I realize I'm no fashion plate, hipster, or dandy. However, I generally look acceptable, and get compliments from time to time. So, I don't think a little fashion advice is completely unwarranted. Specifically, young men pay way the hell too much money for jeans. Now, my primary advice is "They're just jeans, buddy"- meaning that if you take too much stock in what brand, dye or cut they are, you're investing more energy in them than they will produce in positive ways for you.
That having said- I do think that Selvedge, dark dye premium jeans look masculine and spiffy. Usually, they look best in a classic photograph of some heroic young man from the late 1950's through the mid 1960's. I think it's spectacularly ridiculous for me to try to look like one of those heroes. But, the lesson is there- go for a classic cut and fit, and treat them like trousers more than pants, and you'll look like you're wearing nice jeans.
There are quite a few "classic" jean makers out there. I've tried several, and, really, the best are the older brands- Levi, Lee, Wrangler, or the particular brand I'm getting around to- Sears' Roebuck jeans. They'll price right below Levi, but above most Wranglers, and about the same as Lee. However, if you get them in the slim cut, dark dye, and a bit too long, they look pretty much identical to the 200 dollar selvedge denim at the hipster store. As a matter of fact, people have asked me about mine, thinking they were imported Japanese denim. Nope- fourteen dollar denim on sale at Sears.
That's the sweet spot, you see? They're just jeans. Mass market, bought from the OG big Box store.
...And yet, that's what these guys in the 200 dollar hipster jeans are trying to evoke, right? Something that your grandfather would've bought from the Sears catalog? Worth considering, right?
This is a great topic, I enjoyed the read! You're totally right, prices are insane on some of these jeans. I tend to have a bigger problem with 'prewashed' or pre-treated jeans that are $200 (like Diesel) vs a pair of raw selvedge, because their typical lifespan is slashed in half by default as a result of the washing process, just for the aesthetics...but still, $200 is insane. There are affordable raw and/or selvedge pants out there, sub-$100 and places like Amazon make for some good deals too. I personally owned several pairs of random jeans for many years, Levis mostly, and they always fell apart pretty fast...$20 here, $35 there, and I was repairing them along the way. After a little research online I found a well-reviewed brand that used the standard Japanese selvedge denim with the chain-stitching on the main hems (like most of them out there). I managed to get a pair for about $85 shipped on Amazon about 1.5 years back, and it's the only pair of jeans I own and wear now. Because of the nature of cotton, the way you care for them determines their life more than what you do in them (unless you're sliding around on asphalt) and it's true even with pre-treated jeans. So my reasoning was mostly beyond some hipster fashion...I wanted something that was thick, untreated, well-hemmed and by never using soaps on them, they should last for years (I hope). They've held up good so far, and I've only rinsed them twice in water with some vinegar and air dried. The companies certainly well sell the idea of uniqueness with 'sick fades' and shit but that's kind of a less important side effect IMO and using techniques to bring that on quicker will ultimately result in less lifespan. I understand the 'look' that is trending, dark jeans do look nice I will admit, but there is a bit of utility there too :) (this is Ryan BTW)
ReplyDeleteRyan, you're right- the care of denim is, in many ways, much more important than the type and cut. However- even 10 dollar jeans can benefit from proper care ( which means no machine washing), so at the purchase point, you basically determine your level of commitment. I've tried the pure raw denim thing. ( I've got a pair of 250 dollar G Star Raws) and I'm just not up to the task, I ended up get some condiments on 'em, and had to apply some commercial detergent, meaning that they're wearing like a hundred dollar pair, which taught me to stick with more generic types...
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