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The Japanese Repro Clothing Thread (Real McCoys, Freewheelers, Etc.)

slows2k

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For the sake of knowledge, what experience do you guys have with putting loopwheeled gear in the dryer?
Fwiw I gave a couple of Warehouse sweatshirts to my wife, they fit her far better than me, and she's gone away for a month so I inspected a few of her garments. One of them has evidently went through the dryer at least once and it is brittle, the interior texture is rough and the exterior almost feels like a twill, so it is now kind of a prickly twill smock. On the flipside my Warehouse tees have been inadvertently dried and are still impeccable.

Oooo, something I can actually contribute to here. My initial foray into loop wheel was Warehouse Tshirts, which shriunk at least one full size no matter how I washed them, including running through a dryer on high, a dryer on no heat, and hang drying them entirely. The dryer just accelerated the shrinkage.

Then, I started buying the house brand loop wheeled Tshirts at Standard & Strange, which I have found hold up much better with much less shrinkage. I have run one black shirt in particular through the dryer at least a dozen times, and it not only remains pretty stable in size, but shows little to no signs of damage from at all. They pill a little over time with wearing, washing, and drying, but nothing that I find concerning. beautiful t-shirts that are light and soft/spongy, especially good in warm weather.

My third company I have bought loop wheel from is Wonder looper, and I have run one sacrificial t-shirt through wash and dryer with all the other clothes about a dozen times and it has shown no damage at all, nor has it shrunk more than the tiniest bit. They're the most resilient to shrinkage I have seen. I love the WL stuff but it is VERY heavy and thick, so maybe not for everyone. Theyre remarkably resilient, however. I do have one of their sweatshirts I have worn extensively this F/W, which has held up great. They shrink about one half size if you dry them in the dryer, but I have noticed no damage in any way so far.

Hope this helps and am glad to answer other questions if anyone has any.
 

jischwar

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@elongatedskull and @slows2k just as a point of clarification Warehouse are not loopwheel, they are done with sinker weave machines. Similar, but slightly different and could explain the difference in shrinkage you are seeing. My loopwheel shirts from S&S, Iron Heart, Flat Head, Real McCoy's really don't show much if any shrinkage
 

ojaw

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@elongatedskull and @slows2k just as a point of clarification Warehouse are not loopwheel, they are done with sinker weave machines. Similar, but slightly different and could explain the difference in shrinkage you are seeing. My loopwheel shirts from S&S, Iron Heart, Flat Head, Real McCoy's really don't show much if any shrinkage
According to SoS the 4601 Tee that I have is loopwheeled, not the case?
 

Mghart

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Just as another data point. I haven't noticed any shrinkage in any of these tees with cold wash, hang dry, loopwheel/tubular construction or otherwise.

Warehouse freedom sleeve
Warehouse set in sleeve (no pocket)
Mister freedom Stanley
Merz B.
RMC
TWC

Granted, I generally don't use a dryer for any of my nicer clothes unless I was intentionally trying to shrink something.
 

ojaw

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Granted, I generally don't use a dryer for any of my nicer clothes unless I was intentionally trying to shrink something.
Same, don’t actually use one for anything but intentional shrinking.
 

Jerkstore

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My merz 1950s tees shrunk in length over time and started to pill. I just stick with Reigning Champ now.
 

elongatedskull

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@elongatedskull and @slows2k just as a point of clarification Warehouse are not loopwheel, they are done with sinker weave machines. Similar, but slightly different and could explain the difference in shrinkage you are seeing. My loopwheel shirts from S&S, Iron Heart, Flat Head, Real McCoy's really don't show much if any shrinkage
Thats fascinating, is there any correlation between that and actual loopwheel tees being a little pricier?
 

Jerkstore

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Along with that indigo A2, TRM never released the two grizzly jackets. Kinda weird they just omitted them.
 

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