Jeans have been around since the late 19th century, but for most of the time they've been around, up until at least the mid 1950s, jeans were workwear. Entirely the domain of farmers, miners, dock workers and cowboys.

Following screen wear by a couple of young Hollywood icons, a new idea took hold - jeans could be style. When young mods first got hold of American denim in the early 60s - a relatively unusual sight in the UK at the time - it only fed their insatiable appetite for everything new and sharp. The finicky process of buying a pair of raw 501s and shrinking them in the bath became a ritual in itself.

Decades on, we're all used to the ubiquity of denim. Generally mass produced, lightweight, and lacking the finished edge (selvedge) that was so essential on earlier made pairs. At Jump the Gun we wanted to get as close as possible to that feeling of encountering brand new imported denim for the first time. Where do you get the best American denim? Japan of course.

Our jeans are all made by TCB - the Two Cats Brand. Based in Okayama, Japan, TCB is a tiny ateliers with just over a dozen employees. Making small batch denim, both raw and sanforised, in various vintage fits.

The New Cats Drive Jacket is immediately recognisable as a western jean jacket, featuring an angled front yoke, and a short, boxy fit. This denim matches the cloth used for the New Cats Drive jean, however it is pre-shrunk.

• Boxy, western fit
• Pre-shrunk - fits a whole size smaller than the label size!
• Heavy slub denim, for those beautiful vertical fades
• Vintage style donut buttons