TCB Jeans_Sing Sing Cabaret Jacket

What TCB obtained this time was an estimated 1940s prisoner's uniform.
The moment I saw the large stencil on the back, the words "SING SING" jumped out at me, along with the prisoner number.

At first, I thought it meant "singing," but upon researching, I found it was referring to the real **Sing Sing Prison** in New York State.
I realized I had heard the name before in the opening scene of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," starring Audrey Hepburn.

"I've always thought it was such a funny name for a prison. Sing Sing. It sounds like an opera house."
While the English version uses "opera house," the Japanese subtitles translate it as
"Sing Sing sounds like a cabaret."
This translation of "sounds like a cabaret" left a strangely strong impression on me.

When I was talking about this with RYO,
he said, "Then, how about 'SING SING CABARET'?"
After the war, American-made sewing machines were imported to Japan, and domestic jeans began to be produced. Around that time, this movie was translated into Japanese, and in the context of the era, "cabaret" might have been used because the term was unfamiliar to Japanese people. We were drawn to the words "SING SING CABARET" on this jacket, a stencil that TCB, a brand pursuing traditional craftsmanship and being a Japanese brand, could uniquely incorporate. We found ourselves attracted to those words.

A cabaret = a place of expression.
On the other hand, a prisoner's uniform = a symbol of restriction and rules.
This combination of conflicting images felt very much like TCB.

Observing the vintage prisoner's uniform we actually got our hands on was truly interesting. The world of workwear is always accompanied by "efficiency for sales" and "the battle against cost," but this prisoner's uniform was fundamentally **"clothing not intended for sale."**

The seams were neither felled seams nor overlocked.
They were simply joined from the back, sewn only with a plain seam.
We pondered how TCB should make it, but this time, we intentionally followed suit and made it with only plain seams, allowing the seam allowances to fringe. We wanted to retain the realistic "roughness" that conveys the atmosphere of that time.

The same applies to the design.
To prevent prisoners from hiding anything, there are no pockets at all.
Thinking it would be a bit inconvenient outside prison walls in modern times, TCB added pockets.

The cuffs are also very wide, about 19cm.
Is this also to "prevent hiding things"? We deliberated whether to leave this as is, but prioritizing the silhouette and everyday wearability, we adjusted the width so that one wouldn't soil it during meals.

And another impressive aspect was the "pattern matching."
Despite the overall rough construction, the front placket and stripes were strangely perfectly aligned. I thought, "Only this part is carefully made," and upon closer inspection──
It turned out that the front and back body panels were all connected in a single-piece construction.
It was natural for the pattern to align (laughs).

As a result,
the jacket was constructed with an amazingly simple composition: one body piece, two sleeves, and one collar. Yes, it was clothing "to be worn, not to be sold."

For TCB, which has customers worldwide, this project is not just a reproduction. It is an attempt to re-interpret universal themes such as freedom, responsibility, and identity through fashion, using the subject of "prisoner's uniform."

Like denim, uniforms also carry "the proof of a life lived."
TCB believes this.
That's why we want to convey this garment not as a negative symbol,
but as a positive message symbolizing "the strength that seeks freedom"
to the world.

□Fabric
The fabric was custom-ordered originally for the SING SING Cabaret Jacket.
Actually, it's used horizontally. When it's in a roll, it's originally a vertical striped fabric. By intentionally cutting it horizontally, it is finished as a striped pattern.

This way of using it doesn't feel out of place precisely because the fabric's weave is **duck (plain weave)**.
Warp 10 count × Weft 16 count, approximately 10 oz.
While tightly woven, it has a soft texture.

For the raw cotton, we use Zimbabwean cotton, a high-quality cotton,
but our aim was not "premium quality," but rather the rough texture of the uniforms supplied to prisoners at the time.
Therefore, we adopted highly slubby yarn, which we typically don't use for TCB jeans. The rugged yet warm expression accurately reproduces the realism of that era.

Regarding the vintage stripe sections (navy), at first, I thought,
"Maybe it's indigo dye?"
However, if it were indigo, color transfer would have occurred to the unbleached parts.
Therefore, this time, the navy is reproduced using **reactive dyeing (cheese dyeing)**.

The above is reproduced from TCB official sources.

A rather unique item has appeared.

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

The sleeves are quite wide, so you can roll them up a lot. I think it would be interesting to use it as an accent for layering.

Actual size chart: unit cm