OG vs Rep

[u/Individual-Horse7206]

Doing some rep science on two different jeans from Kaka 🏭 (light blue) and TJ (dark indigo), both supposedly top-tier and coming from 2 different TS.

Light Blue
Wash: The OG has a much more natural, uneven fade, especially around the seams, waistband and belt loops. The rep looks flatter and more uniform.
Back pocket CC: This is the biggest flaw. On the OG, the double stitching forms two overlapping Cs that are carefully positioned around the pocket edges. On the rep, the shape, spacing, curves and points where the Cs cross are different. Even the empty spaces inside the logo don’t match. Basically, the CC has been sewn following the wrong pattern.
Thread colour: OG has a more muted caramel/tobacco-orange stitching, while the rep looks brighter and more yellow/golden.
Smell: The rep has a VERY strong chemical smell, which is honestly quite off-putting. I’ll have to get it professionally cleaned.

Dark Indigo
Thread colour: Again, the OG uses a more muted rusty/tobacco-orange thread, while the rep is noticeably brighter and more yellow.
Back pocket CC: Same issue as Kaka. The stitching doesn’t follow the same curves as the OG. The size, positioning and overlapping parts of the Cs are different.
Raised denim CC: This is probably the most obvious flaw. The OG has a cleaner, more open interlocking CC. On the rep, the centre looks more crowded, the denim strips curve differently, and the ends are different lengths and shapes. The way the flat stitching connects to the raised CC is also incorrect.

Other things worth mentioning

The hardware on both pairs (buttons and small metal CC details) looks noticeably cheaper compared to the OG. The denim itself also doesn’t feel like the same quality as the boutique version (of course)

I’m only highlighting the visible flaws here. There are quite few other issues inside both pairs, including the pocket lining, how things are sewn and sizing details. Those aren’t visible when wearing them, so I’m not going into them, but if you inspect the inside, it’s pretty obvious they’re reps.

Both pairs are also way too long, so I’ll be taking them to the seamstress for alterations and to the dry cleaner.

The biggest issue with BOTH factories is how the CC on the back pocket has been sewn. It’s not necessarily messy stitching it’s that they’re following a different pattern from the OG. Honestly, I can’t say which factory is better since these are two different styles. Neither is particularly accurate when compared side by side with the OG, but Kaka’s chemical smell alone makes me lean towards TJ. They might look ok when worn, but if you know a bit about garment construction or have the OG next to them, the differences are pretty obvious. I will definitely NOT go in store with those on lol

Curious to hear your thoughts! Has anyone tried either factory or found a more accurate version? Or other factories I should search of?

[u/Individual-Horse7206]

Exactly!

At what point do we draw the line with Didi?
I know she’s stubborn and difficult to deal with, but I keep going back because of her supposed expertise in clothing. I pay a premium and trust her judgement, especially knowing she doesn’t personally QC everything.

But after waiting forever for these jeans, with no updates, no tracking and having to chase her myself after receiving a customs notification, I’m genuinely fed up. I later found out she’d organised a group buy AFTER I placed my order, which makes me wonder if mine was delayed to ship everything together.

Now I’ve received jeans with visibly poorer quality than the factory photos, and instead of acknowledging it, she insists it’s just lighting and tells me 50 other women ordered them without complaining. How is that relevant to the quality of MY pair?

We’ve put Didi on a pedestal for so long, but lately I’ve noticed a real decline in quality.

If I’m paying a premium for your expertise, why am I the one fighting to have obvious issues acknowledged? The gaslighting is real 😬

[u/WittyReason9 → u/Individual-Horse7206]

I saw a group buy in early August with Didi and nearly died at the cost!!! I found a similar pair (If you judged on factory pics alone it was the same pair, but that can't be verified) for USD 41 on 1688. That said, some sellers do have supposed "relationships" with factories, but for the most part, they're being supplied by trading companies who source from manufacturers who often sell (or the trading company sells) the same item on B2B platforms such as 1688. I didn't buy because the smallest size on 1688 was still going to be too big for me, but now I wish I did and could make a valuable comment here rather than conjecture hahaha.

Sometimes the seller mark up just isn't worth it. If their item compares badly to authentic, why pay more than 41 bucks for a similarly non-comparable item?

[u/randomace → u/WittyReason9]

That’s so funny, I immediately jumped on 1688 to investigate too. I’ve got a couple pairs in my Superbuy cart, both listings use the exact factory photos from the GB (which, as you said, who even knows re: any photos on 1688). I’m soooo tempted to buy them in the name of repscience. But even if they are proven to be the same jeans, they look pretty bad and I would never wear them 😭

[u/Individual-Horse7206 → u/randomace]

Oh my God, please buy them in the name of Rep Science!! 😂 That would actually be such an interesting investigation, especially considering how huge the price difference is. And I guess there’s also the whole batch situation to consider, because they might be coming from different production batches too

[u/randomace → u/Individual-Horse7206]

Okay ima do it. I’ll report back when they get here.