Why Selvedge over mall brands: basic Q's

[chronoaug]

What kinda jeans are you wearing that look like crap, enigma? Sucks for you, man. I like lookin' gooooddd at parties

 

[bleachboy]

Originally Posted by Teger

I chose to express my appreciation for quality, well made, well fitting brands by purchasing them. I don't enjoy being a banner for a generic mall brand. Also, value is derived from personal appreciation. Your definition of cool and mine are probably different; regardless of your opinion (or the popular opinion) of an item, my opinion is the only one that counts.

Regardless, I bet if I took a Hong Kong made-to-measure suit made of good quality material with pick stitching and functioning buttonholes and sewed a Kiton label into it, you'd think it was a better suit and suddenly be willing to pay twice as much for it.

Nobody is immune to label identity.

 

[whodini]

Originally Posted by Enigma89

Most people here are just beating around the bush but lets be honest. Except for the neat fact that your jeans get to fade over time, there is nothing really better with selvedge over mall brands.

Wow. Thank you for breaking down the "selvedge" mystery for us all.

 

[Doctor Quack]

People seem to forget that selvedge denim ≠ raw/dry denim.

Originally Posted by Enigma89

Except for the neat fact that your jeans get to fade over time, there is nothing really better with selvedge over mall brands.
Just like there's nothing really better with other sorts of obscure versions of typical products available to the modern consumer. There are certainly subjective arguments and justifications made for the denim popular here, but that doesn't diminish the objective qualities that some of these jeans may have that make them better than their more widely available counterparts.

 

[jet]

So tha'ts the selvedge myth.

Come to think of it ****** does look finer in drapey stonewashed mall brand commercial denim that have been frayed in the most unlikely of places and have beautifully intricate back pocket status indicators.

 

[brohymn]

Originally Posted by Enigma89

Most people here are just beating around the bush but lets be honest. Except for the neat fact that your jeans get to fade over time, there is nothing really better with selvedge over mall brands.
The worst part is that I can't tell if you're trolling or not.

 

[greasypeanut]

Originally Posted by jet

So tha'ts the selvedge myth.

Come to think of it ****** does look finer in drapey stonewashed mall brand commercial denim that have been frayed in the most unlikely of places and have beautifully intricate back pocket status indicators.

you know those mall brands make alot of jeans that dont have distressing and such and as for the back pocket designs...even those nice japanese companies have designs on them that are just as big as true religions or r&r. flathead and imperial jeans come to mind. sure japanese jeans are better quality and such, but its not like those other jeans are crap quality and are going to rip on you the day u buy them.

that being said. i like raw nudies just because i can personalize with my own fades and whiskering etc. if seven or true religion or w/e had jeans like them, i wouldnt mind getting them.

 

[who8mahrice]

Why would people buy $100+ 7's, Citizens, Diesel, etc. over $15 Levi's you can get at Walmart? A lot of those reasons are why I wear Japanese dry denim.

 

[Britalian]

Bought a pair of Diesels in HK on discount: the best fitting I've ever had. And very comfortable material and well cut. (This was 15 years ago and not bought any since so can't say weather the latter holds true today)
Also had APC and were a great colour but a ***** to break in.

I'm sure if APC could be in Diesel's market position, they wouldn't hesitate.

 

[Lel]

This thread is pretty much beyond redemption since there is no actual meaningful discussion going on. However I will throw in one point, for the majority of my senior year I wore a pair of "raw" Levis 511. They were my only pair and I wore them day to day for a good 9-10 months of wear.

Now broken in, they are the most incredibly comfortable pair of jeans I have ever felt. They are soft and buttery in my hands, but not delicate. The denim still feels strong and sturdy, but when I wear them the feeling is incredibly. It's almost as if the jeans were made for me, and in a way they were. It's also interesting that aside from wear, the denim has taken on an interesting shade. I'm not sure how this happened, but I like it a lot, and adds character.

My point is that these jeans will beat any pre-distressed jeans for me. Ever. They fit perfectly on me and even have various stages of "fit" from skinny to slim-slouchy. Putting on any sort of pre-distressed jean in comparison is nothing. It's like sauce in a can compared to pasta you've made yourself.

 

[Doppler4000]

There isn't anything "wrong" with the expensive "status" brands.... but you're asking that question in a forum filled with people who obviously have other tastes (and perfectly good reasons for those tastes).... so what would you expect? The SF eilitism gets a little crazy at times, but this is a group who likes what they like and seems to go for the dressier casual looks that you get with non pre-distroyed jeans, which I often like too.

I personally would never buy TR, 7FAM, etc.... but I don't buy much APC, Nud, etc. either.... for the same money I can buy a few pairs of dark non-destroyed 514's that look and fit great.

 

[whatuknowaboutthat]

Originally Posted by brohymn

"mall brand jeans"? TRs, 7fam, and R&Rs are sold at generally higher class stores than your average Anchor Blue or Spencer's Gifts. What kind of weird malls are you guys going to?

Call them "celebrity trash jeans". Although, "bullshit status jeans" has a better ring to it.

Lenox mall here in ATL has TR store and 7fam is opening up soon. But to balance out the bullshit, Lenox also has a semi-stand alone RRL store which has tons and tons of goodies.

 

[bleachboy]

A lot of the Japanese denim is made on looms that were purchased from Levi Strauss in the 60's when Levi's moved to faster looms. They produce much more heavyweight, durable denim than the new looms. I can certainly testify that APC denim lasts just about forever.

 

[PG2G]

That sounds like something printed on a tag that came with a pair of jeans.

 

[onion]

Originally Posted by Enigma89

There are some days when I go to parties that I seriously regret wearing selvedge jeans. I can look around the room and a lot of people will have perfect fitting jeans that look completely socially acceptable, but my jeans, even though much more expensive and exclusive, are still being broken in and still look like crap for the next couple of weeks.
That's funny, because the complete opposite has always happened to me. A few of my friends wear TR and SFAM exclusively. I've never seen or heard them get a compliment on their jeans from anyone. On the other hand, I cannot count the amount of compliments I've gotten on my raw denimz.

Then again I don't wear "brand new jeans" out in public until they drape properly. I will be the first to admit raw denim looks horrible new (assuming it's heavily starched); however, "breaking in" jeans only takes 4 or 5 days of wearing them around the house, so I don't see a problem.