Massdrop x USDG 12.5oz Indigo Selvage Denim

A collaboration with Toronto-based United Stock Dry Goods, these jeans are as classic as they come, made with 12.5-ounce rope-dyed indigo selvage denim from Okayama, Japan. For the uninitiated, they’re a great introduction to raw denim, breaking in quickly and picking up the characteristics of the wearer in a beautiful fade. For everyone else, they’re a closet staple, with a medium weight and weave that makes them appropriate for year-round wear. The company’s narrow fit rides the line between formfitting and relaxed: straight through the crotch, seat, thighs, and calves with limited tapering through the leg. And because the thigh and leg are about the same circumference, these jeans work especially well over work boots.

Before the denim is woven, it’s rope-dyed: a process that involves repeatedly dipping a rope of cotton yarn into a series of indigo dye baths. Between dips, the yarn is exposed to the air and the absorbed indigo slowly oxidizes, turning the yarn blue. Because the yarn is never left in the bath long enough for the dye to penetrate to the core of the yarn, the outer circumference is dyed while the core remains white. With wash and wear, the denim will gradually shed layers of dye and slowly reveal the white core underneath. Combined with the weaving process, this makes for an extraordinary depth of color and a handmade feel that can’t be mass-produced.

Paying homage to denim’s humble roots in workwear, United Stock Dry Goods uses traditional techniques to make durable, great-fitting jeans that last. This pair features a double-stitched waistband, reinforced pocket bags, custom US-made YKK nickel-plated brass hardware, and heavy-duty contrast thread throughout. All of the company’s denim is constructed with a 35-inch inseam. While many folks prefer to cuff their jeans, hemming may still be required for some.

Founded in 2012, United Stock Dry Goods adds modern touches to classic garments without sacrificing versatility and functionality—the things that made the garments classics in the first place. Its denim collection is driven by cofounder and longtime denim designer Sydney Mamane. Mamane worked as a wardrobe technician in the film industry and then as a bespoke tailor’s apprentice before making his first pair of raw denim jeans in the late 1990s. It quickly became an obsession, though at the time, raw selvage denim as difficult to come by. Mamane wore his own samples, and eventually word got around and others started asking for a pair. He says it was mostly the tattooed rockabilly types who sought out raw denim then. Today, United Stock Dry Goods lives by three core principles—honesty, quality, and integrity—which are branded on the leather tag of every pair of jeans.