consensus on RRL denim

[coopster]

Walked into the Ralph Lauren store in south coast plaza today and I stumbled upon their selvage denim RRL line of jeans which were "slim bootcut". They had my size and i tried them on. The were a little tight and they had some stitching on the front pocket that i wasnt thrilled about but they fit great. My question is how their denim compares to APC and other premium selvage jeans. Also do I need to size down 3 sizes like i would with APC?

thanks

 

[whodini]

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=11633 http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=17761 If you tried them on then you should know what size you are... APC is vanity sized from the get-go.

 

[coopster]

did you use the search feature to find those links? I put in "rrl" and it weirdly said no matches found. thank you though.

 

[whodini]

If you look at the bottom of the SW&D page there are a bunch of keywords. Just click them.

Also, Google search works better than the forum's engine.

 

[Wu Dynasty]

I believe it's because the search engine only looks for words 4 letters long or more.

 

[sho'nuff]

I have a pair of rrl and I must admit I wasn't expecting too much out of it just got it due to a good deal to be had here on sf, but to my surprise it is one of my tops jeans in my rotation in cut and quality.
I wouldn't pay the retail at rl though not because it is not worth it but I find it readily available at deep discounts as opposed to other makes carried exclusively by BiG, selfedge, and mauro

 

[dfagdfsh]

Unfortunately a lot of the RRL you find on ebay is of the older cuts which wern't as flattering/sized as well as the new ones. They've also reduced retail prices a lot on the denim, down to about ~$200 for a raw pair, which is a lot better than the $325+ they were charging. RRL denim is pretty good quality. It's not as good as some of the more expensive Japanese makers imo, but its really good for the price, especially if you can find it on sale.

 

[spacemanvt]

RRL Is fuckin nice. mauro had some only if they had my size

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Teger

Unfortunately a lot of the RRL you find on ebay is of the older cuts which wern't as flattering/sized as well as the new ones. They've also reduced retail prices a lot on the denim, down to about ~$200 for a raw pair, which is a lot better than the $325+ they were charging. RRL denim is pretty good quality. It's not as good as some of the more expensive Japanese makers imo, but its really good for the price, especially if you can find it on sale.

The current incarnation of RRL jeans are one of the best deals on the market. I'd say that the denim color is one of the most versatile out there. It is very well balanced, and unless you are looking for a very dressy jean (something I think is wierd anyway), you can't go wrong with RRL.

What Teger says about the denim is correct. For example, the denim is not nearly as nuanced as the proprietary denim that 5EP uses... but, on the other hand, the lack of a distinct green cast means that I can wear red tones with them without giving people the hint that I may be, in fact, one of Santa's elves. And of course, the same goes with the pomegranate tinted dye of some rby45RPM jeans, or the nearly purple denim used in SPURR jeans, or the nearly electric color of Sugarcane Okinawas, and so on. And at around the $200 mark, you are not going to find a better deal. Or at least, I haven't.

Yes, there are cheaper alternatives out there (Good Society, APC, etc...) but, from what I've seen, these jeans do not use as high a grade of stitching (which adds considerably to the overall cost) and for whatever reason, seem to have a lower level of QA/QC. And, at least from my limited experience with this latest incarnation of RRL, the cuts are very well calibrated. If we were to redo the 5EPxSF jean, I would take some cues from the RRL slim jean that I am wearing right now (a slightly lower rise, especially in the front, slightly (proportionally) slimmer thighs for the waist size, and a more gradual taper from the knee. The jeans seem to be truly made to fit a variety of styles. Size down 1 for a truly slim fit, or wear your true size (this is me), but a moderate carrot shape. If you really want a true carrot (say, if you are a real skateboarder, and need that extra space in the thighs), you could probably even size up one.

So, RRL = +1 = Profit!!!

Also, and this should be noted, RRL jeans have the lowest of possible markups on them due to the Ralph Lauren empire's draconian rules. So, for the customer = profit. The line has pretty limited distribution, but my friends Mauro (Farinelli, see the banner above, and the affiliate thread), and Blake (not *yet* an affiliate, but a great guy, contact details at www.loveblake.com ) both carry the line.

 

[dfagdfsh]

Also, RRL has some of the nicest washes period. If you get a chance to go to one of their stores, take a look at their super faded washes - they look better then some year old flatheads I've seen. As LA Guy says, their denim is a very clean dark indigo. It's much more of a traditional color than jeans like APCs (which look more grey to me), and really captures the whole Americana/workwear spirit. I think RRL would be more popular if it was more wildly available and people had more exposure to the denim outside of once-in-a-while ebay deals.

 

[Odd Morsel]

So where is the best place to purchase these online? Is eBay the preferred option?

 

[dfagdfsh]

The best place to purchase online is probably Farinelli's (styleforum affiliate). If they don't have a size or style you want, you can order directly from the RRL stores.

 

[onion]

Originally Posted by Odd Morsel

So where is the best place to purchase these online? Is eBay the preferred option?
eBay!!!!! I paid $50 + shipping for a pair of NWT RRL slim fit jeans. I would happily pay retail for these though. They are amazing!

 

[whodini]

I love when people say RRL isn't worth retail or isn't comparable to other denim at that price range simply because it's also available on ebay. I've been hyping these jeans for the past two years but it's nice to see them getting some recognition the past few months that seems to be snowballing.

Fok, you've been talking with Mauro, huh? I think you and I are on the same page for v.2.0.

 

[dfagdfsh]

The only issues with buying RRL jeans is that its hard to find the raw versions, and a lot of the jeans are pretty old and have very different cuts from whats retailing today. IIRC the slim jeans I saw in store are totally different than the ebay ones, same with the slim boot. The straight legs seem the same.