrowing silhouettes and embellishments from small, obscure, and now-extinct denim & workwear manufacturers from years past.

The designs are deeply inspired by vintage motorcycle apparel and casualwear from the last few decades rather than strictly workwear, and fit more easily into a modern wardrobe without looking too old-timey or like a costume. These are not mass-produced styles, with garments that frequently employ challenging tailoring details that contemporary brands might think of as "outdated" or "inefficient." Every style makes use of custom fabrics, trims, and antique machines to create a product that is wholly-superior to mainstream apparel, regardless of effort or time taken. 

The Lot.1604 Waist Overalls were an instant hit with us here at S&S, as we're quite enthusiastic fans of a good pair of waist overalls. "Waist Overalls" are a historical style that predates the classic 5-pocket jean we all know and love so well. This particular model has a few altered details, most specifically, these have five pockets (two for your hands, two on the seat, and one coin pocket), whereas early models usually only had four, with just a single rear pocket instead of two. They've got a very classic cut too, with a high rise and a relaxed top block, comfortable straight legs, and a buckle-back + button fly combo.

They're made from Trophy's "Dirt Denim," a completely custom 14.5oz Japanese selvedge denim woven on a vintage TOYODA G3 shuttle loom, the oldest model of shuttle loom still in full production today. These machines produce just five meters of fabric an hour, an unthinkably low throughput compared to a modern loom, which can blast out dozens of yarns of fabric in a fraction of the time. Unsurprisingly, the two finished products are not comparable — the denim woven on the TOYODA loom is heavy, thick, unevenly-textured, and highly unique, while a modern loom produces paper-thin stretch denim that looks and wears like cheap costume apparel.

The specific G3 looms that Trophy use are in the town of Ibara, in Okayama, Japan. These machines are over 50 years old, and require highly specialized operators overseeing them to make sure that they continue to function in top form. Workers with the abilities to operate and maintain these looms are becoming increasingly rare, and as they eventually break down over time, it will be harder and harder to find textiles like this, because no serious effort is being made to preserve and restore the manufacturing skills needed to repair or remake these machines. 

They've got a beautiful indigo blue finish, achieved by individually dyeing the warp yarns, a tedious, expensive, and intensive process that mimics original denim production, and results in a much more classic and "authentic" vintage fade over time. Beyond that, they're trimmed with custom hardware, from the patinated buttons, to the leather flasher, to the rivet reinforcements, no detail has been overlooked, no matter how small.

These run slightly small in the waist, check our measurements before ordering (and probably size up). Wash cold and hang dry.

• 100% cotton
• Custom 14.5oz selvedge denim
• Fabric woven on vintage TOYODA G3 Shuttle Loom
• Individually indigo-dyed warp yarns
• High rise fit
• Straight leg
• Button fly
• Five pocket configuration
• Buckle back
• Chainstitch runoff details
• Custom hardware
• Wash cold and hang dry
• Made in Japan