Wrangler is Better than Levi's

[BB11]

I agree 100 percent. So here's my question: What would you consider a fair price in 2021for jeans cut and sewn by workers earning a living wage that also fit well, look good and use quality materials?

If I could find nice jeans made in a safe for workers facility where they earned a decent wage $100 would be considered, but $200 for jeans the way I wear them would be a bit much. As I mentioned in another reply I remember paying $8 for Levi’s made in the US in the 1960’s.

 

[BB11]

Don't know which is better, but Levi's are worn by Democrats, Wranglers are worn by Republicans.

?

 

[Clouseau]

If I could find nice jeans made in a safe for workers facility where they earned a decent wage $100 would be considered, but $200 for jeans the way I wear them would be a bit much. As I mentioned in another reply I remember paying $8 for Levi’s made in the US in the 1960’s.

€100 (more or less $100) is the limit for me. Now I like bargains and I usually buy during sales so I had several jeans that cost much more for less than that.

 

[dieworkwear]

If I could find nice jeans made in a safe for workers facility where they earned a decent wage $100 would be considered, but $200 for jeans the way I wear them would be a bit much. As I mentioned in another reply I remember paying $8 for Levi’s made in the US in the 1960’s.

I've heard rumors about the cost of making jeans in the US. Won't repeat them since they're just rumors. But unless you're buying at a wholesale price or doing something like Gustin's crowdsourcing model, my understanding is that you can't sell MiUSA jeans for $100 once you take into account labor, material, and all the necessary mark-ups through the retail chain.

3sixteen, Raleigh, Tellason, and many others sell MiUSA jeans. But they're about $200 to $250.

The price doesn't seem surprising to me. Gitman shirts are $185; Quoddy shoes are $275. The price seems very in line with other MiUSA items. But this market is shrinking because most people don't want to pay for these clothes given the alternatives.

Many years ago, when American Apparel relaunched, they did an experiment on their website. For every item on their website, they gave you two options -- one made abroad and one made in the United States. The two items would be identical in every way except for where they were produced. They were also priced accordingly. People could buy the MiUSA version if they wanted to. Since most of the items at American Apparel now show "imported," I assume consumers signaled they did not, in fact, want to pay more.

 

[BB11]

When I was working, Pre-retirement I had left management to get back in the field. I worked in veterinary pharma and at that time was calling on Dairy vets and dairy farms. My basic attire, which differed from my Corbin wool slacks and Alden tassel loafers when not in suits was now jeans, flannel shirts and Red Wing work boots. Those were fun days but the driving was a killer.

 

[mak1277]

I think mainline is fine and it works well for people who don't have a strong interest in denim. If you're a CM-type guy and don't care about how jeans fade, then you may also even be better off with something simple like this.

So you *do* understand! I knew it

 

[dieworkwear]

So you *do* understand! I knew it

I don't think there's anything wrong with mainline Levi's. I think I've said that early on in the thread. My point is mostly at the disconnect between how much some guys care about tailoring and how little they care about other parts of their wardrobe. Unless you live a lifestyle that supports wearing tailored clothing all the time, it seems strange to me to go from bespoke suits to Costco's shorts.

Sometimes CM guys talk about casualwear with such disdain and/ or they're shocked that someone would pay more than $50 for a pair of jeans. That's the weird disconnect for me. Most people have to be in casualwear some part of the time. If you enjoy clothes, it seems natural to care about the clothes you wear a good deal of the time.

 

[Clouseau]

I don’t want to offend anyone but I noticed than when CM guys dress SW&D style it doesn’t look good most of the time (of course there are exceptions), while in the contrary more SW&D guys can dress quite well in CM. A guy like Urban Composition comes to mind.

 

[mak1277]

I don't think there's anything wrong with mainline Levi's. I think I've said that early on in the thread. My point is mostly at the disconnect between how much some guys care about tailoring and how little they care about other parts of their wardrobe. Unless you live a lifestyle that supports wearing tailored clothing all the time, it seems strange to me to go from bespoke suits to Costco's shorts.

Sometimes CM guys talk about casualwear with such disdain and/ or they're shocked that someone would pay more than $50 for a pair of jeans. That's the weird disconnect for me. Most people have to be in casualwear some part of the time. If you enjoy clothes, it seems natural to care about the clothes you wear a good deal of the time.

There’s an awful lot of casual wear that exists in between a suit and jeans though.

