TCB Jeans_Sing Sing Cabaret Jacket

TCB has recently acquired a piece of what is estimated to be 1940s prison attire. The moment I saw the large stencil on the back, my eyes were drawn to the words "SING SING" written alongside a prisoner number.

At first, I thought it meant "to sing," but upon looking it up, I discovered it refers to the real-life Sing Sing Prison in New York State. I realized where I had heard the name before: the opening scene of the Audrey Hepburn film, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"I've always thought it was a funny name for a prison, Sing Sing. Like an opera house."
While the English line says "opera house," the Japanese subtitles translate it as:
"Sing Sing... like a cabaret."
This translation of "like a cabaret" left a strangely lasting impression on me.

When I was discussing this with RYO, he asked,
"Then, shall we call it the 'SING SING CABARET'?"
After the war, American sewing machines were imported to Japan, and domestic denim production began. At that time, this film was translated into Japanese, and perhaps due to the social context of the era, the term "cabaret" was used because "opera house" was unfamiliar to Japanese audiences. As TCB, a brand dedicated to traditional manufacturing, and because we are a Japanese brand, I became drawn to this stencil—SING SING CABARET—and this jacket.

A cabaret = a place of expression.
Conversely, a prison uniform = a symbol of restriction and rules.
I felt that this combination of conflicting images was quintessentially TCB.

When I closely examined the vintage prison uniform I actually acquired, I found it fascinating. The world of workwear is always haunted by "efficiency for sales" and the "battle with costs," but this prison uniform was "clothing not intended for sale" in the first place.

The seams were neither felled nor overlocked. It was simply joined from the inside and sewn with a single straight stitch. I struggled with how to recreate this at TCB, but for this piece, I dared to use that same straight-stitch construction, leaving the seam allowances fringed. I’ve retained a realistic "roughness" so you can feel the atmosphere of the time.

The same goes for the design.
There are absolutely no pockets, so that nothing could be hidden. I figured it would be a bit inconvenient in the outside world today, so at TCB, we added pockets.

The cuffs are also very wide, measuring about 19cm. Was this also to "prevent the hiding of contraband"? I hesitated to change it, but for the sake of the silhouette and daily wearability, I adjusted the width so you wouldn't have to worry about getting them dirty while eating.

Another thing that struck me was the "pattern matching."
Despite the rough overall construction, the front closures and stripes were strangely perfectly aligned. I observed it, thinking, "They were meticulous only here," and realized—
It was actually a one-piece construction where the front and back body panels were all connected. It was only natural that the patterns would align (laughs).

Ultimately, it is a jacket made with a surprisingly simple structure of one body piece, two sleeve pieces, and one collar piece. Yes, it is clothing "made to be worn, not to be sold."

For TCB, which has customers all over the world, this project is not just a reproduction. Through the subject of "prison uniforms," it is an attempt to reinterpret universal themes—freedom, responsibility, and identity—as fashion.

Just like denim, uniforms carry the "evidence of a life lived."
That is what TCB believes.
That is why I want to send this clothing out into the world not as a negative symbol, but as a positive message that symbolizes "the strength to seek freedom."

□ Fabric
This is an original custom-made fabric for the SING SING Cabaret Jacket.
Actually, it’s cut across the grain. In roll form, it is originally a vertical stripe fabric. We intentionally cut it horizontally so that it finishes as a border pattern.

The reason this doesn't feel out of place is because of the fabric structure: duck (plain weave).
10-count warp x 16-count weft, approx. 10 ounces.
It has a sturdy weave but retains a soft texture.

We used high-grade Zimbabwean cotton for the raw material, but our goal wasn't "high quality"—it was the rough texture of what was issued to prisoners at the time. For this reason, we used slab yarn with strong irregularities that we don't usually use for TCB jeans. The wild yet warm expression perfectly reproduces the reality of the era.

Regarding the vintage border color (navy), I initially wondered, "Could this be indigo-dyed?"
But if it were indigo, there would have been color transfer to the raw-colored sections. Therefore, we recreated the navy this time using reactive dyeing (cheese dyeing).

Above, reprinted from the official TCB site.

A rather quirky item has arrived.

It’s an item that takes some courage to wear, but please, give it a try.

The sleeves are quite wide, so you could roll them up. It might be interesting to use it as an accent for layered outfits.

Actual size chart: Unit cm