what makes Seven for all mankind and Hudson jeans so expensive?

Virtually all jeans are overpriced.

But, hahahah, jeans with swarovski crystals or some crazy **** sewn into them, that I consider a tax on being dumb.

I can assure you that the reason that 7 is expensive is *not* the fabric. I saw their denim at a fabric outlet for about $10 a yard.

I'm guessing the price is because of all that **** on the back pocket.

I wear True Religion, Seven and Rock & Republic.

Things that these brands have over your regulular Lee, Levi's, Hang Ten, Uniqlo:

- Cut
- Better denim
- Higher quality stitching. Especially the hem lines
- Leather decoration
- Made in USA


First and last items make it more expensive. The other one's are arguable.

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

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I wear True Religion, Seven and Rock & Republic.

Things that these brands have over your regulular Lee, Levi's, Hang Ten, Uniqlo:

- Cut
- Better denim
- Higher quality stitching. Especially the hem lines
- Leather decoration
- Made in USA


First and last items make it more expensive. The other one's are arguable.

The quality is not good on the denim material. Non of those brands use selvedge material, to my knowledge. For $200, you'd be better off with some entry level selvedge brand like Levi's Vintage 501 reproductions.

How else are those Marketing executives going to be paid for ? Doing such magnificent job on selling people the same denim cheaper brands offer for a fraction of the price at a ten-fold increase is a task that must be awarded!

Originally Posted by jrd617

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The quality is not good on the denim material. Non of those brands use selvedge material, to my knowledge. For $200, you'd be better off with some entry level selvedge brand like Levi's Vintage 501 reproductions.

Who says I have to like selvedge? I personally don't. For this reason, the premium brand jeans have better quality denim than the regular ones.

I also try to avoid made in china clothes like the plague.

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

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Who says I have to like selvedge? I personally don't. For this reason, the premium brand jeans have better quality denim than the regular ones.
Wait, what? One pair of jeans not having selvedge means that they're better than jeans not made from selvedge? Not like selvedge actually matters all that much, but that statement makes no sense. Oh, and just because something has a higher price tag does not mean the fabric is actually any better.

What I find really funny about this is that the holy grail of SW&D is "worked hard and put away wet." "Fashion" jeans very often try to counterfeit authenticity, for want of a better way to put it. So a lot of people $300 buy jeans that have artificial wear marks and fake holes . . . well the holes are real, I suppose, but you know what I mean . . . but completely disdain the idea of buying real jeans that someone might actually work in. True, there are issues of cut and fit but a lot of makers, even Wrangler, make a variety of cuts. Anyway, I think it is hilarious when people spend $300 to buy wimpy jeans that already have holes and fade marks. If I could figure out how to market them, I've got a big enough stack of trashed denim to finance a world cruise.

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Peeve of mine as well. But credit where credit is due, SW&Ders, as susceptible as they can be to marketing, at least insist on breaking stuff in themselves. As for the wider public, how else are they going to get that cool, authentic look without having to get up off the couch? Because cowboys wore 44x32, right? And a note about VF: I was debating mentioning them, but they're really more of an umbrella corp. As I understand it, the individual brands still maintain at least some autonomy. Suppose I could ask my neighbor, who's about to retire after a few decades working for them...

Originally Posted by cptjeff

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SW&D is much more markup friendly. They buy much more into the marketing crap spewn to justify the high markups on stuff. Those top end jeans discussed by SW&D might cost $15 to make and $300 to buy, and that's in the US. Jeans made in china nearly all cost a couple of bucks to make and a couple of bucks to ship. The brand's cost by the time those hit the us is less than $5. Then they'll turn right around and charge you $70 for 'em. Or $20, depending on where that brand is positioning itself. Or $12 if you're walmart.
It helps to know what you're talking about when you're making generalizations about a product and the people who buy it.

Originally Posted by NoNothingGuy

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The hilarious thing is that Lee, Wrangler and 7FMK are all made by the same company in Greensboro, NC.
That's a bit misleading. They're owned by the same parent company but they're not all made under the same factory roof.

Originally Posted by JJGooden

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I can assure you that the reason that 7 is expensive is *not* the fabric. I saw their denim at a fabric outlet for about $10 a yard.
Even sounds a bit expensive. What can drive up the price for "premium" jeans is the washing.

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

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I wear True Religion, Seven and Rock & Republic.

