Loopwheelers apply even (low) tension on yarn which prevents uneven warping, but that doesn't change the fact that cotton still shrinks as a fiber.

But it helps, a lot.

I have been thinking the same for a long time. Clothing these days are just branding, marketing as such. I don't want any of that. I want quality, decent materials.

Like the article suggested, materials in clothing these days cost very little. I used to own two Ralf Lauren Polo Cotton T-Shirt. One Cost $200 the other $100, both were a sensation to wear. I still have them today and i love them. The problem is i got them as gift. I could never afford to buy them myself. I just wanted simple styling and plain colour, nothing fancy, and decent quality materials like those Polo Shirt i have. I tried a few Start up who claim they uses premium quality but they surely dont match those.

For now i continue to stick to Uniqlo for pretty much everything. They sure are not the best, but I do find them value for money, at least comparative speaking.

That piqued my interest. Do you know the name of any of the Japanese niche brands?

The Real McCoys, The Strike Gold, Studio D'Artisan.

Here's a good introduction on loopwheeled shirts from Japanese repro brands.

http://www.heddels.com/2014/03/an-introduction-to-loopwheele...

Only some of The Real McCoys are loopwheeled sadly, and there's some confusion over which.

The Flat Head and Tezomeya are also other examples of loopwheeled tees.

Then... how can you really tell what The Real "The Real McCoys" really are?

RMC website is accurate. But some distributors like superdenim mislabel things a lot.

$100 for a t-shirt?

They're £58.33 plus £10.00 shipping which converts to roughly $100 US. I'm not that frugal, but Jesus this shirt better be tip top quality and last longer than 6 months for $100.

Are these western names used in western countries for Japanese products or so the names also get used in Japan?

The names are used in Japan. Some of these names (e.g., "Strike Gold") conjure up an old-school Americana. This is intentional. Japanese denim brands (who now make these shirts as well) are very reverent of pre-1960s Levis.

They use the English names in Japan. If you google for the Japanese official websites for these brands or even their products on rakuten.co.jp you'll see the brand names in English.

The magazine Free & Easy is all about these brands

I remember visiting a Japanese clothes shop here in Dubai and I noticed their shirts were quite different in texture than anything else I'd seen. It was expensive too. I think it's called Superdry? Could that be one of the niche brands you're talking about or are they just using a unique blend of textiles?

In any case, it's quite fascinating how sometimes old tech is simply better than what we have today.

Superdry are faux-Japanese, they are actually a British company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperGroup

Hah, Superdry is overpriced rubbish bought by 45-year-olds who can afford it because they think that's what 25-year-olds wear.

Most 45 year olds would not give a flying duck to what 25 year olds year.

Oh I assure you, mid life crises are a thing.

Sure they are, but don't they opt for the "nice car", "younger girlfriend", etc?

I don't see many 45yo people wearing 20yo clothing -- there are some of course, but not that many to be a "phenomenon" one would notice.

A Superdry jacket is the new combover.

I have lived in SE Asia for half a decade and am currently in Taipei and honestly I see a lot of 15-30 year old Asians wearing Superdry. They invariably think it is actually Japanese. I haven't noticed older guys wearing it here but perhaps I haven't been looking.

or Supreme is Superdry for 25 year olds.

Superdry clothes have a reasonable price/quality ratio. I'd rate the clothes higher quality than any other Jack&Jones/Tom Tailor/H&M etc brands I own though.

Superdry is a British brand which produces rather nice shirts with Japanese print on them :)

Damn, it felt Japanese though :(

It's quite funny actually: "The Japanese text incorporated in the brand's logo—極度乾燥(しなさい) (kyokudo kansō (shinasai)?)—literally translates as "Maximum dry (please do)", the text in brackets being due to the translation software used offering alternatives depending on whether dry is intended as a noun (e.g., super dryness) or an imperative, (e.g., dry this shirt out)." [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperGroup

I fins the fits really strange, especially for men. Everything there is a tall fit. And the quality is rubbish, I had 2 of the zippers on my winter coat to break after a couple months use. I expected more for a decently priced coat.

>It's pretty well known that tees made using 1920s-era loopwheeling machines don't suffer from size changes, and age really well

Well don't I feel stupid, I didn't know this pretty well known thing. Thanks for the share. :)

Which niche brands use loopwheeling? Going to Japan soon; maybe will pick up a few tees.

A search for ループウィール turns up some hits, like the Barns brand.

strike gold would be a good brand to start with. they're available in the US but you definitely pay a premium