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Also @Mghart I'm interested to learn more about Freewheelers and other Japanese repro brands, which you appear to be knowledgable on. I think you mentioned elsewhere that you have a collection of At Last & Co. garments.
@hoodog Maybe you can drop some knowledge on their sheepskins. I should think these would be considered another staple.
Nice! You should have tagged me in starting this!
I've just gotten into Japanese repro of late and The Real McCoy's in particular. What I can impart I mainly have picked up elsewhere on the Internet and, as such, is subject to some verification. But here goes:
Intro
The Real McCoy's family of brands takes as it's MO to render classic American military, western, motorcycle, sports and workwear design true to original details, but in luxe materials and a "modern" fit. In this they are distinguished by repro enthusiasts from the likes of Buzz Rickson (Toyo), who are known for being committed to accurate replication of design, materials and fit. As such, RMC products tend to be "nicer" than other repros, if not also more expensive. Below is a brief interview with Hitoshi Tsujimoto, who just recently stepped down from the helm at RMC. I'm not going to pretend to fully understand the message here.
History
The Real McCoy's was founded in Japan in or by the early 90s by Hiroshi Okamoto and some other unnamed individuals. In the early days the brand provided a select mail-order service for high-end repros of A2 leather flight jackets. For a period they were in partnership with and produced motorcycle jackets for Harley Davidson. The company came into financial dire straits – to the tune of 1.13 billion yen – and it is rumored that fraudulent behavior or evasion may have been at play. Okamoto's reported acquisition of a private B-17 bomber is thought to have contributed to their sinking bottom line. In certain telling, The Real McCoy's became entangled with the yakuza to address their debts. What is more widely acknowledged is that Tsujimoto – a long-time importer and distributor of Americana to the Amerikamura market under his NYLON company – brought RMC out of bankruptcy in 2001.
There followed a shake-up within the RMC partnership, with several individuals involved splitting off to form their own brands doing similar stuff. Okamoto started Toys McCoy, focusing on much the same militaria but with an emphasis on WWII-era prints and badges (he is an illustrator, after all). Atsushi Yasui, who had headed the Joe McCoy sub-brand (started in 1997) while at RMC left to form Freewheelers. Masahide Ishizuka helmed the New Zealand production facility where much (if not all) of RMC's B3 and B6 bombers were made. Upon separation, this became it's own brand, dubbed Real McCoy's New Zealand within the country and The Few in Japan and elsewhere (due to licensing agreements). RMCNZ/The Few shut down in 2015. Rainbow Country is rumored to be yet another offshoot of RMC, although this is unconfirmed.
In more recent history, RMC acquired almost sole rights to produce and distribute Buco-brand products.
Today RMC is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.
Brands
The Real McCoy's - American militaria circa WWII (A2s, B3s, M65s)
Joe McCoy - Western, sports and workwear (jeans, sweats, leather jackets)
Double Diamond - Tailored workwear ??
Buco - Motorcycle wear (leather jackets)
Stockists
RMC has several brick and mortar outposts throughout Japan but a comparatively limited presence abroad (although better than most Japanese brands). As @Mghart has noted, prices are far more favorable domestically than abroad. That said, there are some distributors who are able to place orders with the company at relatively limited mark-up (Standard & Strange specifically).
The company maintains a Japanese site and UK site, both with separate catalogs. International orders can not be placed with RMC Japan directly but you can go through a local distributor or proxy service, who can place the order on your behalf. Prices with RMC UK are generally unfavorable.
It appears that RMC has not had much success finding a place to land stateside. Self Edge (SF/NYC) stocked them for a brief period in the early oughts. Blue In Green (NYC), in an agreement with RMC corporate, established an annex in 2014 that did not last more than a year before closing "due to high rent". At present Standard and Strange (Oakland, CA) and Lost & Found (Toronto) are the best-stocked providers I have found. The Armoury (NYC) has also begun stocking a small selection at their Upper East Side Westbury location.
Note that while John Chapman at Good Wear used to be a stateside distributor of RMC circa 2012, that is no longer the case (he told me as much).
While RMC was in partnership with Superdenim (UK), the latter are no longer a distributor. However, you may find used and deadstock RMC through Superdenim's MARRKT outlet. Note that I have found the prices for used garments to be equal to their retail. RMC has established an annex with The Clutch Cafe (London) while they renovate their London headquarters. Prices are similarly unkind.
Frans Boone (Belgium/Netherlands) is a good option for those located in Europe and not wishing to contend with UK conversion or import/export taxes. Stu-f (Dusseldorf) and Jinji (Paris) are other options.
