Best Selvedge Denim Brands – 2026
Fourteen selvedge denim brands that build their business on selvedge, not treating it as one product among many. Each sells direct and ships to the US. Four are made in Japan, one in Canada, and nine in the United States.
Quick summary
Selvedge denim is valued for its durability, the character it develops with wear, and the selvedge ID line that shows when jeans are cuffed. The fabric is woven on vintage shuttle looms, many still running from decades ago. It costs more to produce, the looms run slower and weave narrower rolls. Japan produces most of the world’s selvedge fabric today. Several Japanese and American jean brands build their collection around it.
Fewer clothes. Fewer decisions.
Todd Shelton’s Original 13 has been made from Kuroki selvedge denim at our New Jersey factory since 2012, the longest-running product in the collection.
About this list
This list compiles jean brands that build their business around selvedge denim. Each brand sells direct and ships to the US. This list is strictly informational. No financial commissions, affiliate revenues, or advertising fees are generated from the links provided. To submit a brand or to report an error, please contact us.
The 14 best selvedge denim brands
Many more brands sell selvedge denim as one option among several denim fabrics. This list excludes those brands. The brands included build their collection around selvedge specifically. It’s the foundation of what they make, not an add-on. They serve the US market with a website dedicated to direct ordering and shipping. Four are made in Japan, one in Canada, and nine in the United States.
In alphabetical order:
3sixteen
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3sixteen | USA | Washed | $290 |
3sixteen’s denim is custom woven by Kuroki Mills in Okayama, Japan. Jeans are cut and sewn in San Francisco.
3sixteen’s modern history began in 2008 with its first jean, the SL-100x, developed with Kuroki Mills. The brand has since expanded to more than ten fabrics across multiple fits, with each style intended to remain a permanent part of the lineup rather than a seasonal offering.
45r
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45r | Japan | Washed | $460 |
45r denim is dyed and woven in a single workshop in Tokushima, Japan, one of the few in the country to carry out both crafts under one roof.
45r was founded in 1977 in Minamiaoyama, Tokyo, by Hiroshi Masuyama, with Yasumi Inoue as the brand’s first designer. Shinji Takahashi, the brand’s current president, joined the company in 1979. 45rpm opened its first store outside Japan, on Mercer Street in New York’s Soho.
Brave Star
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brave Star | USA | Raw | $150 |
Brave Star’s denim is currently sourced primarily from Japanese mills, with Cone Mills North Carolina deadstock selvage used when available. Jeans are cut, sewn, and finished in Los Angeles.
Brave Star was founded in 2005 after its founder, Mik, saw an early collection from Cone Mills’ newly launched White Oak selvedge line, becoming one of the first all-selvedge, American-made denim brands. The company was sold during the 2008 financial crisis and repurchased by its original founder in 2012.
Freenote Cloth
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freenote Cloth | USA | Raw | $305 |
Freenote Cloth’s denim comes from Kaihara Mills in Japan. The brand focuses on American workwear. The jeans are cut and sewn in California.
Freenote Cloth was founded in December 2013 by brothers Andrew and Matt Brodrick in San Juan Capistrano, California. Both brothers previously worked under the Volcom umbrella, where they learned fabric sourcing and construction. The brand’s name combines “freedom” and “noteworthy” with a reference to the jazz label Blue Note Records.
Fullcount
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fullcount | Japan | Washed | $365 |
Fullcount’s denim is woven from hand-picked cotton on power looms the brand has operated for more than 20 years. Jeans are made in Okayama, Japan.
Fullcount was founded by Mikiharu Tsujita, who worked briefly with Hidehiko Yamane during the founding of Evisu before starting his own brand. The brand is one of the Osaka Five, the group of Osaka- and Kobe-based makers credited with founding Japan’s modern selvedge denim industry.
Hiroshi Kato
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Kato | USA | Stretch | $280 |
Kato’s core fabric is a 4-way stretch selvedge, 96% cotton and 4% polyurethane, woven on vintage shuttle looms at a Japanese mill. Jeans are cut, sewn, and washed in the California.
