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Have you not got a seconds place/ vintage clothing place near you?
Whenever I'm in newcastle i tend to make a trip to Flip Vintage They have endless supplies of 2nd hand Levis, Lee, Wrangler and the like, most are £30- £40 and nicely worn in.
Other than that, Howies or Edwin for me.
Carhartt website, Howies website (both when having sales) or pop into Uniqlo and try some on.
Another vote for TK Maxx.
Picked up a pair of Folk selvedge denim the other day for £34 that retailed for £135.
Best value / quality at full retail has to be Carhartt, though look around and you'll often find them cheaper.
The real question is Black,Blue or Tan.
Red or Green is just for weirdo hippy types.
Which carhartt site are you using? There is carhartt and carhartt-wip
There's three Carhartt lines, there's the industrial work Wear stuff that is cheap as chips and super durable (best found online), the standard range and the WIP line for the posers.
I'm a bit of a poser but they're all great.
Geordie Jeans... particularly tight around the arse.
Yes they were actually a real product.
I've both carharrt and WIP
WIP is bought when I want a more dressy Jean regular carharrt for day to day and I avoid the workwear stuff these days as the materials are good but the cut is just cheap/poor
Can pick up on their twice yearly sales at source for bout 45 quid.
The last forever as are not stretchy thin nonsense denim like next stuff though so maybe not what op needs
the WIP line for the posers.
These are the jeans I have.
Really smart and have been very durable.
Did you know that many brands make separate lots of their stuff specifically for 'discount' retailers? The levis/wranglers/whatever you get at TKMaxx or matalan or your local out of town Outlet Village may not be the same cut/material/quality as the ones you get elsewhere.
Also, there was an interesting program on radio4 a few days ago Sustainable Jeans where they compared some £300 jeans (Hiut denim from Wales) with some cheap ones from boo-hoo, including on an industry standard "rub test" machine to see how many rubs they can withstand, which made me think of Vic Reeves thigh rubbing.
Did you know that many brands make separate lots of their stuff specifically for ‘discount’ retailers? The levis/wranglers/whatever you get at TKMaxx or matalan or your local out of town Outlet Village may not be the same cut/material/quality as the ones you get elsewhere.
Sounds like an urban myth to me, have you got a source for that?
IME when you get branded stuff from the likes of TK Maxx it's often weird sizes that presumably don't sell well in regular outlets. Which suits me as I'm a weird size, they've kept me in Craghoppers for years.
Sounds like an urban myth to me, have you got a source for that?
You mean the same way that Currys etc get special models that different from the real deal by a digit or two to save them having to be price matched.
Or the fact that tk maxx stuff appears to largely be seconds with defects - miss stitched pockets , wierd/sample cuts , marked etc etc. Ok if you check it over in your hand and know what your getting but I wouldn't like to buy tk max stuff unseen - as well as the wierd sizing and brands you thought went out of business years ago.
But besides all that dispatches confirmed the "urban myth" years ago.
You're right, it does sound like an urban myth 😀. Nonetheless, it's true, I had the misfortune to work in fashion retail (at the website end rather than physical stores) and the choice of discount vs premium ranges is normal, not any kind of industry secret.
There was a C4 expose a few year back called something like Discount Store Secrets or Secrets of a Discount Store.
Definitely not saying EVERYTHING in our favourite discounter is of lower standard, but a moving percentage of gear isn't premium range.
You mean the same way that Currys etc get special models that different from the real deal by a digit or two to save them having to be price matched.
Or the fact that tk maxx stuff appears to largely be seconds with defects
Both of which are entirely different claims.
Well you see the funny thing about my post was I said OR almost like it was an entirely different point.
the choice of discount vs premium ranges is normal
Different ranges, sure. But I'm fairly confident that Levi's doesn't make 501's for its own retail stores and an entirely different substandard range of 501's for discount outlets.
TK Maxx might well sell seconds as suggested above, or "refurbished" (put back on a hanger) customer returns, or Levi 397's instead of 501's. But I'm not buying the notion that you can buy something sold as the exact same product from two different places and one is inferior. I'm not wholly convinced that that would even be legal.
It's all of the above.
Water for the horse.
Well you see the funny thing about my post was I said OR almost like it was an entirely different point.
So irrelevant to the conversation, then? Must have been some usage of the word "same" that I'm unfamiliar with.
Have I wronged you in a past thread or something? You seem awfully keen to pick arguments with me of late.
Funny I was thinking the same.
I even used a full stop after my comparison to James' point.
And started a new paragraph with the word OR to suggest it was a different point and yet I get pulled up like I'm collectively making the point that it's the same.
Tk maxx has lots of issues. I was listing the lots of issues.
Now I don't knock tk maxx I do look there on occasion if I need something specific but don't think your getting your cake and eating it with them.
I then backed it up with a citation.
It read like you were mocking my reply. Maybe I misinterpreted.
Funny I was thinking the same.
Shall we, like, stop it, then? I have no truck with you beyond my own general contrariness.
I was going to look for that C4 episode, thanks for the link.
Deal.
Sure I probably have in the past but this wasn't the case and hasn't been latterly ....new job means I don't have the time to purposefully be a prick. Probably just natural.
Pep and Co for the win.
new job means I don’t have the time to purposefully be a prick
Accidental prickishness, I get that a lot. 😁
Happy new job. Anything interesting?
Happy new job. Anything interesting?
Same shit different day just at a different level.
