Fifty years ago, Oishi-san took his first job at Levi’s Japan. Within a couple of years he was the top salesman in the country, and the reward was a trip to San Francisco and the largest jeans store of the day — at a time when every yard of shrink-to-fit denim Levi’s used came from one place, Cone Mills’ White Oak plant in Greensboro, North Carolina, open since 1905 and for a century the source of American-made denim. The 60XX fabric is ONI’s look back at that cloth: a 12oz reproduction of 1960s denim, with the slightly lighter indigo of a White Oak selvedge, woven at low tension with the slubby, neppy and hairy surface that ONI puts into everything. Nobody knows exactly how many fabrics Cone made then — the records burned — so this is one interpretation among the millions of pairs it went into, and the “XX” means what it meant on the originals: extra durable, once the rivets were in.

At 12oz the denim wears comfortably through the year without giving up texture, and because this version is not an ultra-low-tension weave, it keeps a little more structure and breaks in with a useful amount of stretch. Unsanforized and one-washed, so no further shrinkage is expected.

The 270 is ONI’s Just Right Straight: a regular straight with a comfortable mid-high rise — a touch higher than the 288 — more room through the thigh, a straight line from the knee and a subtle taper to an 8.1" hem, slightly narrower than the 288. Smart or casual, with almost any shoe.

The details are the house standard, with one period note: no stitching on the back pockets, as on the plain-pocket jeans of the era. ONI’s custom copper doughnut buttons and hardware, hidden rivets on the back pockets, heavy-duty bar tacks, raised belt loops, a peek-a-boo selvedge coin pocket, cotton-lined front pockets and a vegetable-tanned deerskin leather patch, with the white selvedge ID at the outseam. Produced in very limited quantities. 100% cotton. Made in Japan.

Fit Notes: This model fits true to size for ONI: the tagged size closely matches the actual waist measurement. Compared to most global American brands, sizing is similar or slightly smaller, so you may take the same size or one size up. The denim is unsanforized but has been one-washed, so no further shrinkage is expected. As the 60XX is not an ultra-low-tension fabric, expect the waistband to stretch up to 1" with wear — a little more than ONI’s other denims — allowing the fit to settle over time. We don’t recommend sizing down, as starting too tight may cause discomfort and alter the intended fit of the garment. As always, we strongly recommend checking our size chart to find your perfect size.