Kato was founded by Nick Noguchi, born in Japan in 1970, who wore his first pair of Levi’s 501s at age 10. Noguchi spent ten years developing fabric for RRL before starting his own brand, opening a Los Angeles design and production line in 2013. Since 2015, Kato has operated from Gardena, California.
Iron Heart
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Heart | Japan | Raw | $385 |
Iron Heart’s denim is heavyweight and designed for the motorcycle community. Jeans are made by The Works Inc. in Japan.
Iron Heart was founded in 2002 by Shinichi Haraki, a former pattern maker for Edwin with two decades in the Japanese garment industry. Giles Padmore, who joined in 2005, runs international sales and marketing from the UK. The brand’s early denim was developed for Japan’s motorcycling community, and heavyweight fabric remains its focus.
Left Field NYC
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left Field NYC | USA | Washed | $240 |
Left Field NYC sources deadstock selvedge denim from a variety of Japanese mills. The brand focuses on the motorcycle culture and novelty denim. The jeans are cut and sewn in the USA.
Left Field NYC was founded in 1998 by Christian McCann in his Brooklyn apartment. McCann had worked as an assistant men’s buyer at Anthropologie before starting the brand. The brand operates stores in New York and Los Angeles.
Momotaro
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Momotaro | Japan | Raw | $300 |
Momotaro’s denim uses cotton dyed with natural indigo sourced from Tokushima, Japan. The flagship weight is 15.7 oz. Jeans are made by hand in Kojima, Okayama.
Momotaro was founded in Kojima, Okayama in 2005 by Hisao Manabe, who had founded the denim mill Collect Mills in 1992. The brand takes its name from a Japanese folktale, referenced in the pink pocket bag lining used on its jeans. Momotaro is part of the Japan Blue Group, which also operates Collect Mills and Japan Blue Jeans.
Naked & Famous
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naked & Famous | Canada | Raw | $245 |
Naked & Famous sources raw Japanese selvedge denim, left unwashed and undistressed. Jeans are cut, sewn, and finished in Canada.
Naked & Famous launched in 2008, founded by Brandon Svarc, a third-generation garment maker from Montréal. The brand positions itself against premium denim’s celebrity-driven marketing, focusing instead on Japanese selvedge fabric and domestic Canadian production.
Rogue Territory
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue Territory | USA | Washed | $265 |
Rogue Territory’s denim is sourced from Kurabo Mills in Japan, including a 15oz selvedge option. Jeans are cut and sewn in Los Angeles.
Rogue Territory was founded in 2008 by Karl Thoennessen and Leslie Yeung as a custom denim workshop inside American Rag’s World Denim Bar in Los Angeles, offering fully bespoke, one-of-a-kind jeans. In fall 2009, the brand stopped taking custom orders to launch its first ready-to-wear capsule collection at American Rag.
Shockoe Atelier
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shockoe Atelier | USA | Raw | $275 |
Shockoe Atelier’s core selvedge denim comes from Collect Mills in Japan. Jeans are handmade in the brand’s Richmond, Virginia workshop.
Shockoe Atelier was founded in 2012 in Richmond, Virginia. The company started with one sewing machine and one seamstress in its Shockoe Bottom workshop. The brand offers a lifetime repair guarantee on all of its clothing.
Tellason
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tellason | USA | Raw | $275 |
Tellason’s denim comes from Kaihara, a Japanese mill. The brand offers multiple weights, including 14.75 oz and 16.5 oz. Jeans are cut and sewn in San Francisco.
Tellason was founded in San Francisco in 2009 by Tony Patella and Pete Searson, longtime friends who had known each other since 1990. The brand launched with a single style, the John Graham Mellor slim straight fit, and has kept production in the city since.
Todd Shelton
| Brand | Country | Denim | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Shelton | USA | Washed | $320 |
Todd Shelton specializes in a range of fit options and measurement consistency. Jeans are cut, sewn, and washed in the brand’s New Jersey factory.
Todd Shelton’s selvedge denim uses Zimbabwean cotton and has come from Kuroki, a Japanese mill, since 2012. The brand has offered the same two weights for over a decade: Original 13 and Lightweight 11. Jeans are manufactured in-house at the company’s Paterson, New Jersey factory.
The list is curated by the Todd Shelton team. To suggest a brand, contact us.
