Wearing Levi’s today

[Colo Springs E]

Last month I went into a local vintage clothing shop and bought myself two pairs of used Levis, a pair of 508s and a pair of 511s. The shop was busy with young hipsters so I did not try them on, trusted my judgement. I'm wearing the 511's now, skinny, I maybe would not have bought them if I had tried them on, skinny jeans on a not quite skinny guy in his 50s maybe look a bit desperate.

Re people saying they would not buy Levis now, what would you buy instead? I've had two pairs of Wrangler cords either go missing in the chaos of my house or I have accidentally given them to an alcoholic friend when I gave him about ten pairs of jeans I was hoping I would not go back up to that size again.

I haven't tried these, but have heard good things from a couple friends:

Cotton Denim

Dearborn Denim is the place to go for top-quality, American made jeans at terrific prices. Click here to shop!

dearborndenim.us

Most of their stuff is stretchy like all the other manufacturers, but they at least do have some 100% cotton jeans, made in USA.

At $75 or so a pop, not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive in my book either. When time to buy again, I'll give them a try.

 

[Tonetele]

I've noticed Levi's jeans and jackets feature in many modern movies. Smart advertising formula toget exposure. Sales are up. Pity that guy couldn't resurrect Gibson guitars.

 

[Spox]

I haven't tried these, but have heard good things from a couple friends:

Cotton Denim

Dearborn Denim is the place to go for top-quality, American made jeans at terrific prices. Click here to shop!

dearborndenim.us

Most of their stuff is stretchy like all the other manufacturers, but they at least do have some 100% cotton jeans, made in USA.

At $75 or so a pop, not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive in my book either. When time to buy again, I'll give them a try.

Thanks, I'm not in the US though so kind of stuck with what I can find here, international postage and import duty would make buying them over $100 a pair probably.

Edit, re boot cut jeans, I sometimes see articles in the broadsheets condemning these and I then contrast that with what they are advising me to wear and laugh.

 

[11 Gauge]

What's funny to me is that I really liked when jeans would get worn and torn back in the 80's, and I always did that myself (through just wear). I can't recall if you could get them already worn out back then like you can now. Anyway, as a young guy, I was active enough that I could pretty much wear out and destroy the darkest and heaviest denim that I could get my hands on.

By the 90's, I mostly switched away from Levis, because I wasn't making enough money to afford many pairs of them. I primarily got stuff made by Lee, and probably whatever brands stores like Ross were carrying.

Also by some time in the 90's, I had switched from the regular cut to the relaxed or baggy style. My weight had ballooned up in '99 as a result of medications I was put on, so my regular cut days were definitely over by that point.

Then in the 00's it was whatever jeans they had at Kohl's, Old Navy, Costco, or similar. At least back then, the Kirkland jeans from Costco were probably the best of the bunch. The denim was really fairly heavy, but they were kind of already a mid-blue color. They also only came in a regular cut IIRC, but the fit was fairly decent for my heavier frame. Most of the stuff I got from other stores didn't last nearly as long - I always ended up blowing them out either in the crotch or at the corners of the rear pockets. I did get a couple of pairs of Eddie Bauer jeans on a closeout sale that both fit well and lasted a really long time, despite being significantly thinner/lighter.

...Somewhere in between the 00's and present day, I discovered both Sonoma and Arizona jeans, which were IMO maybe a step above average.

Between my hatred of shopping and the events of the last couple of years, I've mostly ended up just buying most of my clothes online. My wife has ordered me jeans from various clothing-specific places, but I mostly just get them from Amazon when I buy them myself. I've pretty much settled into the Wranglers that are sort of loose fit by today's standards, in a lighter color, with the elastic stuff in them (IMO it's a godsend when you're older and carrying more weight). They're about $20 a pair, so I don't really care that much about how long they'll last, especially since I don't wear jeans as regularly as I did when I was younger.

I also have discovered in the last few years that it doesn't really matter how tough the denim is, because I tend to wear it out at the bottoms, because I like my jeans cut long, and tend to move around a bit either barefoot or with sandals on.

Also wanted to add - I started doing contract work about eight years ago, and really didn't like wearing khakis and stuff when I had to be onsite. I discovered Lee's denim in different colors a few years back, and IMO they are pretty decent. Their 'thunder' color has become my sort of standard business-casual choice, if I can find them.

...What I want to know is where can you find decent black jeans that look good both when new and when worn? The last pair of black jeans that I bought look like black construction paper - really stiff, but after a few washings have ugly almost-white streaks in them. And many of them when they start to fade look like they're covered in ash or something.

 

[Telekarster]

I've never gotten hung up on brands. If they fit well and look like they'll hold up for a while, and the price is cheap, I'll buy em. I'll wear em until they're practically falling apart, and then I cut em up and use em as rags in my workshop I try to spend as least amount of $ as possible on clothing, especially jeans, cause I'm pretty rough on clothing overall

 

[daddyplaysbass]

Bring some earplugs too.

