Jeans:

[chasea]

Whatever you get is fine. Just no ass-embroidery-embellishments, please.

Here's a helpful guide when pairing jeans with t-shirts:

[WadePatton]

thanks for the info.

when i say raw, i mean stuff that has never been preshrunk/washed ever. i don't know how "raw" could be anything else...but i'm not a fashion guy. pre-wash/sanford and son izing pisses me off.

the next thing i'm trying is doubled 14oz.

couple of the twisted joys of life: breaking in new denim, and breaking in real _by god_ leather boots.

[DrZRM]

I don't disagree, I prefer raw as well. That said, there is a big difference between sanfornized and pre-washed. The sanfonization process which adds steam or moisture to denim that is stretched in sheets happens before garments are stitched. And it was introduced in the 1930s for with Lee, Wrangler and Levi's as early adopters. The sanfornized jeans are still flat and stiff when new, and its hard to tell the difference between raw and sanfornized until you soak or wash it (though the denim-istas will argue that there is a different sheen on sanfornized denim, I can't see it). Anyway, you may disown your fashion guy status, but you and the denim purists certainly agree on the essential purity of raw denim.

I think I'm in total agreement with you on breaking in "real" leather boots too, though we may disagree on how "real" boots are defined (Alden? White's? Redwings?)

[Chad]

Thanks Chase. They're all trying to look like UFC fighter shirts. I love the UFC, can't stand the fashion.

Hows come no one said Wranglers yet? Don't know where they're made but if I worked outside everyday I'd wear them. You can buy 4 pair for $150.

Whatever you get is fine. Just no ass-embroidery-embellishments, please.

Here's a helpful guide when pairing jeans with t-shirts:

[WadePatton]

I think I'm in total agreement with you on breaking in "real" leather boots too, though we may disagree on how "real" boots are defined (Alden? White's? Redwings?)

Nick's--nearly identical to White's. about to get a pair overhauled. i have the ranger and hotshot--want a couple more. an engineer-type and a high-top. but thassanother thread.

no one said "wranglers" yet because they're made of papery-thin denim last time i had any, but that was probably twenty years ago. I much prefer the 14oz stuff. if i want lightweight i get BDU's.

[chasea]

Levi's archival replicas. US made. Expensive:
UNIONMADE GOODS - Levi's Vintage Clothing

[WadePatton]

be careful with unionmade, i bought some underwear from there--looked like cotton.

wasn't.

was 50/50! i didn't even know that was a possible option-for anybody! i complained, they didn't give a fuck.

[false_aesthetic]

Levi's archival replicas. US made. Expensive:
UNIONMADE GOODS - Levi's Vintage Clothing

That stuff is way rad imo except for the blahblahblah "3 dimensional effects and abrasion." so stupid imho

[lavi]

I'm working on a new pair of motorcycle boots right now....wearing them with my Costco Lucky's.

I walked into a Levis store asking for a size 36x34 in a style for someone with non-501 thighs....NADA.

[al415]

I'm quite partial to Nudi jeans. I can only find them at Bureau when I go back to Belfast on holiday. Wade, those DG jeans might be bulletproof but the website makes them look a bit like the male equivalent of "mom jeans". Do they all sit right below the nipple line? ; )

There is a custom jean shop recently opened here in town, Sweet Joeys. The guy doing the sewing grew up in Estonia during the Soviet era, when everything from rock n' roll to Levis was hard to come by. He made his living making "Levis" for his friends by reverse engineering the one pair of 501's in town. As soon as the shorts weather is over I'll be in there getting a pair made out of something nice.

[shanerpvt]

I have a pair of mountain kahki denium jeans (look simular to the DG). I like them to work in, but just feel frumpy for urban wear.

The Sweet Joeys sounds cool. I am interested to know about your experience with them if/when you give it a go.

cheers,
shaner

[Jawn P]

Way expensive, but produced entirely domestically has me saving my pennies for a pair, along with fitting me pretty damn well:

Raleigh Denim>Home

[billrick]

Way expensive, but produced entirely domestically has me saving my pennies for a pair, along with fitting me pretty damn well:

Raleigh Denim>Home

I recently looked at these at the Indigo and Cotton store, in Charleston, SC. Really, really nice.

(It was hot . . . I bought some Birdwell board shorts instead.)

[WadePatton]

Wade, those DG jeans might be bulletproof but the website makes them look a bit like the male equivalent of "mom jeans". Do they all sit right below the nipple line? ; )

yeah, the website is meh and the model/fitment is EFFING AWFUL. faster backwards pants modeling?! i've worn 'em at nahbs four years running-pay attention.

and now i'm pleased to announce another source of domestic jeans at a very reasonable price. (cheap yo). from my inbox today:

this is not an endorsement, just a notification. and i _am_ going to start getting doubled pants as i wear through 14.x oz too quickly. just don't know if i'll try the Prison Blues or the Wild Ass first. they're both available at Bailey's and other fine logging industry suppliers.

full disclosure, i do have Wild Ass buttons installed on some of my DG's. _and_ am going to make doubled shorts from the longs. be hella shorts for 30 bucks!

Bailey's - Wild Ass US-Made Double Logger Pants

[rbaker2778]

The most comfortable jeans that I have ever owned did not hold up all that well. They were Tommy Bahama. Comfortable as anything, but did not hold up. I usually wear a pair of Joe's Jeans that I really like, although they were probably in the $120 range.

FWIW, I have Gap jeans that are at least 10 years old and I still wear them.

[al415]

As a follow up to the Sweet Joey "Vlad" jeans I mentioned earlier: I went in and got measured last week. I chose a really heavyweight raw, Japanese, selvage. Vlad got the jeans to me in about three days and two fittings. They are something else. Triple stitched seems everywhere. Antique buttons that Vlad rescued from an old factory in Slovakia. They are so stiff they can stand up on their own; which is what I wanted. My next pair will be something lighter.

[sonnybiker]

black 501s

buy em 1 size small in the waist (levi's waist stretches like whoa)

wash em first in hot hot water, hot tumble dry

wear em everyday, never wash

[sonnybiker]

never had the shrink-to-fit 501s, but maybe someday i'll give em a whirl

[Justin@BlackOakVelo]

Just got a pair of APC New Standards. Pretty solid. We'll see how they hold the test of time.

[Brandon White]

Just got a pair of APC New Standards. Pretty solid. We'll see how they hold the test of time.

I had a pair of Rescues that I used for maybe 2 years. I also had a pair of New Standards that my legs just couldn't fit into - I wore them for a few weeks and the legs weren't giving any so I sold them. They will fade nicely though and are a good fit for most occasions.

With regular (daily) wear - they'll last for a little while. If you are hard on them, you'll get crotch blowout (depending on how tight) and holes in the pockets rather quickly. But see how you like them ... then next time spend a little more and get 3Sixteen. You can go to their shop in NYC - I think its part of the Self Edge shop.