Asketh Dunawake, “What do I look for in jeans? (As a guy)”
As a guy, my criterea starts with female, young and willing. Ultimately, the question I hope to answer is “What’ll she do when she’s *out * of jeans?”
Damn. Colophone’s post wasn’t just there…
I’ve found some sort of Levi Strauss jeans at Wal-Mart of all places, that come in cuts such as low-rise, boot-cut, straight leg, etc… and even in big fat guy sizes like I wear (42" waist).
Best part is, they’re only like $25. They’re not super-durable like a pair of old 501s would be, but for $25 and weekend wear, I don’t really care. If I need durable, I wear the carpenter’s jeans I bought a while back- they’re pretty damn tough.
First and foremost, you don’t want jeans that stop above your knee.
Second of all, Levis now suck. No one can tell me any different. I have pairs that I bought 10+ years ago that are soft, sturdy, well built. And, I have one pair – ONE – that I bought 2 years ago that. . .well, hold up a piece of Charmin next to a piece of toilet paper from an airport bathroom and that’s the idea I’m getting at.
The new ones are not soft. They’re thin. I pretty much wore them for a month thinking, “these are going to break in like my old ones, right?” They didn’t.
I don’t know if it happened to Levis when they formed this partnership with Wal*Mart, but that’s my suspicion. They’ve moved a lot of production outside the US.
They froze prices and made themselves more profitable by making cheaper shit.
You want a good pair of jeans at a good price? Carhartt. They’re still made in the US.
I also have an expensive Nordstrom brand (Facconable) that were a gift. They’re good jeans, but expensive.
I can’t speak to wrangler, or lee.
One I found Carhartt jeans (at my local Army Navy store) I stopped looking.
Based on the most frequently asked question of me by my mother while I was trying on pants in store, the most important thing seems to be that it’s not too tight in the crotch.