Wrangler is Better than Levi's

[DrapeCut]

I had been a Levi's customer for most of my life having bought multiple pairs of 501s and 511s over the years. Over time, I became frustrated with rising prices, poor quality control, and inconsistent and horrendous vanity sizing. Some research on basic denim brought me to Wrangler, which would usually never be a comparable alternative to Levi's for most younger east coast guys.
I ordered 2 pairs of the Cowboy slim jean ($44 each) and 5 pairs of Wrancher permanent press slacks ($35). I was delighted to see that they run TTS and come with a higher rise than today's 501 offering. These jeans/pants are super sturdy, versatile, and affordable. The Cowboy Slim fits more like a 80s/90s pair of Levi's than anything the latter offers today.
It seems that Levi's has marketed itself as a cool fashion brand and milked its status as the original jean maker dry.
Wrangler doesn't have the marketing, but it produces an excellent and fairly priced product.
I wish more people would realize this!

 

[emptym]

I grew up wearing Wranglers but haven't had a pair for a long time. They were the only pants that wouldn't blow out in the knees before I outgrew them. I'll take another look the next time I need a pair of jeans. I don't know if anyone sells them in my area.

Edit: If we're talking about shirts, I do have some old Wrangler shirts and definitely prefer those to Levi's versions.

 

[Despos]

A client bought an existing clothing company and jeans are part of their line. He bought every make of jeans he could find to research what was in the market and came to the same conclusion about Wrangler. They learned more from the Wrangler jeans to improve their own.

Best make of Levi's, IMO, is their "Made and Crafted" line

 

[DrapeCut]

A client bought an existing clothing company and jeans are part of their line. He bought every make of jeans he could find to research what was in the market and came to the same conclusion about Wrangler. They learned more from the Wrangler jeans to improve their own.

Best make of Levi's, IMO, is their "Made and Crafted" line

At a $100 a pair lol! I can't imagine that the quality improvement is worth the price difference.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

At a $100 a pair lol! I can't imagine that the quality improvement is worth the price difference.

If you think $100 a pair is a lot, There are some Japanese boutique denim brands I could show you...

 

[Clouseau]

Lee is better than Wrangler than is better than Levi’s.
(Speaking of Lee Japan and Lee Europe)

 

[Reiver]

Comes as no shock that wrangler are better than Levi’s as I know modern levis aren’t amazing quality.

Made and crafted look decent as do LVC however LVC prices are pretty high.

I have some Iron Heart jeans and the quality is in a different league to anything else I’ve tried, however so is the price and they are more than I’m comfortable paying for jeans on a regular basis.

 

[dieworkwear]

Surprised to read this take. I have some things from Wrangler that I like, but the line is pretty down market. The permanent crease slacks (Wrancher) are made from pure polyester. Their Western shirts are pretty poorly finished. And the denim they use for their Cowboy jeans isn't anywhere near as nice as Levi's. I have all three things -- the Wranchers, the Cowboy jeans, and the Western shirts -- and I like them. But they're not very well made and certainly worse than Levis in terms of quality. They're mostly cool because they're affordable and slightly different in terms of styling.

 

[RSS]

At my age I rarely wear jeans. If I do manual labor I just wear old khakis.

That being so I bit the bullet and got a good Japanese pair. Recently I noticed that even a former tailor of mine is making "jeans" ... maybe I should bite the bullet again. Then again, I almost never wear the first pair. Once is almost never.

__

I spent a decade in Texas one year. I remember Wrangler being very popular with the Aggie "fellers". One of them went to work for me and on his own time he was always found in Wranglers. He is still a Wrangler fan.

 

[DrapeCut]

Surprised to read this take. I have some things from Wrangler that I like, but the line is pretty down market. The permanent crease slacks (Wrancher) are made from pure polyester. Their Western shirts are pretty poorly finished. And the denim they use for their Cowboy jeans isn't anywhere near as nice as Levi's. I have all three things -- the Wranchers, the Cowboy jeans, and the Western shirts -- and I like them. But they're not very well made and certainly worse than Levis in terms of quality. They're mostly cool because they're affordable and slightly different in terms of styling.

Well, none of this stuff is high end by any means. I bought the Wranchers as a cheap retro leisure slack that doesn't need dry cleaning. Keep in mind that Wrangler has a lower end 5 star line, which is sold at Walmart-type retailers.
I'm really not a denim guy and won't spend $200 on Japanese selvedge rigid etc. jeans.

 

[Despos]

Surprised to read this take. I have some things from Wrangler that I like, but the line is pretty down market. The permanent crease slacks (Wrancher) are made from pure polyester. Their Western shirts are pretty poorly finished. And the denim they use for their Cowboy jeans isn't anywhere near as nice as Levi's. I have all three things -- the Wranchers, the Cowboy jeans, and the Western shirts -- and I like them. But they're not very well made and certainly worse than Levis in terms of quality. They're mostly cool because they're affordable and slightly different in terms of styling.

My friend analyzed every clothing piece in the line for fit and contrasted each fit with the most current industry data of proportions. Found what was off and could be improved across the entire line. His lines started selling off the charts. He was recognized and received awards within the industry and a few of his doors set his garments as the standard bearer of sizing and fit. The clothes weren't high end in any way. What they learned from Wrangler was about the sizing and fit and how well it worked with his demographic. Quality of Wrangler make or cloth was not the point. He gave me a couple pairs of the Wranglers they liked for my opinion and I would only wear them to cut down trees or work in a field. Didn't work for me.

 

[Clouseau]

 

[venessian]

Lee is better than Wrangler than is better than Levi’s.
(Speaking of Lee Japan and Lee Europe)

I would agree with this, although I have never owned Lee Japan or Lee Europe (did not even know those are things).
In my lifetime of acquiring and constantly wearing jeans:
Levi's: were very good when I was a teen/college, but then got pretty bad around the late '90's iirc, just really cheap, knees split on looking at them, belt loops ripped out, weird either too-wide or too-skinny fit, etc. Levi's may have improved somewhat lately, judging by a couple of more recent pairs, but I also do not wear them as hard these days.

Wrangler: always felt higher quality/longer lasting than Levi's.

Lee (in USA): felt the best quality/weight/durability/color of the three, and the fit was great, for me at least. The problem is they were/are the hardest brand to find in my area.

Those brands are my limit.
I am not interested in more expensive niche-y show-off exotic jeans; the whole thing just feels too frou-frou, even though I wear jeans a lot of the time.

 

[venessian]

Spoiler

Haute-c selvedge AND "fun socks", in 1972! Way ahead of his time!

 

[usctrojans31]

I also heard that reindeer are better than people.