Hell, you can see it on their own website: Levis 505s
I like a good pair of 505s, but I’m getting increasingly annoyed. See the link above - all “505s”, look at the top pics. The pic on the left is slim fit, the pic in the middle is baggy, the pic on the right is classic or normal.
And I’ve experienced this - ordering several pairs of Levis, all from the same online seller, all the same mark (505) and all the same waist and inseam - I’ll get some that are baggy as hell and some that actually fit properly. Why is there such variation in the same 505s?
/and no, it’s not washing/shrinking. I’ve observed this before washing.
The only size variance I’ve ever encountered is color - my black Levis fit smaller than my blue ones and have for years. Dunno why. I’ve never had a problem with blues in the 20-some years I’ve been buying them.
Human error. Machines can only do so much in the manufacturing process, someone still has to sit at a machine and sow the things. You will always get a tiny variation because of this, which depending on the cut can feel minimal or fairly dramatic, particularly true for skinny fit where millimetres can make a lot of difference.
Sounds like Levi’s need to up the quality of their staff training, or pay closer attention to whatever far flung hell hole they have awarded the contract to.
Read the customer comments here. (Note that there are many pages of comments, read at least the first three.)
It appears that what Levi now calls 505 jeans are not the traditional 505 jeans. They’ve introduced a new cut and are calling it 505 while discontinuing the old. You may see different fits as they clear out the stock of old “505” jeans.
This really, really ticks me off. I’ve worn 505 jeans most of my life. I never had to worry about shopping for jeans. I would just order 505 jeans wherever I could find a sale and forget about it. Now when my last pair wears out, I’m going to have to find a replacement. I have no idea what terms like “boot cut” mean and the advice I’m seeing in the user comments is all contradictory. I don’t know what I’m going to do.
I’ll buy the exact same style (number, type, sizes, etc.) and one pair will fit differently than another.
Add to that the way they change the cut of a style, so that 569 jeans got really tight thighs and a small crotch. I feel like I’m wearing badly fitting tights!
I was actually going to do a rant in the BBQ Pit about how awful Levi’s have become.
Gap jeans actually fit great, though Levi’s are still better looking. I want my old Levi’s back!
Jeans are not cut out one by one but in stacks. Ever tried to cut through 20 layers of fabric and have every piece look identical? Doesn’t happen. This is the reason for variation within size/style.
Didn’t someone post here recently about a freind who was a big burly biker that rode a pink Harley. Supposedly when asked about it he said “I like bikes and I like to fight”
You certainly have a charming notion if the precision required at a Chinese garment factory. The cut can vary by more than an inch, all around, on every piece that makes up the pants.
I came across this issue a while ago as well. I had bought Levis 559 jeans several years earlier and finally needed to replace them so I went to the mall and bought 2 pairs of Levis 559s of the same size and didn’t bother to try them on. I got home and they were completely different; the legs were extremely tight, the waist too loose, and they no longer had an ass (I compared to my old ones… The space between the crotch and waist was two inches shorter on the new ones). Further, they were no longer 100% cotton, but 82% cotton and 18% polyester.
In short, I lost $100 and Levis lost a person who had been a lifetime customer.
I used to get 2 pair of Levis 501’s every year or so…brand new, unwashed thick durable 100% cotton denim. These days a pair will run 35-50$ and be much thinner and fit oddly.
I needed new jeans for work…went to Target and got two pair of Wrangler…thick, durable and well fitting! 20$ a pair.