"Now I don’t knock tk maxx I do look there on occasion if I need something specific but don’t think your getting your cake and eating it with them."
Well I've certainly had my cake and eaten it with TK Maxx, as my fluctuating waistband will testify...
Quite a lot of the brand's in TK are TK own brands. Still ok value though.
As for the premium brand's, a lot are seconds or mis labaled size wise. I'm sitting here in a Les Basics T-shirt, size large. The XL sizes they had were smaller than the large so I think you can tell what happened there.
The Folk jeans I bought weren't seconds, they had the original price tags and labels attached so were either overstock or overproduction.
If it doesn't have the retail labels on then give it a good check over first, sometimes it's as simple as missing a loop to hang a jacket on. I recently picked up a £500 Allegri mac for £95 that had this defect. I can live with it.
I have a beautiful Ralph Lauren tweed jacket that cost me £90 in Maxx (RRP £500ish).
Goes lovely with my Carhartt jeans.
😀
We need a TK Maxx top trumps thread.
cha****ng, I'll take your Ralph Lauren jacket and raise you,
Got a Ralph Lauren jacket for my better half a couple of years back, £550 down to £55!
All the loops and buttons present as well!
Oooooooo... can I join in wit TK Maxx Top Trumps?
I think my best one was at the start of the winter getting a GEOX gore-tex down jacket for 80 quid, that was still retailing on their website for £400.
Everything appears to be perfect. Its SOOOOOOO toasty warm! 😀
Now I'm jealous binners, the only full price item I've bought in the last 5 years was a waterproof jacket last winter when the gods of TK temporarily deserted me.
They were obviously on your side (and in your size) on that day.
The worst part about TK Maxx is finding something you really like but in every size other than your own.
They were obviously on your side (and in your size) on that day
@inkster - I nipped in on a random weekday afternoon, purely on the off chance, as I was working nearby. In amongst all the racks of awful Superdry stuff, they had just the one in stock in my size. Total luck of the draw in TK Maxx, but when you get lucky there’s a certain amount of smugness involved 😃
back in the room...
Has anyone bought jeans from Spoke-London? Are they any good?
I've got some of their chinos for work and they're good but not amazing
EBay or charity shops for me.
Most of mine now come from Uniqlo, as they offer a free alteration service, which is great as I've got short legs. Bit of a pita that it's not a same day service any more though. The quality is reasonable; as good as most other brands often costing a fair bit more. Not amazing though. But cheap enough to have for a few years at least. I did buy some Levis more recently, from the Levi Haus shop on Gt Marlborough st. They seem a bit better, and were only £65 rather than £100+, as they're end of line or something. New Levis are so expensive now!
Uniqlo Japanese selvedge jeans are excellent quality
Yeah, they've definitely upped their game from a few years back. I had a pair then, that were awful, but got a new pair a few months ag, that are significantly better, and nicer even than some much more expensive brands. Fact is, most stuff is cheap crap made in sweatshops, but with branding to push the price up to silly levels. Whilst you can find the odd genuine bargain in TKMaxx, most of it is barely worth the 'discount' price anyway.
Debenhams before they closed down. Bought at least 10 pairs that will last me for many years to come.
Otherwise it would probably be M&S or Tesco. :-=
Has anyone bought jeans from Spoke-London? Are they any good?
I bought a pair of their travel denim ones a few months back, I really like them and no signs of wear. The winter weight ones look interesting but I'm trying to lose weight at the mo so holding off investing in anymore trousers :p
Had 4 pairs of Carharrts which were good but I prefer zips to studs. Just bought 2 pairs of Levis 510s of Ebay, one nearly new and 1 bnwt, £70 all up.
Bought a Schott leather jacket in TKMaxx about 8 yrs for £130 ago but nothing since.
https://communityclothing.co.uk/
Made in UK at sensible prices by that guy from the sewing bee on telly
Last pair I bought were Vulpine Opus from Sport Pursuit last year. Practically lived in them October to March, back in them now.
Comfy, look good, bit of stretch, diamond gusset for a soothing perineal cycling experience. Reflecty detail on turn ups.
Wearing well, too.
I bought 34in as well, just in case, but missed the return date, so there's a pair with tags on if anyone's interested. Nothing sight this paragraph was written to sell though, love mine, wearing them now. Would be happy to have a couple of pairs of 32in for sparesies.
I'm sold on Uniqlo jeans now too. Stretchy!
When did Levis get so expensive? Last pair was just over £100. And six months on the arse has gone out of them.
I just bought 2 pairs of Levi 501 from John Lewis, £100 down to £30. The first jeans I've bought in 13 years.
Paul smiths fit me well and don't go baggy after 6 months like levis. PSA: Good deals at their online shop right now.
When did Levis get so expensive? Last pair was just over £100. And six months on the arse has gone out of them.
No idea - I think the last Levi’s I bought was around forty years ago. My most recent jeans purchase was probably mentioned here, didn’t actually check, but it was two pairs of Uniqlo Japanese Selvedge, regular fit straight leg in unwashed Indigo.
They cost about £75, iirc. That’s for two pairs. The fit is just like straight leg 501’s from the 60’s, plus they do seem to have revised their sizing - the first ones I tried in their London store in my usual size of 32x34 wouldn’t go over my thighs, and I’m not that muscle-bound! 34x34 fitted perfectly. I bought 32x34 by mistake this time, and the fit was spot-on.
They’re excellent jeans, real selvedge denim for that sort of money is a proper bargain.