I see you;ve had no replies to this question which a year or so ago I asked myself the very same question and couldn't believe the answer (in UK at least) is no, they don't.

Even in Italy I didn't see any last year and they usually come out every year along with suede desert boots for autumn. In Japan (of course) I saw very nice LVC 517s in good basic colours but stupidly expensive to buy on an already very expensive trip (£160 roughly)

However, I made a little discovery last summer when I found an online only company based in North London who make only trousers and one of their stock models is corduroy 5 pocket. They were so cheap that I braved the APPALLING design of the website and ordered a pair in dark navy.

I was stunned by the quality of fit of the jeans that turned up in the post. They were deep deep navy and great handle and the cut was somewhat like a 505 from 67. As they were so cheap I took a punt and ordered them in true Take Ivy short leg style and no regrets. People actually ask me in the street where I got them from (although maybe they think I'm Max Wall?).

I immediately ordered 2 more pairs - one of which was as good the other for some reason was a little less weighty and appeared to have been a pre-washed cord, whereas the navy and tan ones were stiff and solid when new, just as they should be.

None of NSB's onion in sock nonsense going on there.

BTW, the only other problem I had with them was being totally overwhelmed by choice. They stock 5 or so colours at the basic price but will 'custom make' in any one of 50 (that's right 5 - Oh) colours of cord. They even sent me a swatch card of the entire range along with some material from their chino range.

They also have a service that will replicate your favourite trousers. I have a pair of Baracuta chinos with a buckle back that I love and was thinking about getting them replicated - maybe even in needlecord.

Check them out, but remember to look past the style and look of their website. If someone sussed got hold of this firm they'd clean up.

http://www.alexandersoflondon.com/

I'm sure they would ship to USA.

Oh yeah they cost THIRTY FOUR POUNDS !!!

Isn't it now?

If only they made shirts too, eh?

I only paid £28 a pair last year, but even at £34 they are great value and run by some friendly Indian guys in Cricklewood. The 50 colours thing is just crazy in this day and age...

This is a remarkable find, Weejun. Just another reason that it's great to have you back.
I'd love to get some copies made of Levi's 514 slim straight cords. Looking at the website, the cords look a little wide fitting on the thigh, is that your experience?

Cricklewood, eh? That used to be a hell of a country.

Good to hear these can be made with up to a 60" waist. Could prove to be very popular with the i-Gents.

Am currently experimenting with an onion stuck down the front of my Chums.

Last edited by Chris_H (2010-01-06 13:27:55)

Oh yes in the mid-90s they used to sell those in Mad House in Oxford St - Levis made in italy for italian market, along with a fantastic dry denim cord collar blanket lined jacket. They would sell nasty stone wash jeans for £35 but the Levis 519s were £10 and the jacket £25. Same as TK Maxx now I guess, if you're REALLY lucky to find someone amongst the tat.

Isn't that just the fun though?

I too grew up in that sainted suburb: my parents basically met at The Galtymore.

Irish London was then its own largely self-contained world, its geography rigidly marked by dancehalls, pubs and churches. Pretty much a disappeared world today, which is sad in some respects, but not so sad in others. A part of that culture will always be deep inside me somewhere, but there is also a deep sense of grievance about an identity and cultural heritage which allowed itself to be stereotyped so readily and markedly in terms of its drinking and carousing habits alone. More so even than the mother country.

I didn't meet any 'English' people until university and it was my inherited custom to cheer vociferously for any football team which played England, one which would often prove to be somewhat problematic. I can see now that this was a symptom of a wider sense of not belonging. This is perhaps a common feeling among the offspring of immigrants, but maybe one which is felt all the more keenly by those where there tends to be widespread and mutual distrust between host country and visitor. The political backdrop of the time hardly helped.

Relatives in the Irish diaspora always had me looking west and it is probably no accident that culturally and sartorially I would always look towards the US for something to fire my teenaged imagination.

In more recent decades I've come to value highly a certain part of the English character, the beauty of much of its countryside and the English literary canon. I still disdain much of what can be termed English clothing though, with the exception of certain types of shoe.

Anyhow, the above is largely off-topic. Carhartt make a fairly nice five-pocket corduroy, without rivets and with a trimmer cut than its usual offerings in the trouser department. Cut off the branded tag and they are more than passable, with much nicer corduroy than many competitors. When Uniqlo originally opened its doors in Europe they stocked very good knock-offs of white label levi's, in cord and twill. Perhaps they will do so again.

Last edited by Natural Sole Brother (2010-01-06 16:58:01)

Again off topic - My pals Paddy & Jim are North London Jewish & were given Irish names to blend in -  They're only first generation English, born in '50.

Last edited by Chris_H (2010-01-07 09:36:03)