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High-End Store Specializes in 1950s-Style Jeans

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, let's talk about a high-end denim store half a world away from North Carolina in Kobe, Japan. The store is called The Real McCoy, which is our last word in business today.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The owner tells The Wall Street Journal he fell in love with blue jeans while traveling the U.S. in his youth. He calls them, quote, "the garment that conquered the world."

INSKEEP: And also, his imagination. His store specializes in simple 1950s-style jeans with, of course, some alterations. And because he's tapping into a Japanese subculture obsessed by 1950s Americana, he is able to charge prices that are not from the '50s at all.

MONTAGNE: Three-hundred-and-fifty bucks a pair.

And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

INSKEEP: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.