Wrangler is Better than Levi's

[Phileas Fogg]

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.

men of a certain age can find casual wear confusing at best, intimidating at worst. This is particularly true with denim.
Do I wear my shirt in or out?
Do I wear sneakers or loafers?
Do I turn the cuffs up or button them?

 

[pwbower]

I grow old, I grow old. I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled ...

 

[Count de Monet]

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.

Well, that wasn’t my argument. I too will pay more for greater expected longevity for an item subject to physical stress.

My point was in response to the notion that folks who wear tailored clothing and also 501’s/Lee’s/Wranglers have somehow tossed out the window any interest in appearance or quality once they slide toward the casual end of the spectrum.

 

[BB11]

Well, that wasn’t my argument. I too will pay more for greater expected longevity for an item subject to physical stress.

My point was in response to the notion that folks who wear tailored clothing and also 501’s/Lee’s/Wranglers have somehow tossed out the window any interest in appearance or quality once they slide toward the casual end of the spectrum.

I think jeans are not for me a fashion statement, they are jeans for casual or work but still just jeans, I have never bought fashion jeans, why bother, I have never put a crease in jeans like some on my friends from the south. I put khakis one notch above jeans, these are comfortable clothing to be worn however the user wishes. To go to work with jeans and a sportcoat would never be my style but it is ok if you want especially to go out to dinner, etc. Jeans are jeans, but I am old school, jeans were never a style clothing but a utilitarian article. Jeans and a sweatshirt, flannel shirt, sweater are the way I use them. I did not wear jeans for well over 10 years, just khakis for casual wear. I think it was a matter of fit as well as I just liked khakis better at that time. When you find a Jean that fits the way you like buy it and enjoy it. I am happy some US companies are making jeans, I wish it had never changed.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I think jeans are not for me a fashion statement, they are jeans for casual or work but still just jeans, I have never bought fashion jeans,

just so everyone reading is on the same page, could you please define a “fashion Jean”?

 

[vdubiv]

It blows my mind that this thread has gone on this long, for me here's how it was when I grew up

Levi's = cool kids
wrangler & lee = your family is poor and you shop at Walmart

living in Europe the past 3 years I did see Lee outlets and factory stores in the mall's and it blew my wife and I away because we just do not associate those brands with that level of provenance.

Without polluting this thread too much in my opinion there are soo many brands that make great jeans with great fabrics, basically you just need to pick a comfortable price point you're willing to shop in and go from there. To note the only time I wear Levi's is to do work in, like they were intended for, because there are better more "fashionable" brands available.

 

[dieworkwear]

Levi's = cool kids
wrangler & lee = your family is poor and you shop at Walmart

I think this is broadly true. Although, I bought my Wrangler jeans because I think the people who shop at Walmart look cool.

 

[BB11]

just so everyone reading is on the same page, could you please define a “fashion Jean”?

Not my term but those fancy embroidery on the pockets, any jeans not designed for me like old Levis, Lee’s & Wranglers. Even the old Seafarer Jean bellbottoms from the ‘60’s were not regular jeans but fit a nitch, like navy bell bottoms. I am not a young guy and anything called Dress Jeans would be Fashion jeans to me. Jeans are not in my small world for dress wear. But I am more of a retro guy still longing for the old MIA Champion Sweats Of my youth.

 

[dieworkwear]

Not my term but those fancy embroidery on the pockets, any jeans not designed for me like old Levis, Lee’s & Wranglers.

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but the "fashion jeans" you're referring to are made more like old Levi's than modern mainline Levi's.

The "made in USA," "made like 1960s Levi's," "made to a tougher standard" jeans are the $200 jeans.

 

[BB11]

I think this is broadly true. Although, I bought my Wrangler jeans because I think the people who shop at Walmart look cool.

We never looked at it like that. Levi’s were indeed the ’cool’ brand for most bur Lee and Wrangler were never for the poor although I did not grow up in a rich household. We were lower middle class, working class to some and we never thought about that until years later when it became common terminology. Going to play touch football on the street in jeans, not even sure we were aware of the brand until JHS, and a hooded Champion was the way we dressed.

 

[BB11]

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but the "fashion jeans" you're referring to are made more like old Levi's than modern Levi's.

The "made in USA," "made like 1960s Levi's," "made to a tougher standard" jeans are the $200 jeans.

Well I browsed the Levi’s site yesterday and did not see this model, it would have been nice to.

 

[BB11]

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but the "fashion jeans" you're referring to are made more like old Levi's than modern mainline Levi's.

The "made in USA," "made like 1960s Levi's," "made to a tougher standard" jeans are the $200 jeans.

Maybe you did not see this, “Not my term but those fancy embroidery on the pockets, any jeans not designed for me like old Levis, Lee’s & Wranglers. Even the old Seafarer Jean bellbottoms from the ‘60’s were not regular jeans but fit a nitch, like navy bell bottoms. I am not a young guy and anything called Dress Jeans would be Fashion jeans to me. Jeans are not in my small world for dress wear.”.

 

[apd90700]

Marketing to me points Wrangler as a more "western" inspired jean -- cowboys and farm hands. Real working mans jeans.

Levi's are more your everyday mans jean. Jeans for the masses.

Lees are more your budget conscious jean. Seldom do I see -- maybe the ads are very banal -- marking regarding Lees as anything other than another alternative.

There are obviously brands that make high-end jeans, and those brands are not really comparable to Lees, Levi's or Wrangler since the craftmanship is different. That said, you can find Levi's in most department stores, they carry tons of size options and configurations, so if you're on a budget Levi's aren't a bad choice.

 

[dieworkwear]

Maybe you did not see this, “Not my term but those fancy embroidery on the pockets, any jeans not designed for me like old Levis, Lee’s & Wranglers. Even the old Seafarer Jean bellbottoms from the ‘60’s were not regular jeans but fit a nitch, like navy bell bottoms. I am not a young guy and anything called Dress Jeans would be Fashion jeans to me. Jeans are not in my small world for dress wear.”.

Yes, but your comment here:

Maybe you did not see this, “Not my term but those fancy embroidery on the pockets, any jeans not designed for me like old Levis, Lee’s & Wranglers.

... sets a new clause after the first comma, suggesting that "any jeans not designed for me like old Levis" is a separate category from the others.

Levis Vintage Clothing is a faithful reproduction of old Levi's. They offer the same jeans sold in the 1950s and '60s. They cost $200 or so.

3sixteen, Tellason, Raleigh Denim, and many others sell made in USA jeans made from similar materials as old Levi's, and they cost about $200 or so.

 

[BB11]

These are on Amazon, not $200 but I do not know how these fit. Like old style? https://www.amazon.com/Levis-Mens-O...words=levis+made+in+usa&qid=1620663392&sr=8-8