With the Closing of the White Oak Plant, this might be your last chance to invest in a pair of jeans cut from truly “Made in USA” denim.
By now you will have heard the news. The icon of American made quality and manufacture, Cone Mills White Oak Plant is due to close its doors on December 31st. This brings to a close 112 years of denim selvedge manufacture in not only the town of Greensboro but the whole of the United States.
Over here at Rope Dye this simply boggles our minds. The country the birthed the blue jean won’t be making essential ingredient, denim. It’s like closing all the apple orchards.
But it gets us to thinking. Maybe its time to pick up a pair of jeans made from White Oak denim before they run out!
We have put together five pairs, all made from various types of denim milled at the White Oak plant. So in no particular order lets dive in.
The Rare
Left Field Natural Indigo Cone Denim
First up we have the White Oak Natural Indigo Cone Denim jeans from Leftfield NYC in the Charles Atlas fit. Just a quick glance at this denim you will see that it’s something unique. The lighter blue hue comes from the US grown natural indigo that Cone Mills used to dye the yarn. According to Christian over at Leftfield, this is the first natural indigo denim White Oak has produced in over 100 years. The rarest of the rare.
The Charles Atlas fit was mentioned in the Finding Your Fit video. Named after the weightlifter Charles Atlas, this fit has plenty of room for massive bodybuilder thighs but a clean taper from the knee down. At the 16 oz mark will be plenty tough
We are covering a variety of fits and styles in this rundown but I should mention that this denim is also available in the slim fitting Chelsea from Leftfield
The Classic Straight Fitting Jean
Tellason Ankara
Next up we have the Straight fit Ankara jean from Tellason. This is a true straight fitting jeans that is truly Made in the USA. The denim is from White Oak with Red Line Selvedge, the leather patch is made from our friend over at Tanner Goods in Portland and they are sewn together in the birthplace of the blue jean, San Francisco. The Ankara comes in a variety of denims from the 12.5 to the 16 oz to a great straight leg fit and some amazing features such as:
- Heavy duty pocket bags
- Half lined back pockets
- Natural Veg Tanned Back Patch
- Graduated inseams
Available directly from the Tellason site, also in a variety of fits.
The Crazy (Cool)
Endrime M2006CO01RAW-Ergonomic
Next we have the od ball in the list, the M2006CO01RAW-Ergonomic cinch back skinny jean from Endrime in a raw 12.5 oz White Oak selvedge Denim. Now we all know Endrime and we know Mohsin (the kooky creative behind the brand) likes to do things a little bit differently. Scratch that, a lot differently. By using dart manipulation, ergonomic tailoring techniques and a bunch of other tricks up his sleeve, Mohsin creates an ergonomically fitting pair of raw selvedge jeans. And as far as we know, they are unique in the world of raw denim. Head over to the Endrime website to learn more and get your hands on a pair.
A Solid Slim Fit
Williamsburg Garment Company Grand Street fit.
This is the newest fit from the Williamsburg based jeans company. It is a slim fit and uses 14oz Red Line selvedge Denim from White Oak. The weave of the denim exposes more of the cross grain so you see a little more of the white yarn resulting in an interesting hue and depth to the denim. The slim fit combined with the crisp 14ox denim results in a sharp silhouette. The jeans are available over at the Williamsburg Garment Company website here.
The Offering from the Europeans
Indigofera Jeans Buck Ashbury Denim Jeans
For our last pair we come back over to Europe to the guys from Indigofera. Their Buck jean slim fitting whilst still remaining remarkably easy to wear with plenty of movement in the top block and thigh. At 13.5oz’s the White Oak “Ashbury denim is the perfect choice for the slimmer fit. The Ashbury denim was developed to emulate the hand and hue of the denim from the 50s and 60s. Head over to SunSetStar to pick up a pair (and thank for the pics guys ;).
Something for Everone
There we have it, from the slim to the straight. From the rare to the crazy. Five jeans in White Oak made denim that will make an essential addition to your collection. I have already heard from Maurice over at Williamsburg Garment Company that they are seeing a rush in orders. So be quick!
