Jeans: Life Span?

[allcapitan]

How long do you hang on to your jeans? I've only taken more than a passing interest in fashion for the past year or so. Prior to that, I'd buy a couple pairs of jeans and just wear those as long as I could, regardless of changes in fashion trends.

Now, I'm much more aware of washes, cuts, fits, etc. So what is a "typical" span of time in which you hang on to your jeans? Two years? Four? At what point do you say: these are out of fashion? Or, do you rotate out jeans so frequently you don't concern yourself with this question?

 

[capnpyro]

Jeans SHOULD last you for a 5+ years of decent wear in an ideal world.

HOWEVER, I've had two pair raw denim, some nudie BO's and SD 103's. The BO's ripped to shreds in the crotch and further behind the crotch so I'd repaired it twice until the point at which the whole crotchal deal exploded into a thread filled dust cloud. The SD 103's have this weird thing where the button fly looks like it's being pulled apart so it looks like my fly is constantly undone. As sad as it is my most reliable jeans at this point are my rock and republics, and earnest sewns. I also had a pair of 7's that suffered the same exploded crotch fate as the BO's. I also have a pair of heavely distressed diesel's that I don't wear anymore that lasted me 2+ years.

To make a long story short I'm getting about 1-2 years right now before they become unwearable and the raw jeans are becoming worthless faster than my 'lame' predistressed denim.

[Edit: Maybe I missed the point of your question, I answered it in a practical sense where you might of meant as far as fashion trends]

 

[uNotAzFreshAzImIz]

How would jeans be out of fashion , as they are a staple of a man's casual attire

 

[Dexstar]

diff cuts/washes go in and out of style... tho not for long seemingly

 

[Stazy]

I usually only keep my jeans for a year.

 

[Hawkeye]

I have old Levis from the 60's and 70's that are still in pretty good shape, and I expect to keep wearing those for a long time. I know people think raw jeans are only a fad, but I really don't expect to switch over to True Religion in a few years, just doesn't suit my style.

As for "out of fashion", I don't think Levis repros are in fashion right now, it's just a classic look, and I for one would rather look and dress like Steve McQueen or Paul Newman than any fashionable person right now. APC's and Nudies, are just the jeans I can get away with since Im young(ish), I'd say those are the ones that will filter out of my closet sooner than later (now I'm picturing that 65 year old man I saw in Nudies this Fall.

)

 

[LA Guy]

IME, APC and 5EPs have a good lifespan, about a year to a year and a half, which is really long for me (usually, 1 year is doing pretty well.) I think that the secret is good to great denim combined with modern construction techniques. Nudies are designed to age quickly, and do so, so you get a quick fix, but also the jeans are not as long lived as some other jeans. My observation of the Japanese brands is that the denim is generally amazing, but that the construction is not generally as good as the construction of the better modern brands, and the their are often design flaws in the jeans. Compounded with the fact that people here often wear the jeans considerably tighter

 

[chronoaug]

Raw jeans may go out of GQ style, but people will be wearing them in the future. Obviously, as we get older, we won't be wearing these slim jeans as much. Wouldn't be that hard to switch over to a more relaxed cut. All the big japanese brands and american brands offer more relaxed age appropriate jeans though. Good fitting/quality jeans with minimal to no predistressing is something that has been around forever. I'm certainly not worried about them going out of style.

About the life span thing. I'd imagine a more relaxed cut bought in my size, or a size up for more comfort will last a lot longer than japanese jeans(i admit the functional construction isn't top notch although they are certainly well made) that are sized down and tight all over. Of course we're gonna get crotch blowouts when you see people without full range of motion in the jeans(myself included). Plus, most people don't wear the same jeans day after day without washing them, most people don't put starch on their jeans, etc... If i wore my jeans like i was supposed to(not tight) and had a few pairs that i rotated along with some other pants. They'd last a long ass time.

 

[PG2G]

A pair of 45rpm will last you forever They'll repair them for free.

 

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by chronoaug

About the life span thing. I'd imagine a more relaxed cut bought in my size, or a size up for more comfort will last a lot longer than japanese jeans(i admit the functional construction isn't top notch although they are certainly well made) that are sized down and tight all over. Of course we're gonna get crotch blowouts when you see people without full range of motion in the jeans(myself included). Plus, most people don't wear the same jeans day after day without washing them, most people don't put starch on their jeans, etc... If i wore my jeans like i was supposed to(not tight) and had a few pairs that i rotated along with some other pants. They'd last a long ass time.

Very true, my father has gone years and years on the same couple pairs of Levis with no problems at all. He sizes them a bit big, and only wears them nights and weekends, but he's not trying to impress anyone. Gets okay fades too, for washed jeans.

 

[Fuuma]

In my case forever, depends on your lifestyle I guess.

 

[Get Smart]

I've never had a pair of jeans fall apart on me, but I don't bike 10 miles 5x/week..just a lot of sitting and a tiny bit of walking are all my jeans get

 

[cheapmutha]

ill be impressed if my everyday jeans last a year the way i wear them. some of my jeans im sure will last a lifetime. id say jeans should last for at least 300 wears.

 

[tljenkin]

Originally Posted by Get Smart

I've never had a pair of jeans fall apart on me, but I don't bike 10 miles 5x/week..just a lot of sitting and a tiny bit of walking are all my jeans get


Haha, that's actually exactly what I do to mine. A bike is my main mode of transportation, and I just like biking over this massive bridge in my city every day. My Sams are the only jeans that have held up to the treatment without looking like they're 20x's older than they actually are. They're incredibly durable. Is it weird that I actaully get angry at them for this? I feel like they're taunting me.

They have a nice fade pattern developing, though. Very curly and swoopy (for lack of a better word) whiskers.

 

[Brian SD]

I haven't had any jeans rip or fall apart on me aside from the wallet prongs tearing up the back pockets (I REALLy need a new wallet). My 5EPs have seen around 400 wears probably and still haven't even ripped an entire hole in em.