Bluebell's 'Wrangler' thread, originals and repros

My only original- a 1963 22MJZ, according to 'Boon' vol 4 ....

cool only just seen this thread! love a bit of vintage wrangler!

Very Nice ^^

some repros :)

topgearskin wrote: So there seems little information available about Wrangler denim in comparison to the other big brands. Does anyone know when the famous wrangler wrandam denim first appeared? I love that broken twill denim but have been debating its date, it was either 72 or mid 60's Anyone know?

(I took topgears quote to this original Wrangler Blue Bell thread)

Yes, there could be a little more love for Wrangler. I suppose there is a slight difference in the image of Wrangler between continents. In US it is a southwest Rodeo loving cowboy jeans that you can get from wall-mart for 29.99 or less. Definetely not a premium denim brand. In Europe it is more contemporary and more in par with Lee and Levis. In Japan and rest of the Asia there are die-hard Wrangler enthusiasts and some nice repros (Ben the Rodeo Tailor, Edwin made jacket repros and even Real McCoy).

I was sorry to see their heritage Blue Bell line go defunct last year. There were some interesting pieces during the years but overall it lacked consistency, focus and direction - whether it wanted to be a true heritage repro line or modern streetwear inspired denim line with Blue Bell tags. Last couple of seasons were all made in USA using Cone Denim etc. but that only inflated the prices. I don't think it was ever even launched in the US!?

About Wrangler moving to Broken Twill: Don't remember the exact year either, and possibly it was not something that happened overnight. There seems to be both broken twill and right hand twill used in the late 60's products, especially Jackets. Anyway, I at least have never seen an original SELVAGE broken twill denim jeans or jacket from Wrangler, so moving to broken twill was also a move away from using shuttle loom selvage denim.

124MJ from circa 1965


W.H.Ranch Dungarees is currently making some interesting jeans from Selvage Broken Twill (from Japanese Kuroki Mill) and few years back there was a Wrangler x Marc Jacobs collaboration that had denim jackets made of blue selvage broken twill (pic below).