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What does "relaxed fit" mean today?

Sprezzatura2010

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Yesterday, my Chimala buckle-backs came in from the Farinelli's flash sale. (They were on my doorstep on Saturday, but I was not home.) They are very nice jeans. I like the detailing and the fit.

Chimala advertises these jeans as "relaxed fit." Yet, when comparing their measurements, I find they are the a little smaller than Nudie RRDS's with the same size waistband, and have about the same rise. (I expect, like the RRDS's, they will stretch out a bit.) The KMW 1950 and Earnest Sewn Fulton.50 are also similar in size above the knee. Likewise, a made-in-1998 (and heavily worn since then) Helmut Lang "Vintage Classic Denim: Boot Cut" have a similar rise and measurement through to the knee. (The 'Mut "Boot Cuts" taper more from the knee to the hem than the newer jeans!) When I bought those HL's, they were considered skinny jeans!

Jeans to jeans, they are also considerably smaller/tighter than the other jeans I bought, in PRPS's "Impala" fit. (Farinelli's did not have measurements for those.) Those jeans, along with Rogan Original cut and others, are more my definition of "relaxed fit."

I work out a little, but not much. Are the KMW 1950, vintage Helmut Lang, Earnest Sewn Fulton and such really considered "relaxed fit" today, or did Chimala lose something in translation?

NOTE: this post is not a "complaint." The measurements were there, after all, and the jeans are great. They fit me as well as many of my other favorites do!
smile.gif
And chances are they will stretch a bit all around.

But "relaxed fit," subjective though it may be, does not seem appropriate to me.
 

Davidko19

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Depends who you ask. Here, I think relaxed fit means just a wider leg than normal but not much. Pre-SF relaxed fit for me meant big and baggy. But now a relaxed fit means extra room but not sloppily so.

I gots big legs and its all subjective. The 2010s I have are my favorite jeans and would consider them "average" for me. The RRDS I have finally stretched out to the point they are comfy but they were nut tight for a while around the ass and thighs - those I woulda called skinny jeans for me. So yea, I dont know what baggy would be for me...
 

ppllzz

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i have a pair of sevens that were relaxed fit but were fairly tight, iirc

i would say it varies from brand to brand, "slim fit" from brooks brothers is probably not even as slim as the looser fit from boo (can't remember whati ts called... f body?)
 

LA Guy

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"Fit" is all relative. I have tons of jeans archived, and what would have been considered "lowrise" in 2003 would be considered "regular rise" in 2009, and what would be called "slim fit" in 2003 would probably be considered "regular" or even "relaxed" in 2009. This is not limited to jeans and casualwear. I have a suit that was considered slim back in 2001, that I just can't wear now because I feel that it fits like a sack (though really, Helmut Lang never cut any sack suits,) because of the current trend for very slim suits with very short skirts. I remember in the 80s and 90s looking at old pictures of singers from the 70s and late 60's and thinking that they must be ridiculously uncomfortable.
 

Babar

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I had the same experience when trying on my old Helmut Lang Turn Up Cuts (from when the jeans were from a separate Helmut Lang Jeans line) the other day. Back when I got them I felt they were incredibly slender and was pretty unsure of the tapered legs, but now I'd say the fit is more like a repro cut or something.. Back then I'd probably consider my current 19cm Diors to be like a girls jean in comparison, but now I don't even think those look particularly skinny.
 

ppllzz

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on wiki it says helmut use to be known for jeans. is this true?

edit: everything on wiki is true, what i meant to say is, can one of the people who posted in this thread and have experience with pre theory helmut tell me what it was like?
 

Babar

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Originally Posted by andyliu52
on wiki it says helmut use to be known for jeans. is this true? edit: everything on wiki is true, what i meant to say is, can one of the people who posted in this thread and have experience with pre theory helmut tell me what it was like?
Helmut Lang used to be one of very few designer brands with a great denim line, at a time where most designers either had a pretty uninspired jeans lineup or none at all (i.e Prada, Jil Sander, Gucci etc). He was among the first to do >$200 jeans and denim with intricate finishes, fabrics and washes (jeans with silk blends or polyurethane coating for instance). All the cuts were of course also available in raw and rinse versions that are really quite comparable to APC in terms of styling, but with a higher price tag to boot..
 

lemmywinks

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It means you fat.
 

Rye GB

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Relaxed to me is a jean with the following:

10"+ front rise
16"+ leg opening

Hip and thigh measurements are relative to the size that you buy but 21"+ hip and 12+" thigh on a 32" waist I would consider relaxed.
 

uhurit

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Too often I ended up with baggy fit when in fact buying "relaxed" sight unseen. These days to achieve relaxed, I buy slim, sized up one or two. It does the job.
 

modual

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Originally Posted by Rye GB
Relaxed to me is a jean with the following:

10"+ front rise
16"+ leg opening

Hip and thigh measurements are relative to the size that you buy but 21"+ hip and 12+" thigh on a 32" waist I would consider relaxed.


These are pretty much the same measurements of my new standards tagged 28 after stretch
 

Brian SD

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Relaxed fit to me just means non-constricting, AKA not skinny. That's why I don't trust the term "relaxed fit," because it means so many different things depending on who you talk to.
 

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