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Wrangler is Better than Levi's

Phileas Fogg

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The first “premium” jeans I purchased were from APC. They are selvedge raw denim. It took some getting used to and they’re still not completely broken in as I don’t wear denim quite enough. I subsequently purchased a pair of Raleigh Denim raw selvedge.

Since then, I purchased several pair of Rag & Bone fit 2 which seems to be perfect for me.

Mildblend in Wicker Park sells Japanese denim which is something I’ve been wanting to try. That may be something I do in the fall or I’ll wait to go to Blue in Green in SoHo.
 

Clouseau

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When I was young (and not wealthy) I only had one pair of jeans at a time and worn them until they were good for the garbage.
Now i think that jeans are like shoes, the more that you have, the less each pair gets worn and they all last longer...
How many do you have, and which brands? Of course I suppose the answer will depend if you are more a SWD or a CM guy...
 

breakaway01

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Very interesting thread -- maybe an obvious statement but jeans carry significant cultural connotations that most CM does not, so we have very different opinions about whether jeans are strictly for workwear or can be worn fashionably, whether 'high-end' denim has value, and whether there are class associations with different brands. It does mean that we'll never come to any kind of consensus as everyone is approaching this through a different lens.

All I will say about my own experience so far (for whatever it's worth) is that I don't wear jeans as workwear -- there are much better fabrics to actually work outdoors in nowadays. There are so many different cuts and types of denim fabrics out there that I personally think that limiting yourself to only one brand/style means that you're probably missing out if you wear jeans with any regularity. Wouldn't call myself a serious jeans aficionado; I have three pairs: Gustin straight, C.O.F Studio M2, and Sugar Canes. Definitely lean towards straight rather than skinny or very tapered fits. Although I like my black jeans to fit more closely than my blue jeans.
 

Clouseau

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10 pairs at the moment :blush:

5 Lees
1 LVC
2 Levi’s
1 Wrangler
1 Paul Smith
 

lefty

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“I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans,” Yves Saint Laurent told New York Magazine in November 1983. “They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity — all that I hope for in my clothes.”

lefty
 

dieworkwear

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When I was young (and not wealthy) I only had one pair of jeans at a time and worn them until they were good for the garbage.
Now i think that jeans are like shoes, the more that you have, the less each pair gets worn and they all last longer...
How many do you have, and which brands? Of course I suppose the answer will depend if you are more a SWD or a CM guy...

Seventeen pairs:

- Two pairs of 3sixteen SL-100x
- 3sixteen SL-100xk
- Drake's No. 3 (when they were made by Blackhorse)
- LVC 1947 501s
- Two pairs of Our Legacy
- Orslow 107
- COF Studio M1 and M2
- Stevenson Overall Co 767
- Flat Head 3009
- Chimala
- RRL slim-straight
- APC New Standard
- Wrangler Wrachers and Cowboy Cut
 
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Clouseau

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Seventeen pairs:

- Two pairs of 3sixteen SL-100x
- 3sixteen SL-100xk
- Drake's No. 3 (when they were made by Blackhorse)
- LVC 1947 501s
- Two pairs of Our Legacy
- Orslow 107
- COF Studio M1 and M2
- Stevenson Overall Co 767
- Flat Head 3009
- Chimala
- RRL slim-straight
- APC New Standard
- Wrangler Wrachers and Cowboy Cut
Do you have a favorite one?
(Difficult question. I have two favorites : Lee Riders 1952 repro from the Lee Archives Japan, and MiUSA LVC 1962 551zxx.)
 

gnatty8

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Few of mine. For me, the RRL low straight is almost the perfect jean for me. I like the slim as well, since they aren’t skinny, but the low straights are perfection for my build.
745E3B40-F61F-49B1-BD7F-15F73C08A615.jpeg
 

Peter1

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I actually don't wear jeans that much but I have two pairs (indigo/black) of TCB slim 50s atm, as well as one pair of APC New Standard and a pair of natural selvedge Levis Made & Crafted. I tend to wear through jeans rather than rotate as its all about the fades and wear for me.

On the other hand, I have about 15 pairs of fatigues in various cuts and fabrics from Orslow and Engineered Garments.

