Wakayama Daibakusho Toyosenshi / Shifuku no Thrift

Thrift is originally an English word meaning good luck, and is generally translated as frugality. In America, there are thrift stores that sell used items collected as donations cheaply and donate the proceeds to charity. Vintage used clothing can also be obtained, and from that, used clothing came to be called thrift. Although the meaning of the word has changed with the times, when you find your favorite piece from a pile of used clothing, it somehow feels like it brings you good luck, doesn't it? This hoodie, which captures the hearts of vintage lovers, is "Shifuku no Thrift".

The loop-backed fleece, knitted on old-fashioned loopwheel machines from the 1950s, is the heaviest weight in this lineup. The outer fabric is made with open-end yarn for a natural and firm texture, while the lining is finished with thick No. 7 yarn in a random loop for a voluminous feel. The reason it feels surprisingly light to wear is said to be the "magic" of loopwheeling, which knits air into the fabric.

The fabric, which showcases the characteristics of loopwheeling, has undergone "Peel Off" processing, as before. Peel Off means "to peel off" and is a special processing technique to create an aged look. Toyosenshi's unique technology, which expresses the fading of color over time that was thought impossible with reactive dyes, has been used to create "Vintage Black," representing 10 years of wear. "By leaving the ribs unprocessed, we express the passage of time," says developer Taiki Tanaka. At first glance, it looks like used clothing, but because it is a highly fixable reactive dye, this state is maintained without fading.

The wind dyeing machine used by Toyosenshi is said to have been manufactured in the 1950s, the same era as the loopwheel machines. Vintage Black, born from the collaboration of rare machines for knitting and dyeing. It seems to give vintage and American casual lovers a moment of bliss.