Durable jeans for less than $40? - Page 4

I was under the impression that Gap's 1969 premium denim jeans were also pretty dang durable, too. I just picked up a pair from the local store, today, for 29.95. From what I heard, they should last a good while.

I got some too. The cut was quite similar to the PDC GTO I have just not as slim on the thighs, and the colour was rather nice with subtle wear patterns. I hope you are right but at 29.95 I should not complain.

Not so. I got a Levi Premium Slim Trucker Jacket (557) that was labeled "raw"------but it had elbow honeycomb fakery and i suspect it was in one-wash state.

They can be raw but still distressed. Club monaco had a pair of raw selvedge last season, but were ruined by ugly perma-wrinkles. The denim was still in an unwashed state.

I've had two pairs of Rustlers and two pairs of Levi's 501. All of these jeans were rather cheap.

The first rustler were the cheapest available at Wal-Mart circa 2003. The raw "boot leg" jeans that are ~$10. I wore them every day for at least six months. They fit nice, were simple, and did not develop holes. I washed them about once every couple of weeks and things went great. A friend needed some jeans and he liked the simplicity of these so I hooked him up.

The second rustler were the dark washed "straight leg" jean circa 2004 for ~$12. I wore them every day for about six months as well. They also fit nice, simple and did not develop holes. I rarely washed these and I still wear them about a year later. I think they have a couple of years of good wear before the holes start showing up.

The first Levi's 501's were from JC Penny's and they were pre-washed the darkest indigo color that was available: $~30. They fit nice. I wore them for about a year every day and rarely washed them because I was on the road in a van. They started looking _nice_ and people would always ask me where I got them and I told them JC Penny's. Soon after they started developing holes in the wallet, the crotch and the knees. I keep patching them and patching them and they look like a Frankenstein project these days. They wore out in about a year.

The second 501's were the Mexican Shrink-to-Fits that came in raw style. I ordered them for like ~$40 and they fit alright, but not as nice as the pre-washed 501. They are hard as a rock, though. These jeans just won't wear out. I wear them every day and they take forever to wear in. I'm at about three months of constant wear now and a wallet is just now starting to form in the back pocket and the legs and slowly beginning to fade. I do not wash these.

I am an expert in cheap and simple denim.

I can't make sense of that. Why offer unwashed denim that is pre-distressed??? I immediately machine washed that jacket 3 times just to even out the bizarre honeycombing on the arms. So much for my "raw" jacket.

search at discount stores like tj maxx, you might come across a great deal. i just found some rrl selvage jeans for 15.99. it takes time, but you can find great deals.

For us it makes no sense. But to the average consumer, wearing $200 jeans that look like a $30 levis 501 from Sears without wash for half a year to get 'wear marks', when you can easily buy a pre-distressed jean at Old Navy for $30 makes no sense.

The average consumer thinks the pre-distressing is cool (or is it the media and advertising that tells the average consumer that pre-distressing is cool?), so that is what the stores sell.