I'd recommend TCB as really good value for money for jeans made with traditional techniques, and they have a range of cuts from very traditional high rise/straight leg to tight tapered. You can probably get a pair for around $150 from Japan.
 

BPL Esq

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I used to always buy Levi's in my later teen years, but I had some Lee and Wrangler jeans as a kid. Then I went through a short Rock & Republic phase before they changed hands or something, were made far more cheaply, and were sold at Target (I think; may have been a similar store). For several years thereafter I bought Adriano Goldschmied (AG) jeans which were made in LA, but those moved to Mexico ("Designed in Los Angeles") and declined noticeably in quality, so I abandoned those. Now I have one pair of Nudies (Steady Eddie II model; had a pair of Naked & Famous Easy Guys but gave them away after I lost 30lbs and looked ridiculous in them). I like the Nudies but ought to have them hemmed about 1.5-2 inches higher. Based on @dieworkwear's recommendation, I am awaiting the arrival of a pair of 3sixteen SL something or other (the lightweight selvedge since I am looking ahead to summer and can get heavier ones later in the year). I opted for the chainstitch hemming and am hopeful they will have a more tailored vibe than the too-long Nudies I wear right now.
 

dieworkwear

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Do you have a favorite one?
(Difficult question. I have two favorites : Lee Riders 1952 repro from the Lee Archives Japan, and MiUSA LVC 1962 551zxx.)

I suppose it would be my 3sixteen SL-100x or the SL-100xk (which is just the unsanforized version of the sanforized SL-100x). I don't think they go with sport coats (I don't really wear denim with sport coats often enough anyway). But I think the cut is fairly versatile across a wide range of casualwear wardrobes. As a result of that, I mostly bring those when I travel, so I have some fond memories associated with those jeans -- traveling to Canada to see my family, living in Russia, visiting Italy, climbing the Great Wall of China, etc.

At the moment, I mostly wear RRL. But if I had to throw away every pair except for one, I would probably keep the 3sixteens for those reasons. They're more versatile and I have positive memories associated with my particular pairs.
 

Adsky Luck

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I've had a few too... some are from less authentic manufacturers that only euros would know

 

frankmartin

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There was some discussion a few pages back about how much it costs to make jeans in the USA.

Dearborn Denim makes jeans in the US (around Chicago) for around $65. That's about the same as full retail Levis made offshore. They also hem to order and you can even return them if you don't like them. They're certainly not denimhead jeans, but IMHO are superior to your average Levis. Most of them are 10 oz blends with some stretch, but they do offer "100% cotton 13oz ansler ringspun yarn denim" (whatever that means).


Anyhow, I'm not a denimhead, but I do like these for what they are.
 

BPL Esq

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There was some discussion a few pages back about how much it costs to make jeans in the USA.

Dearborn Denim makes jeans in the US (around Chicago) for around $65. That's about the same as full retail Levis made offshore. They also hem to order and you can even return them if you don't like them. They're certainly not denimhead jeans, but IMHO are superior to your average Levis. Most of them are 10 oz blends with some stretch, but they do offer "100% cotton 13oz ansler ringspun yarn denim" (whatever that means).


Anyhow, I'm not a denimhead, but I do like these for what they are.

I get a broken affiliate link when I click this.

Looks to be very lightweight denim and not geared toward much of the CM crowd, but I could see giving them a shot at that price.
 
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radicaldog

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How many do you have, and which brands? Of course I suppose the answer will depend if you are more a SWD or a CM guy...

I thinned the herd and now I think I'm down to just four pairs, all from Blackhorse Lane Ateliers. My favourites are the super-heavy ones, maybe 19oz or so (think they don't make them any more). They're all indigo and slowly fading, except one pair, which I bleached to a sort of bright blue wash.

Oh no wait, I still have a double-black pair I got from Tenue de Nimes here in Amsterdam, but I usually just wear those to demos, to blend in. So five in total.

I'm contemplating an ecru/natural pair now but not sure really. Maybe a beige in one of those undied naturally coloured cottons might be subtler, but for some reason I want to continue buying from BLA. Also, I normally buy jeans in person (I used to go to the BLA factory in Walthamstow before they had a proper store, though the first pair I got from Drakes) but I've not been to London since 2019 and it bugs me that British stuff now comes with import taxes. It's psychological really: Brexit feels like a slap in the face. But I digress.
 

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