RMC UK: https://therealmccoys.com/
RMC JP: https://www.realmccoys.co.jp/index.php
Standard & Strange (Oakland): https://standardandstrange.com/ - They can order anything available within the catalog with 1/2 deposit; no returns on specials orders
The Armoury (NYC): https://thearmoury.com/
Lost & Found (Toronto): https://shoplostfound.com/
Frans Boone (Belgium, Netherlands): https://www.fransboonestore.com/
End (UK): https://www.endclothing.com/
Clutch Cafe (London): https://clutch-cafe.com/
MARKKT (Online): https://www.marrkt.com/ - Used and deadstock RMC
Jinji (Paris): https://www.jinji.fr/
Stu-f (Dusseldorf): https://www.stuf-f.com//
Signet (Manila): https://thesignetstore.com/
Celluloid (Japan) - https://www.celluloid1984.com/ - You can place your order directly with them via their Overseas Shipping Service inquiry form, and if you have PayPal
Barn Stormer (Japan): https://www.barnstormer.jp/ - Order via proxy
Time After Time (Japan): https://www.time-after-time.jp/ - Order via proxy
Real Moon (Japan): http://www.realmoon.co.jp/ - Order via proxy
Finally, you can find a wealth of used RMC stock via Yahoo Auctions Japan, which you may navigate via Buyee (https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction) or any similar proxy service.
You can find an official stockist list here.
References
Wikipedia Japan
Fedora Lounge
A Fine-Tooth Comb
Ironheart Forum
Random Blog
Esquire
Just to bring up another somewhat small and obscure brand is Conners Sewing Factory based out of Shiga in Kyoto. Yoshiaki Konaka is most likely producing the most accurate (down to period correct sewing machines) vintage Levis of anyone, and does all the cutting/sewing himself. Theres a few other people on his team making other runs of jeans, but he himself is doing his 'S' series which reproduces various eras of Levis Pre and Post WW2.
His work is a little harder to come by these days as I think he's no longer accepting personal orders, but rather making runs of certain models for shops in Japan. I got my pair back in 2018 when I visited his 49ers shop in person in Kyoto (and delightfully got lost in the middle of nowhere on the way back ) One of my favorite pairs even if the cut isn't as ideal and the pocket bags are laughably small.
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Yeah I remember even from Kyoto station getting there to and from was basically a day trip along with getting lost.You know I really would love something like this but with Lee's cowboy models. I always preferred Lee over Levi. I've thought about going to check out his shop since I live in the adjacent prefecture but 1:30 minutes to the shop is pretty dang long since it would be mostly for just the shop.
Cool stuff either way!
Hmm... don't think I know much more than that I really like mine. Each time I wear it I catch myself thinking "man, this jacket really is great, I should wear it much more often". Is there anything you want to know in particular?
Great write up. Always interesting to learn the backstory of some of these brands.
Miloh Shop in Vancouver has(had?) a pretty decent collection of RMC as well. Owner seems to be winding down a bit though and might be on his way out of the business.
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Glad to see this thread as RMC is a brand I'm interested in exploring. Recently tried on this N1 in a size 38 as I wear a medium/48 pretty regularly. I'm 5'9, with a 39" chest. Despite reading online that it runs large and the measurements themselves being quite large, I found the fit to be very restricting. While I think the size looks right from the outside, I couldn't fit more than a tee and perhaps a light shirt underneath as it was tight through the shoulders and arms. I ended up sending it back and am waiting on the 40 to come in- hoping it works out as I love the styling.
I took the opportunity to try a few items and am a little sad to report that I wasn't entirely impressed. Here I should note that despite spending the last 18 years fawning over jawnz, I really don't know anything about textiles or manufacturing, and even less about leather.
In particular I tried on the Joe McCoy Aklak Grizzly (MJ19114) and the Joe McCoy 30s Sport Jacket / Mobster (MJ20118) (my perception was undoubtedly not aided by the zipper of the latter having a kink that made it difficult to remove), laid hands upon the M65 Field Jacket (MJ1700), and grazed the G-1 and Bucos. I also tried the N-1 SPL (MJ20114), a jacket I had previously tried in a smaller size and which I have more appreciation for even if the fit is not for me.
What were your thoughts on the M65? That's on my list for the spring but I haven't handled in person yet. Worth the price tag or better to just go vintage?
View attachment 1559376 View attachment 1559377
Glad to see this thread as RMC is a brand I'm interested in exploring. Recently tried on this N1 in a size 38 as I wear a medium/48 pretty regularly. I'm 5'9, with a 39" chest. Despite reading online that it runs large and the measurements themselves being quite large, I found the fit to be very restricting. While I think the size looks right from the outside, I couldn't fit more than a tee and perhaps a light shirt underneath as it was tight through the shoulders and arms. I ended up sending it back and am waiting on the 40 to come in- hoping it works out as I love the styling.