THE Realest Pair of Jeans
New York magazine|July 17-30, 2023
VINTAGE DENIM has gone from fringe specialty to the domain of digital natives everywhere. In a hype-fueled market, how much you can get for your Levi's depends on how good a story you're telling.
JUSTINE HARMAN
THE Realest Pair of Jeans

WHEN LARRY MCKAUGHAN was coming up in the ’80s, the golden rules of denim were simple: Work hard. Don’t poach customers. Don’t rip people off— not too badly, anyway. And never reveal your sources. “It was a little bit rough-and-tumble. A fistfight was not uncommon,” says 68-year-old McKaughan, who is known as the King of Vintage and sells mid-century and earlier pieces from his collection, Heller’s Café. Originally, McKaughan was drawn to the grit, the grind, and the reverence for a bygone American era. “My father was a machinist. He used to come home and sweat metal,” he says. “Clothing had to represent the values. It had to be durable. It had to be strong. It had to last.”

Back then, denim dealing was a closed network of history-obsessed scroungers and deep-pocketed collectors in Japan. The story goes like this: Post–World War II, occupying U.S. soldiers began upselling their blue jeans abroad. One collector estimated that more than 70 percent of vintage American denim, including Levi’s, is currently owned by private Japanese collectors, a statistic that is included in an official brand press release from 2016. “The first guy who told me about vintage denim swore me to secrecy,” McKaughan says. “There were so few people in the United States at that time that knew about vintage denim.”

Denne historien er fra July 17-30, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 17-30, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW YORK MAGAZINESe alt
Home Sweet Home?
New York magazine

Home Sweet Home?

Meghan Markle pioneers new frontiers of unrelatability.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
Going Stealth
New York magazine

Going Stealth

Torrey Peters reimagines transness in a new collection.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
Toni Morrison's Lost Play
New York magazine

Toni Morrison's Lost Play

Why did the novelist's only staged drama disappear for so long?

time-read
9 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
The Resilient Natasha Rothwell
New York magazine

The Resilient Natasha Rothwell

The writer and actor returns to The White Lotus just as the show she created, How to Die Alone, has been canceled.

time-read
8 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
Maximum Capacity
New York magazine

Maximum Capacity

Ha’s Snack Bar is already too full, but it’s also too good to ignore.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
Odd Jobs
New York magazine

Odd Jobs

Bong Joon Ho sets a bitterly funny take on America in space.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
Free Country Sam Adler-Bell
New York magazine

Free Country Sam Adler-Bell

Playing Dead For Democratic leadership, giving up is the strategy.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
MOVE FAST AND BREAK LAWS
New York magazine

MOVE FAST AND BREAK LAWS

SHAYNE COPLAN upended political polling on his way to creating the billion-dollar betting platform POLYMARKET. Maybe it's even legal.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
COMMISH TISCH TO THE RESCUE
New York magazine

COMMISH TISCH TO THE RESCUE

The NYPD's Jessica Tisch has spent her career quietly taking on intractable city problems— but what happens when the biggest problem is the mayor himself?

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 10-23, 2025
From Hot to Not
New York magazine

From Hot to Not

Chefs across the city are toning down the spice levels on their most fiery recipes.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 10-23, 2025