m.a+ (Maurizio Amadei)

[eleven crows]

So would I; with the resale I could buy three pieces of Devoa.

The fabric importing thing is spot on though. It wasn't the best comparison. Price is always an odd issue with these things. Best handled with Enaml's statement.

[Faust]

remember devoa is a japanese brand using japanese fabric made in japan.

m.a+ is made in Italy and using a japanese fabric; they have import tax/customs to pay.
Also on another note ... m.a+ is often hand stitched in his studio and using silver for buttons won't lower the price.

Personally id rather have a single m.a+ piece over three from devoa.

Please. The amount of silver that goes in there is pennies on the dollar. And since when is hand stitching better than machine stitching? m.a.+ is the most overpriced brand of all discussed here. No lining, raw hems everywhere, no finishing to speak of. Most of what they use is jersey, denim, canvas - not exactly luxurious materials.

Not that I care too much. Prices are what they are and no one is twisting anyone's hand into buying anything.

[mortalveneer]

The entire basis for the prices of the pieces containing silver is that those flecks of silver are not just any silver, but are actually silver spun by Rumpelstiltskin.

[Magic1]

Please. The amount of silver that goes in there is pennies on the dollar. And since when is hand stitching better than machine stitching? m.a.+ is the most overpriced brand of all discussed here. No lining, raw hems everywhere, no finishing to speak of. Most of what they use is jersey, denim, canvas - not exactly luxurious materials.

Not that I care too much. Prices are what they are and no one is twisting anyone's hand into buying anything.

Totally agree.

[darkart]

My girlfriend is working in a company which makes jewelleries mostly gold rings and diamonds ....she said to me Silver is not really an expensive thing....people always make silver jewelleries for gift to their company and no one cares. It's not a particular expensive material...but maybe the boiling point of silver is low and can be shaped into different shape ...925 silver is just the normal silver there's no 999 silver because it is too soft

[byhand]

The clothes are sloppy-looking when worn (not in a good way)... at least on skinny people. The brand definitely looks better on wider people.

The leather accessories are oftentimes quite nice.

As a guy who usually replaces plastic buttons with mother of pearl, I appreciate the silver buttons and hardware.

[crouka]

noto jofu can simply refer to any jofu* produced in the province of noto. ( *jo fu = quality cloth literally. cloth = linen/ramie in those days)
it's not a name of a law, so the definition is not so strict, which makes things complicated. some could call theirs notojofu while it's much less serious, select souvenir level and others would not call it authentic and genuine. that's why you sometimes see inexpensive notojofu items. nothing wrong there for various reasons.
but basically it should be hand-woven if ma picks it up all the way. the point here is the handmade tracing of the archaic weave. not using the name of notojofu. and today there is only one weaver ( not a person but a studio, pics below ) still existent in noto and producing the hand-woven stuff. it's where ma's comes from.

as for devoa's, it has nothing to do with the story above. it is made out of the ramie thread coated with the same starch (particular one) as what is used for the notojofu obi. it's not hand-woven. he explained that clearly, even though it was slightly confusing and might have caused the messenger game effect among maker - retailer - customer. anyway he didn't call it notojofu, to be clear.

although this industry is a labyrinth, for those who want it to be a bit more predictable, there are echigo jofu and miyako jofu. with the two, some really hard-core products with nationally defined specifications are available. hand-spun and hand-woven, with respective particular detailed steps. but the prices end up so astronomical that those jofu's are not suitable for ready-to-wear where there is no guarantee of being bought by someone. in this regard, notojofu has a practical balance of quality and price since it is moderately modernized and flexible in part of the process. the reason it's the most popular jofu.

[crouka]

short video about echigo jofu, if anyone is interested
jofu is for S/S. naturally its production takes place during F/W, the seasons they stop rice production and are confined indoors on account of the heavy snowfall, which made this severe practice survive.
echigo jofu is a local industry necessarily developed in the area.
the sheerer, the better as jofu. limit and transgression. the finer the thread, the more difficult and lifeconsuming. artisans' pride. at one time it became illegal by reason of its being too luxurious and no need to go that further.
when spinning and weaving, they used to keep the window open in order to let in some moisture from snow available infinitely. such a labor. in this age even with a humidifier they cannot work in an air-conditioned warm room.

[darkart]

Really Great post, man so much information inside Thanks mate

[eleven crows]

Slam dunk post, crouka.

[kuugaia]

Echos here, thanks so much for posting crouka! Glad to see you showing grandma some love!

[franz]

The level of knowledge of Crouka's posts never cease to amaze me, and so does the dedication of Japanese people to perfect craftmanship...

[Raw]

I went to Eastern Market today and what really caught my eye was a type of leather treatment I had not seen before. They had wallets in a lasered cow leather, deep red/burgundy colour. The leather had lasered lines (almost shred/scratch looking) running along it, the lines were a little wavey similar to this:

But obviously completely different in texture and look.
The colour was like this:

http://shop.hlorenzo.com/product.php?productid=19541&cat=1033&page=1&subCatid=868&pid=1033

The lasered lines revealed a colour like the reverse side.
Anyway, this made the leather much softer than the regular smooth cow leather, it felt almost like a heavy fabric.
Although I wasn't sure how the leather would hold up over time with heavy use putting in and taking out of pockets, especially for slim pants.
But then I saw a women's coat made in the same leather on a mannequin hanging from the roof by a chain, and god damn, THE most amazing piece of clothing I have ever seen . I really want to see someone rocking it.

[Raw]

I wasn't sure what it was when I first saw it but the sales assistant said it was lasered leather. Perhaps thats just the name they call it? Anyways it was just amazing, I was thinking about the leather when I was trying to sleep last night lol

[kuugaia]

They've been doing it for quite a few years I believe, or at least as early as around 2009/2010. There was a pair of lasered cow leather boots for womens and they were indeed amazing. Also unsure if they're actually treated with a laser, but that's definitely the name.