Denim 101 for Men's Clothing

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I think off-white cotton, but am not sure. I'm going to see what the length looks like after several wearings and a wash before I make any decisions on it.

BTW, anybody have any suggestions for good gray or white

jeans?

ES Filson/Fulton in Cream.
Baron has the best Gray jean I've seen, perhaps he can shed some light on them. They worked well with a sportcoat.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Those are the ones I like. How do you size relative to 5EP or Ironheart?

I sized them the same as the 5EP for SF jeans...but the NdG in the classic fit wear a bit more relaxed.

The hardware is nice and the denim has a nice, sophisticated cast to it.

- B

Originally Posted by X-Calibre

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Hi, teger I'm in the DC area so I will definitely go to this party thing in Arlington. But just so I can research/pregame let me air some things out. I've recently been trying to get back into looking fashionable, hence reading this forum again. I used to be very in shape as a very committed avid volleyball player and weightlifter. Jeans were a nightmare and I just wore the baggiest things I could find, 3 years ago when I last stopped caring about clothes there weren't a pair of 501s in the world I could get over my thighs. Then I blew my knee out, twice. Since then I've gained quite a bit in my waist, though my legs are still very built (constant physical therapy). I've sort of given up on the idea of getting back to a 31 waist anytime soon and am now willing to retire my old clothes and start buying again. Ok so enough boring back story . . . Every thing that fits me in the seat is tight as hell every where else. I spent 2 hours at the Denimbar in Bethesda cause this guy named Mauro used to promote them here on SF a while back, but they said he no longer worked for them, perhaps that's a bad omen already for the Denimbar; but, undaunted, I tried on every pair of raw denim they had, nothing seemed to work correctly. The ladies there said that I probably needed something large in the thigh but low rise, which no one makes (or do they carry). They ended up sucking me into a pair of CoH rockstar tight jeans. Which I guess makes me a douchebag

The hand is great, am I allowed to use that term with jeans? The tale of the tape: Measuring myself (expecting high margin of error here), I'm 36" at the waist at the point 2" below my navel. Then I'm 25" around at what eyeballs to me as the widest part of my thigh. I kinda feel like I have a low rise as most of the jeans I tried on at the Denimbar had waistlines near my navel and felt like they were sawing me in half when I sat down. APC rescues and Nudies (sp?) were the only brands I remember, though I'm pretty sure I didn't try on anything else you guys have been talking about. Any good starting points?
KMW 2010 will probably work for you. Mauro is at Farinelli's now (where I work and where the party is). You could also try some LVC 501 cuts that are baggier, like a '33. You could probably do APC Rescues maybe Nudie Average Joes. Also maybe Rag & Bone 11s.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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BTW, anybody have any suggestions for good gray or white

jeans?

I have a pair of Zegna off-white linen-cotton jeans that I love. If I got another pair of white jeans, I'd look for linen ones, but they seem to only come out for spring-summer collections, which should be out soon, come to think of it.

--Andre

Originally Posted by Douglas

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What is the recommended length for iGent jeans?

I think trouser length is a good guide. I prefer absolute minimal break because I like being able to wear my jeans with dress shoes. 'Stacking' just looks sloppy to me.

Originally Posted by A Y

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I have a pair of Zegna off-white linen-cotton jeans that I love. If I got another pair of white jeans, I'd look for linen ones, but they seem to only come out for spring-summer collections, which should be out soon, come to think of it.

--Andre

I've got 3 pairs of zegna linen and linen/cotton jeans. They are awesome for the summer.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I think trouser length is a good guide. I prefer absolute minimal break because I like being able to wear my jeans with dress shoes. 'Stacking' just looks sloppy to me.

I am working on my first pair of APC Rescues, and I had them hemmed to about 1.5" longer than my trousers, which have minimal break.

I'm not a big fan of stacking either, but I find that having minimal break on jeans tends to look a little silly, even with dress shoes. I like having them a bit longer than what I would consider a full break on dress trousers.

Originally Posted by Teger

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KMW 2010 will probably work for you. Mauro is at Farinelli's now (where I work and where the party is). You could also try some LVC 501 cuts that are baggier, like a '33. You could probably do APC Rescues maybe Nudie Average Joes. Also maybe Rag & Bone 11s.

I'll come down and we'll see what works, if anything. I'll try and be optimistic.

I tried Rescues and the Nudie Average Joes, in both the rise seemed the main problem. I was told the Rag and Bones had the highest rise of all the choices, but perhaps not the 11s.

Does anyone have an opinion about the Jean Shop jeans made for Turnbull & Asser? (not sure if this was covered elsewhere in this long thread -- have not read it all).

Originally Posted by adambparker

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I am working on my first pair of APC Rescues, and I had them hemmed to about 1.5" longer than my trousers, which have minimal break.

I'm not a big fan of stacking either, but I find that having minimal break on jeans tends to look a little silly, even with dress shoes. I like having them a bit longer than what I would consider a full break on dress trousers.

I just hate buckling at the knees. My current 45rpms are a tad too long for my taste. When I get chance I'm going to have a couple centimeters lopped off.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I just hate buckling at the knees. My current 45rpms are a tad too long for my taste. When I get chance I'm going to have a couple centimeters lopped off.

In other words, you want your jeans to be as unlike jeans as possible.

Originally Posted by grimslade

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In other words, you want your jeans to be as unlike jeans as possible.

Uh no. I want them to be unlike how you want your jeans, perhaps. I don't see it written anywhere that jeans are supposed to be bunched up or 'stacked'.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Uh no. I want them to be unlike how you want your jeans, perhaps. I don't see it written anywhere that jeans are supposed to be bunched up or 'stacked'.
You forget that Grimslade is extremely street.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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You forget that Grimslade is extremely street.

That would explain all the flirting. It was making me feel uncomfortable before, but now I understand.

I know this is now somewhat offtopic, but after scrolling through the talk some pages back about pulling off jeans + sport coat combo: try just not wearing a buttondown. That makes it infinitely harder to not look like just another "30something" trying to be hip. Wear a t-shirt or a polo. If you have to wear a buttondown, do not button it all the way up, or wear a skinny tie (I realize that if the polo suggestion did not violate the sensibilities of the "MC" set, those most certainly did, but oh well...). It's also much easier to pull off with slip-on type shoes (e.g. driving mocs or loafers). I would say sneakers but that's probably just too far over the line after the skinny tie suggestion.

Also, try raw BLACK denim. In my opinion this allows you to "dress up" much more and still have a congruous outfit. (I would definitely never wear a buttondown with nearly any type of jacket if I had on indigo jeans).

My last suggestion is to go with a slightly tapered jean (think APC new standard not as sized down as the "street" kids). Like someone mentioned before, true straight legs tend to LOOK like they're slightly bootcut because they won't drape. A slight taper will solve this. Also, the way wider leg openings on jeans proper inseams (no matter what anyone says, if you're under 60 trouser-length jeans will just look silly) sit on shoes looks ugly (to me at least--I think it looks unbearably bland).

I realize that my opinions probably vary greatly from yours. Feel free to ignore or criticize them.

edit: in light of the above posts, by not trouser-length, i really mean that the hem shouldn't "float" above your shoes. It should "sit" on top, maybe even stacking once.