Wakayama Special Loopwheel Tee - Azuki

This limited-edition colorway of the S&S Wakayama tee was developed in collaboration with Front Office, and features a special woven tag to celebrate the occasion. The name and color reference the red beans/red bean paste used in various Japanese desserts, presented here as an extremely handsome cool-burgundy. Only 100 of these were made, with 50 going to Front Office in Australia, and the other 50 coming to us here at S&S.

Tragically, the 50 shirts bound for Australia were lost at Sea. Or perhaps lost in the sky. Though it's less interesting than the other two possibilities, they could have even been lost on land—but that's really secondary to the fact that half of these are gone, and our friends at Front Office don't have any.

Produced at one of the two remaining functional Loopwheel mills in Japan, these are the result of months upon months spent sampling and tweaking - fully utilizing all of our collective knowledge and opinions about tee shirts.

Our love of loopwheels is no secret. Produced entirely on vintage machines, loopwheels are knit very, very slowly. The machines that produce our loopwheel fabric can knit about a half roll of fabric in a day, humming along at just 1 meter per hour. In comparison, a modern knitting machine can blast out about five full rolls a day, operating at roughly 10 times the speed of a loopwheeler.

The fabrics created are anything but equal. The "slow and steady" nature of loopwheel machines comes from the gravity-fed nature of the knit - with minimal tension applied, the finished product is light, airy, and remarkably soft from the moment its knit. Plus, loopwheel knits famously lack any side seams, being knit in a circular pattern (hence the name).

The fabric is a super long staple 100% cotton knit, with an extremely soft, cool hand. The long staple cotton helps prevent twisting in the body over time. The fabric weighs in between 7.5 & 8oz, a great medium-heavyweight for a knit tee, with a heavy knit collar that's really built to last.

We opted for a slightly more modern, open fit for our tees. Cut a little longer and a little wider than the other loopwheeled tees we carry, these are a fantastic length to wear either tucked or untucked, with a relaxed fit through the chest and comfortably wide shoulders. While we expect some shrinkage with a wash, loopwheeled fabrics are notorious for stretching back out quickly with wear, so order true to size.

To get the most life out of your tees, we recommend washing cold and hanging or laying flat to dry. This will help mitigate unnecessary shrinkage and preserve the fabric, as the heat of drying can significantly affect the longevity of knit garments.

Fits true to size. Wash cold, hang dry.

• S&S x Front Office
• Limited-edition
• 100% cotton
• Loopwheel knit
• Long staple yarns
• Medium-heavyweight (7.5-8oz) fabric
• Heavy knit collar
• Relaxed fit
• True to size
• Special edition S&S x Front Office woven label
• Wash cold, hang dry
• Made in Japan