I’m certainly an oddball but I find that denim is almost never my preference for anything I’m doing. If I’m just knocking around, I’m going to pick something more comfortable...if I’m going someplace where I want to look good, I’m going to pick something that looks nicer (even something casual like cords or chinos). This all contributes to the fact that I haven’t bought a pair of jeans in a decade, so maybe I shouldn’t even be in this thread.

 

[Andy57]

Lol, that's not a rude post. Your Levi's "purchasing process" became the forum's business when you injected it into this public discussion.

It most certainly is rude.

This:
This unapologetic blind devotion to a brand is ridiculous.
is rude.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I believe Levi’s still makes a raw, slevedge version of the 501 for those who still want it.

 

[Count de Monet]

I don't think there's anything wrong with mainline Levi's. I think I've said that early on in the thread. My point is mostly at the disconnect between how much some guys care about tailoring and how little they care about other parts of their wardrobe. Unless you live a lifestyle that supports wearing tailored clothing all the time, it seems strange to me to go from bespoke suits to Costco's shorts.

Sometimes CM guys talk about casualwear with such disdain and/ or they're shocked that someone would pay more than $50 for a pair of jeans. That's the weird disconnect for me. Most people have to be in casualwear some part of the time. If you enjoy clothes, it seems natural to care about the clothes you wear a good deal of the time.

i appreciate the fact it seems strange to you but it is the easiest thing in the world to me. However, it does strike me that you may proceed from a false premise, ie you seem to think someone doesn’t “care” about clothes or how they look if one chooses to wear off the rack 501’s (or similar) when wearing jeans.

At some level, whenever I exit the house I “care” about what I’m wearing. But, I don’t wear the same thing to court I wear to haul a truck load of firewood or to run errands. A great line up thread was “I don’t want a pair of jeans that have to come with an instruction manual.” To me, that’s not an indication of not caring about one’s clothes. Rather, it indicates having given the matter some thought and making a decision that makes sense to them, even if others reach a different decision.

 

[dieworkwear]

i appreciate the fact it seems strange to you but it is the easiest thing in the world to me. However, it does strike me that you may proceed from a false premise, ie you seem to think someone doesn’t “care” about clothes or how they look if one chooses to wear off the rack 501’s (or similar) when wearing jeans.

At some level, whenever I exit the house I “care” about what I’m wearing. But, I don’t wear the same thing to court I wear to haul a truck load of firewood or to run errands. A great line up thread was “I don’t want a pair of jeans that have to come with an instruction manual.” To me, that’s not an indication of not caring about one’s clothes. Rather, it indicates having given the matter some thought and making a decision that makes sense to them, even if others reach a different decision.

? When did I say that someone wearing Levi's mainline 501s indicates that they don't care about their clothes? I was only speaking to what I read as an attitude around here for clothes that aren't suits and sport coats.

I don't think there's anything wrong with Levi's 501s. As I said, I buy them for family members. I was mostly speaking to this attitude of, "what's the cheapest? I don't really care about this stuff, so I just want to get it over with." If someone gets joy out of their 501s and it fits into their wardrobe/ lifestyle, I think that's great. I think it's odd if someone cares a lot about suits and sport coats, and then just sees casualwear as something that's not worth consideration.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I don’t want to offend anyone but I noticed than when CM guys dress SW&D style it doesn’t look good most of the time (of course there are exceptions), while in the contrary more SW&D guys can dress quite well in CM. A guy like Urban Composition comes to mind.

There are a few who swing both ways... as someone who was very much a CM guy in the past but has found asylum in SW&D, I think there are two main reasons for your insightful observation:

1. Getting SW&D right is much harder, because there's a great deal more complexity and fewer clear rules. However, the rules are much clearer in CM, and you can dress really well in a CM idiom just by following those rules*. And once you've internalized them, there's not so much to think about. Whereas that's never the case in SW&D. So maybe people who dress really well on the SW&D side are used to thinking a bit more about a wider range of style issues and are therefore (potentially) more adaptable.

2. The curse of 'smart casual' - very simply, that's the swamp in which too many CM guys are still stuck when they try to do SW&D.

*This doesn't apply to the very best dressed people in CM of course: in this thread, @Andy57 being an obvious example.

 

[DoubleDouble]

At some level, whenever I exit the house I “care” about what I’m wearing. But, I don’t wear the same thing to court I wear to haul a truck load of firewood or to run errands.

The argument that clothing that gets beaten up is not worth paying for has always been weird to me. The more I pay for a thing the higher the expectations, the more I hope it will hold up to abuse, at least on the SW&D side of things.

I've done everything from pottery, to hiking, to disaster relief work in raw denim and Wolverine 1000s. They are still holding up and look better than ever.