Things that these brands have over your regulular Lee, Levi's, Hang Ten, Uniqlo:

- Cut
- Better denim
- Higher quality stitching. Especially the hem lines
- Leather decoration
- Made in USA


First and last items make it more expensive. The other one's are arguable.
Isn't this a bit of an apples-and-oranges argument? You're comparing jeans that retail from $150+ with jeans that go for $30. If you even the playing field by comparing R&R, et. al with Lee 101 or Levi's LVC then 4/5 of those points are now at least moot if not completely debatable.

I hate jeans nerds. Just be a good Protestant, go to the department store, and buy something from the second cheapest brand.

Speaking of Rock & Republic: On April 28, 2011, VF Corporation announced it had signed a long-term licensing deal with Kohl's Corporation to carry the Rock & Republic brand. Source:
Wikipedia/http://www.apparelnews.net/news/manu...nd?______array
Granted, I believe it is R&R's budget line, like EA for Armani, but I'm not sure.

Originally Posted by Bounder

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What I find really funny about this is that the holy grail of SW&D is "worked hard and put away wet." "Fashion" jeans very often try to counterfeit authenticity, for want of a better way to put it.

So a lot of people $300 buy jeans that have artificial wear marks and fake holes . . . well the holes are real, I suppose, but you know what I mean . . . but completely disdain the idea of buying real jeans that someone might actually work in. True, there are issues of cut and fit but a lot of makers, even Wrangler, make a variety of cuts.

Anyway, I think it is hilarious when people spend $300 to buy wimpy jeans that already have holes and fade marks. If I could figure out how to market them, I've got a big enough stack of trashed denim to finance a world cruise.

Big +1 to Whodini

I mean, I sort of agree what some of you guys are saying with the marketing, brand image, etc. driving prices way up and having enough people buy in to it to support the brand, but that doesn't have anything to do with the SW&D. Most of these brands (7FAM, True Religions, etc.) are pretty much universally dismissed as overpriced, over-styled garbage. And as far as pre-distressing goes, if you actually read the last 100, hell 1000, pages of the WAYWT thread you wouldn't find a single fit with all these fake holes/fades that you are talking about where the guy wasn't dragged over the coals. These 7FAM, True Religion, distressed to hell fits just don't exist over there, so I don't really get those references. The real world's a different story though, and living here in China now, I see more ridiculous distressing than I can take sometimes.

As far as the expensive prices people pay, it's mostly for smaller, boutique brands with small production runs, intricate weaving/dying techniques, and better cuts. I understand if that stuff isn't really necessary or appreciated over here, but that doesn't mean the quality difference doesn't exist, at least with these boutique brands. Does that make it worth it for you? For you guys who dress MC everyday, probably not, but for SW&D guys who wear casual clothes on a daily basis, paying for a fully canvassed jacked isn't worth it either, despite the increase in quality. Just different strokes.

Anyways, these over-styled, over-distressed denim brands suck. You guys agree, SW&D guys agree, but the average guy on the street will still fall for the hype.

There's an informative article in today's Wall Street Journal on how much goes into making a premium pair of jeans (True Religion). Essentially, there are multiple layers of large profit margins that drive up the price. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...284498872.html

Originally Posted by dacox

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r smaller, boutique brands with small production runs, intricate weaving/dying techniques, and better cuts.

You still fall for hype, just different hype.... Intricate weaving and dying- well, dying I'll give you. It eats up money. Better? Just a matter of taste. Weaving? It's more expensive, but the benefit is dubious. Better cuts? Not from the fit pics I see on SW&D they ain't. Most of them look like pretty lousy fits, thought that might just be the sagging that ensures a crotch blowout. Boutique brands with smaller runs? Markup for 'exclusivity' right there. You may be getting the exact same jean levis makes, but it would be 3x the price. Quality is not a necessary condition for a boutique markup.


I guess I'm just a cynic.

Originally Posted by cptjeff

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As for the wider public, how else are they going to get that cool, authentic look without having to get up off the couch? Because cowboys wore 44x32, right?
Heh. Another thing that is really funny about pre-faded, pre-distressed jeans is that the distressing and fading seems to be either "artistically" or randomly placed. What, exactly, were the owners supposed to be doing to give their jeans wear marks like this? Jeans that have actually been, say, ridden in, since you mention cowboys, develop very specific wear marks in very specific spots which, to some extent, depend on the kind of riding you are doing. I have never, ever, not once, seen a pair of pre-distressed/faded jeans that looked anything like actual jeans that have been ridden in. BTW, FWIW, the far-and-away favorite brand of actual "cowboys" in the Southwest of the US is Wrangler.