Note: this item was provided for review.
I’ve been wearing a lot more denim these days, while actively trying to stay away from going deep into the world of denim. At the same time, I’ve been curious about the denims people rave about. That’s why, when Gustin offered to send a pair of their 75 OKAYAMA STANDARD denim — I went for it. This felt like a great chance to dip my toes in the water, and try out my first pair of raw denim.
It’s been nothing like I expected, and I get how people can go deep on something like denim.
Materials & Cut
This is a raw Japanese selvedge denim, which comes in at 14.5oz and is dyed with dark indigo. On the back is a hand stamped leather patch, detailing on a belt loop, and custom metal hardware. There’s no part of the build on these which feels off the shelf in any way.
Gustin notes this about the color and fade (I’ve not had them long enough to comment on this): “starts out raw in a deep blue indigo and wears to the mythical medium blue we all want. The fade shots tell the story. The color is stunning, the grain amazing. It even has a great vertical grain when worn in.”
Gustin offers a few different cuts, and notes that the sizing is not vanity, all of the denim is a finished 36” inseam. I picked these up in a size 36 waist, where I normally wear a size 34 in most brands. I also snagged the straight cut and found that they wear just a touch wider than a 501 cut, with about the same rise.
After washing and hanging these to dry the length did shrink considerably (luckily not the waist) which brings them back to a wearable length for me when single cuffing the pants. So be sure to wash before you do any hemming.
Wear
Denim can be tricky, most people are buy a heavily washed and softened denim which often comes with stretch. But Raw is a different story, even when comparing these Gustin to my Levi’s Selvedge, the Okayama Standards don’t feel like they are remotely the same type of material even though both are a Selvedge denim. Where non-raw jeans feel soft in hand, and easy to wear, these feel slightly stiff, a little coarse out of the packaging, and much more tightly woven/dense.
What I worried about the most was comfort. I loathe wearing pants which look good, but feel uncomfortable — why bother? From day one, I found the Okayama Standards to be comfortable enough to wear everyday, and as I wear them more they only become more comfortable to wear. With each wear they feel like they are moving towards how a standard Selvedge (non-raw) denim feels.
While the color will fade with time, I find the color out of the packaging to be fantastic. I’ve had no issue with indigo dye transfer on my clothing or skin either. It’ll be nice to see them fade over time, but I’d be perfectly happy if they never faded at all.
The finishing is fantastic on these, with a lot of small details that signal that this is something more than a standard pair of denim. The buttons feel completely overdone, and walk right up to that line of being “a bit much” without crossing it.
My denim stay in a stack together, and so when I reach for denim it’s as easy to grab anything. After putting in a lot of wear the first week with these, I stopped forcing wear on them. But I tend to grab them about 60%+ of the time. Why? I like the color, the details, and overall I feel good when I wear them.
They are easy to wear, well made, and top notch. I would like something with a higher rise, but I might be in the minority wishing brands did higher rise pants while keeping the legs close to straight.
Overall
These are very nice raw denim jeans, and I love mine and can’t wait to see them break in more. What’s astounding is the price, at only $161 these seem like an outright bargain as compared to almost everything else out there. I’m a big fan, and when you are looking for your next pair of denim, I’d advise keeping Gustin in mind.