Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with jeans and bluejeans

Where can I buy women's blue jeans without "stretch" for under $50 in the US?

croutonsupafreak — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:54:01 -0800

Where can I buy women's blue jeans without "stretch" for under $50 in the US? I'll go to chains, web sites, or retailers that are local to Portland, Ore. Looking for women's size 6 or 8. I used to love the Gap's "long and lean" style. I also like most other jeans that go up to just below the belly button and have wide ankles. I HATE stretch for so many reasons that I could write a book, and as a result I don't have any blue jeans for the first time in my adult life. Are there any stores that sell non-stretch denim in decent cuts? Does non-stretch denim even exist any more?

Trying to find a brand of jeans I bought in Paris

desjardins — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:33:40 -0800

I'm looking for a brand of blue jeans in I bought in Paris several years ago. I don't think they are a French brand - no French on the labels. The word for the brand name, "Missy," refers to "an average female size" in America, so Google has been no help. They were bought in the 11e arrondissement of Paris, probably sur Rue du Faubourg-Saint Antoine, on the sidewalk in front of an unknown shop for €10 or €15. Here are pictures of the tags, labels and buttons.

Help me waste money.

dersins — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:26:58 -0800

FancyPantsFilter: What kind of stupidly expensive jeans should I buy? I've decided it would be funny to own a pair of stupidly expensive jeans, but all the ones I've seen seem to be stupidly stupid rather than simply stupidly expensive.

Are there any good jeans out there that don't have ridiculously wide bootcut leg openings and display a marked lack of inexplicable white, horizontal stripes on the upper thigh area?

(Bonus points if they fit someone who is 6', 175 lbs, and has skinny legs.)

Why the white stripes on blue jeans?

Rash — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 09:19:11 -0800

Tell me about the blue jeans young people wear these days - the kind with the big white blotches. Are these what's known as acid- or stone-washed jeans? If not, what's the correct term?

I realize the desireablity of broken-in jeans, and the dorkiness associated with a brand new pair.... but in my experience, they usually go white only at the knees, and the seams. This current fashion - what's with the fading on the back side? And sometimes, not the legs, but the seat - I'm especially baffled about the fashion sense of someone who'd choose to look like she's been sitting in a puddle of bleach.

Levi's Jeans

cadastral — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 17:38:37 -0800

Levi’s Jeans, model numbers, worldwide availability, and grey market possibilities [more inside] I live in the United States, and the model of Levi's that suits me best is the men's 527 (low rise, boot cut, 'regular' fit). This is the only 'contemporary' looking jean that Levis makes for sale in the U.S. that they list as "regular fit" (as opposed to "loose" or "relaxed" or "ultra loose" or so forth, of which there are a million possibilities).

A friend points out to me that other styles and model numbers are available for different world markets, that aren't available here. I search the Levi's website and sure enough, most other countries offer a dazzling array of "regular fit" jeans in exotic model numbers I have never heard of (insert "obese Americans" joke here). Examples of this include (all are men's model numbers):

UK: 506, 511, 512, 5001, 2766 ("my" 527 is not available in the UK, apparently)

Australia: 524, 517, 520 (and as an added insult, my beloved "regular fit" 527s are listed as "slouch fit" in Australia).

Now, I can sit and pick through Ebay for about a million years and waste money trying to blindly buy these jeans without even trying them on, OR--I can take matters into my own hands and try and fund a vacation by exploiting the disparity in availability (as I did a few years ago with American consumer electronics and Jamaican dancehall records).

So--my questions are as follows.

1. Why won't Levi's sell me the aforementioned "world" model numbers here in the U.S.? I can understand why they wouldn't promote them (if they thought they weren’t going to sell) but why not sell them to me somehow? Isn't this whole capitalism thing supposed to bring a bajillion products to my door and let me vote with my dollar?

2. Is there anything (legal, logistical, etc.) that would stop me from bringing a steamer trunk loaded with jeans back from a trip to Europe (with the idea of selling them to American hipsters, pocketing some profit, and retaining some for personal use)?

3. If the answer to #2 is "yes," then... what are some ways I can get these jeans for personal use?

4. Are there American products that are hard to find in Europe that I could exchange (with a European) for products unavailable in the U.S.? (and where is an intermediary I can go through for this service).

Many thanks for all help in this question. (I also realize that I am now officially the most shallow person on earth because I am bitching about clothing availability while millions of Southern Asians are without basic necessities).

No more Levi's - help me find new jeans that meet my standards

MiguelCardoso — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:24:34 -0800

Now that Levi's are no longer made in the U.S. what American-made jeans, similar in quality, durability and style should European diehards buy? [More inside.] Yes, there is an enormous difference - even Canadian Levi's are made of a thinner and less durable denim. European (British and Irish included) and Asian versions are even worse and flimsier. Really bad. I know from extensive experience, so please don't fob me off.

Like many of my boring-old-fart ex-hippy friends, I've worn US-made Levi's 501s for more than 30 years (lately ordered via the Web) and am dreading the inevitable switch. I'm looking for stiff, thick, no-nonsense American-made jeans (the kind that takes at least a year to break in) that will withstand everything you can put them through, preferably not as stiff, ungiving and unstylish as work jeans, but along those lines in terms of uncompromising timelessness and, above all, durability, comfort, and general robustness of denim, rivetting and stitching. They must also look good. Do I have a chance in hell? If not, what's second-best?