People always ask me what I to do make money in LA while I am searching for the Smiths. I do two things. I sell my artwork and t-shirts, and I also buy vintage american clothes to send back to Japan. Vintage American clothes used to be very popular all over japan in the 90's. Now it is only popular among certain collectors. I go to American garage sales and flea markets and look for things to send to my friends who have stores.

Last Saturday I found some Levis from the early 60's. These are called Big E because they have a capital E on the levi tag. Modern ones have a lower case e.

This pair of pants is called 501 S Type and in good condition can sell for $400-$600 (used to sell for over $1000) depending on size, color and other things. My pair is not in very good condition. It smells like a cat has been living inside of it for many years. I wonder where that cat went. I think I will sell this one for $100-$150. Right now Japanese yen is very strong, so $100 is only 9000yen.

I also got the 557 Levi Big E Jacket. This is the third version of the levi jacket. It's not so valuable now...but it used to sell for $500. Maybe I can get $50-$100 for it. This jacket must have been worn by the same smelly kitty kat who wore the jeans.