 

[Flaneur]

It's always a trade-off, between fit, quality and price. As a kid, Wranglers were the best fit, for my skinny hips. Then the quality ebbed away. Lee's were a great fit later- but harder to find and a bit pricier. Levi's have always been available but the price, cut and quality have always been - and still are- all over the place.

Sometimes, the cheap stuff is made from the best materials. My $8 Wrangler dad jeans- endorsed by Brett Favre, at the time- refuse to wear out. Some of the Chinese Levi's are too thin, for the Scottish climate.

It's a bit like buying guitars: every pair is judged on it's own merits and I never buy online. Last time I was in Texas, I bought a pair of Cowboy cut Wranglers, for $26, which seem exactly like my first pair (in a larger size). I keep them for stage wear; I might never be able to replace them.

Denim jackets. If you had one as a boy, you've probably still got one. This one was £9 and has everything I look for -but without the branding surcharge.

 

[boris bubbanov]

I've been getting away from the 24/7 wearing of shorts.

I've been clearing underbrush from woodland acreage and jeans are too hot. But what I find in my closet is tons of light cotton dress pants I once would have worn out to dinner. Now my Ralph Lauren $ 125 MRSP pants are earning their way, protecting my legs from briars, etc. and small biting insects. I can't take them with me when I leave the planet, and I am sadly not going to eat dinner at Clancy's or similar in New Orleans much these days.

 

[Si G X]

...What I want to know is where can you find decent black jeans that look good both when new and when worn? The last pair of black jeans that I bought look like black construction paper - really stiff, but after a few washings have ugly almost-white streaks in them. And many of them when they start to fade look like they're covered in ash or something.

I wear black jeans ... you have to wash and dry them inside out or you'll get those white lines. You have to be very careful with them for the first few washes especially.

I like mine, I have 4 identical pairs that I wear all the time ... I don't even remember what brand they are .. some kind of 'no-brand' from a random mens clothes shop I was in one day when I needed some clothes.

They do fade, though and go 'ashy' grey looking ... I re-dye mine every so often with Dylon washing machine stuff.

 

[Peegoo]

Last time I bought Levi's was about 15 years ago, and both pairs actually fell apart after only two washes. Not the seams; the denim was like a wet paper towel and it ripped to shreds. Junk.

Only Wrangler 13MWZs since then.

 

[LocoTex]

I still wear Levi's 501s, and I'm 67 years old. They are the best out there, but they are not the same jeans that they were in the '70s and '80s. The denim is lower quality and they dye kinda stripey(?) if you know what I mean.

 

[Wyzsard]

Man I wish I still had my old bell bottoms !

 

[Yesyoudidyouare]

Allamericanclothing.com Still has american made jeans, and ... everything, American made.

 

[jays0n]

I can say that Jurassic World Dominion (the real reason for this post) is what I expected. A bit cheesy, lots of action, nice cinematography, typical humor (some intentional and some unintentional) and entertaining. We’re glad we went

FWIW, my Levi jeans are 15+ years old. One pair has probably been worn less than 40 times.

Since there is so much distain got Levi Strauss what are your favorite jeans?

I like the 513s. Bit hard to find these days. Not as slim as the 511 but not flappin around either. Have em in dark blue and black.

I have a Made in Mexico Levi’s trucker jacket that is very well made BTW. Heavy, solid, cut well. Love that thing.

 

[monkeybanana]

Man, I was loyal to Levi's until they stopped making them in the States. And the quality of the cloth has gotten very thin.

No wonder I used to see an old woman with only a long white tee and string around her waist.

 

[WireLine]

Had been a Wranglers guy for 35 yrs, until last year I bought some 501 Levi’s with the button fly…same as I wore in high school.

Pretty much the same feel and look, although at age 66 I tend to wear underpants with them…something I never did in 1972

 

[Wound_Up]

The same guy that ran Levis in the ground is now running Gibson.
Think about it.

Good thing he didn't run Levi's into the ground. He only got there in 2012.

As well, he was only the President of Global Brands. He was not the CEO of Levi's, which is the only equivalent position.


He wasn't even in a position to "run Levi's into the ground". Why make stuff up because you hate Gibson? Smh. You're literally making stuff up because you hate a guitar company. Think about that.

 

[Short on cash]

Good thing he didn't run Levi's into the ground. He only got there in 2012.

As well, he was only the President of Global Brands. He was not the CEO of Levi's, which is the only equivalent position.


He wasn't even in a position to "run Levi's into the ground". Why make stuff up because you hate Gibson? Smh. You're literally making stuff up because you hate a guitar company. Think about that.

I love Gibson guitars.....own many.

As far as the rest.......the evidence speaks for itself.