Are jeans supposed to fit like dress pants?

[Dan Dynamic]

The best explanation I have come across for the difference between jeans or chinos and tailored pants is in how they are designed. Jeans are designed so as to lay flat across the side seams with no center crease. Tailored pants are designed to be creased down the center. If you took a typical pattern for tailored pants and made them up in denim without pressing a crease, they would not fit or look like jeans.

Hmm, interesting. Is this why a pair of jeans may look like its legs look wider seen from the front as compared to dressier pants with the same dimensions?

 

[rjc149]

Hmm, interesting. Is this why a pair of jeans may look like its legs look wider seen from the front as compared to dressier pants with the same dimensions?

In short, yes. The crease in dress trouser legs is largely what shapes the silhouette -- uncreased dress slacks lose their form and shape and appear floppy and loose when you walk. The crease adds structure and shape to the thinner wool fabric, and slims the silhouette from the front.

Denim and chino cloth are thicker and sturdier than typical worsted wool fabric, and are generally not worn with creases since they are more casual.

 

[double00]

most typical jeans end up being around 14 oz , maybe a bit less if they are raw or sanforized ...

but worth noting that 3x1 denim comes in lighter weights ( my fave is 9oz ) and tend to get drapier in that direction , 2x1 or chambray are other options too

 

[maxalex]

A bit of abbreviated history. Jeans originated as farmer clothes. Actually as clothes for California gold miners in the 19th century--Levi Strauss, whose partner Jacob Davis invented riveted jeans, started his dry-goods shop in SF during the Gold Rush, supplying workwear for the poor suckers who came looking for gold and mostly didn't find much. (Strauss made far more money than most of his customers.) Eventually denim, which was a fabric thought to have originated in France ("de Nimes"), became the preferred clothing of farmers and cowboys for its durability and ease of care.

After WW2, Levi's jeans were adopted by motorcycle gangs in California in part because the low-rise trousers were comfortable on bikes, but also because they represented a form of pre-hippie counter-culture--we're not farmers but we're still not wearing your tailored slacks anymore. That marked the beginning of the transition of denim from genuine workwear to more of a "style" statement unrelated to work--I'm a biker dude etc. Then came the '60s and the rest is history.

So...trying to make comparisons between the fit of jeans and the fit of tailored trousers is a bit like comparing the taste of pork to pineapple. They just don't equate. Most men these days like jeans that are fairly straight and slim, with a low rise--which may be very different from what the same men wear in a pair of tailored wool trousers or even chinos. Even if you don't ride a Triumph Bonneville (or rustle up cattle on the range), you probably want jeans that fit like you might. You will probably roll up the cuffs. You might not mind grease stains or knee holes. You might wash them once a year although I would recommend spot cleaning the crotch from time to time. God forbid they should have pleats or a high rise. Don't overthink jeans.

Last word: I generally never solicit a woman's advice on my clothing--not even from my girlfriend who is a women's wear designer. With one exception: jeans. Here I am happy to get advice from women on which jeans look best on me.

 

[skylarjones892]

I like my jeans a little more fitted than my chinos and dress pants

 

[Dan Dynamic]

A bit of abbreviated history. Jeans originated as farmer clothes. Actually as clothes for California gold miners in the 19th century--Levi Strauss, whose partner Jacob Davis invented riveted jeans, started his dry-goods shop in SF during the Gold Rush, supplying workwear for the poor suckers who came looking for gold and mostly didn't find much. (Strauss made far more money than most of his customers.) Eventually denim, which was a fabric thought to have originated in France ("de Nimes"), became the preferred clothing of farmers and cowboys for its durability and ease of care.

After WW2, Levi's jeans were adopted by motorcycle gangs in California in part because the low-rise trousers were comfortable on bikes, but also because they represented a form of pre-hippie counter-culture--we're not farmers but we're still not wearing your tailored slacks anymore. That marked the beginning of the transition of denim from genuine workwear to more of a "style" statement unrelated to work--I'm a biker dude etc. Then came the '60s and the rest is history.

So...trying to make comparisons between the fit of jeans and the fit of tailored trousers is a bit like comparing the taste of pork to pineapple. They just don't equate. Most men these days like jeans that are fairly straight and slim, with a low rise--which may be very different from what the same men wear in a pair of tailored wool trousers or even chinos. Even if you don't ride a Triumph Bonneville (or rustle up cattle on the range), you probably want jeans that fit like you might. You will probably roll up the cuffs. You might not mind grease stains or knee holes. You might wash them once a year although I would recommend spot cleaning the crotch from time to time. God forbid they should have pleats or a high rise. Don't overthink jeans.

Last word: I generally never solicit a woman's advice on my clothing--not even from my girlfriend who is a women's wear designer. With one exception: jeans. Here I am happy to get advice from women on which jeans look best on me.

Thank you for the brief history lesson I think I'll keep my high rise jeans then because I like them (12.5 inches rise matching my very short legs).

 

[Dan Dynamic]

I like my jeans a little more fitted than my chinos and dress pants

I thought I would like my jeans as drapey as my odd pants, but they just look baggy. I am going to make them more fitted!