Question:
I don't really want to pay $100 or more for a pair of day-to-day jeans, so what do you guys think is a good brand of inexpensive jeans that I can pick up at the mall?
I have in mind brands like American Eagle, Gap, Abercrombie, Guess, Levi's, Old Navy etc.
I am pretty much ruling out brands like Paper Denim Cloth, Earnest Sewn, Seven for all Mankind, True Religion, etc. for this purchase.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Bradford
Answer:
I hate to say this but since all of the above mentioned possibilities are equally evil in my eye, I would say that GAP 1969 generally have some really nice looking fits, and they use Kurabo denim (the same denim from PDC). I would put my money there, they're probably the best bet for under $100 and could sell for more if they needed to.
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I'd say if you have a nordstrom rack around you should go check out their denim selection. They frequently have diesels, PDC, sevens etc for about 70 bucks.
Another option would be Saks Off 5th, but I havent seen anything quite as cheap there (more around 90$).
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Yeah, I second Nordstrom Rack. They have some pretty nice denim deals there occasionally. I picked up a few pair of JP Da'mage jeans there for ~$80-$90 each not too long ago.
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nice avatar Garrett...
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Another option is Last Call (Nieman Marcus). I picked up a pair of Ernest Sewn jeans for $80.
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None of these are really answering his question, though. What's the best pair of jeans you can get at the mall for under $100, assuming that you're not getting them on sale, and aren't doing a lot of legwork to find them?
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I suggest RL Polo jeans as a possibility; though most of their cuts don't do much for me, if you are looking for a looser fit they seem to use quality denim (I beat my pair to death for a year or so with little damage) and the washes are mostly tasteful.
Edit: Oh yeah, and they are only like $60 MSRP IIRC.
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I haven't posted in a while...so I'll anger the SF-gods and answer this question.
I used to strictly be a Diesel guy back when a. Diesel was cool, and b. when I had the money. But after 2+ years of law school I don't spend the money on stuff like I used to. My Kratts began to wear out and I had to find cheap replacements.
Thus-
I have had good luck with JCrew jeans for one. I personally really like the fit and material- though they are not particularly stiff, which was sort of a change for me when I first started wearing them. These jeans seem to always be on sale on their website or at the mall.
As far as Abercrombie and Fitch- I have found their 80 dollar jeans for 24 bucks at TJ Maxx-- a price for which I couldn't pass them up if for no other reason than to use them as pants I'd end up painting in or mowing the lawn. Generally they jeans seem very well constructed, though the fit is a little more baggy and...youthful..than I am used to generally.
My final recommendation is not jeans technically. You can get a pair of carhartts for 25 dollars and I honestly think once you wear the bad boys in they are as good as the best pair of denim out there. In addition, they are a bit out of the ordinary (at least around these parts) and for that reason I really like them. Also if you want to distress them artificially with sand paper etc, you don't need to worry about damaging these very tough pants.
That's my list. I will prepare for the wrath...
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My vote is with GAP 1969.
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My vote is with GAP 1969.
I'm really surprised about that one- I used to have a pair of these and they wore out in the knees really fast. What makes you pick the Gap jeans?
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I also pick Gap.
Good fabric, decent fit and sewing quality. Washes can be a bit hit and miss, (but then the same could be said of all brands) but the simple rinse wash jeans are good value. They had some very nice lightweight plain weave jeans this summer which wouldn't have been out of place in a 'premium' collection.
Lee (in particular Lee Europe & Lee Japan, do some very nice inexpensive jeans), same goes for Edwin and Uniqlo (do the malls have to be in the US?
)
Answer:
Good call CTGuy, I hadn't thought of J. Crew. I had a pair of dark rinse jeans from them that honestly, if I knew then what I know now about washing them (or not washing them, as the case may be) I might still have them. As it was, they shrank too much and I had to give them up. But they showed no signs of stopping after constant wear for most of a year, and they looked good. I never think of them as a place for jeans but their jeans have always been surprisingly good.
Gap jeans use mediocre fabric in my experience - the pairs I've seen/had have gotten the short-fiber fraying syndrome really quickly.
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I dont know how to respond, I would just say that I think the GAP 1969 fabric is a very nice quality, and yea they do rip in the knees but theyre more durable than PDCs or Rogans...
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I've got a couple of pairs from H&M which seem quite sturdy, didn't cost a lot and come in a plain dark rinse with no fake fading and so forth.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned H&M yet.
