Good Quality Jeans – Of the Slim/Skinny Fit Variety

Almost feel a bit cringe asking what jeans are good, but i am at the point where my ‘go to’ options just don’t last very long and it seems a waste/false economy to buy more (the go to is currently Route One’s own brand, so generally two pairs for £60).

Are classic brands like Levi’s and Lee much more hardy and higher quality? Are there other brands i should look at?

I am happy to spend up to £100 for a pair if they are going to last. I am unfortunately not the type of person to spend £250+ on jeans, so no need to recommend anything too pricey.

As mentioned in the title, i prefer skinny or slim fit (although i see the trend these days are super baggy, takes me back to skate days of the 90’s!)

Any recommendations or real world feedback is appreciated!

I just bought a pair of Howies slim fit in n their 30% off sale. I’ve not got on with the fit before but these fit very well, well made, feel nice so I’m very happy.

I also have a pair of Levi’s 502 which were my “best” jeans but they’re stretchy and I’ve gone off anything with stretch because it just loses shape after a while. They’re also a nice moderately slim fit though.

Levi’s are made of tissue paper these days. Utterly shite. Same goes for Wrangler, to a lesser extent. My current go-to brand is Petrol Industries. I’ve got a couple of pairs that have lasted longer than the currently expected six months. Finding good jeans is hard now.

Uniqlo selvedge – good quality and good value

TJ  Jeans..

An Edinburgh fashion brand for the discerning man(or woman)

They are a must have while strutting around town this festive season .

😉 🙂

This thread on Twitter today is for you: https://x.com/dieworkwear/status/1869867425589846046

Obvs most of the retailers mentioned are American but equivalents will be easy to find

I’ve been living in Vulpine Opus jeans for a couple a years. Really comfy, lasting well, tiny bit of stretch and a diamond gusset means the comfiness extends to pedalling in them, too.

Edit: I ordered size M and L and missed the return on the L, so there’s a brand new pair here if you want them for less than the 70 on Sport pursuit.

Personally I get on well with Nudie Jeans ‘lean Dean’ cut jeans, although they are often over £100 these days.

But you could try Vinted – i get a lot of stuff cheap from there nowadays. Often in mint condition. Only downside is, if you don’t like it you can’t send it back, you’ll have to sell it on…

Are classic brands like Levi’s and Lee much more hardy and higher quality?

Levis have really diluted their brand and the quality and fit of even something that they should hang their whole reputation on – like 501s is very variable

People the same size and shape as me seem to habitually buy Huit jeans, not wear them, then sell them on ebay. So I’ve few pairs of their jeans now and haven’t spent much on them. So have a look an ebay and see if someone the same size and shape as you is doing the same with something you like.

TJ  Jeans..

An Edinburgh fashion brand for the discerning man(or woman)

A subsidiary of the classic rainwear brand TJ Macs?

I came in here to recommend Levi’s 511 jeans.  Looks like I am in a party of one there though.

I bought some Wrangler from an outlet store which I am well pleased with from a quality/price perspective.
Annoyingly the shop has closed down now, but I’d definitely look out for Wrangler jeans in the future.

And as middle age encroaches I now find myself owning a couple of pairs of M&S jeans which are pretty good in terms of fit and quality. You just need to be careful on the sizing as they seem to be labelled to flatter middle aged spread. Their 32 waist seems more like a 34 from most other brands etc.

I think Levi’s are incredibly comfortable. They’re the only jeans I would pay £80 for. But it seems to me, that the whole philosophy of Levi’s is for their jeans to weather and wear. Imo they’re not designed to stay looking like new. So I accept that Levi’s will wear, and therefore, wear out. But imo, they’re incredibly comfortable and look great while they do.

but I wouldn’t recommend them to someone who wants their jeans to last as long as possible. Personally, my Levi’s have lasted for years. But I try to wash them as seldomly as possible – probably once per year or so. I’d be surprised if I don’t get at least a decade out of each pair. In fact, now that I think about it, I probably expect to get 20 years out of mine.

Skinny fit is a bit outdated isn’t it??

Hark at Gok Wan!

Levi 511s work for me.

As noted above, they shouldn’t need washing regularly, though I do mine more than once/year!

If you’ve an outlet store nearby, they often have a 2 for around £120  offer on .. .. might be busy for a week or two.

Edwin ED-80, they’re about £100, lovely jeans.

I’ve always worn either Nudie, Diesel, replay or Armani, and all been great so I would recommend any of those in the fit you want

My jeans are all Carharrt, Howies or Uniqlo (Selvedge or normal) – and all are good quality and last well.

I go for a regular or loose fit, but they probably all do tighter ones.

+1 for Hiuts if you can get a deal, I have 2 pairs and they seem pretty near indestructible.

I get on pretty well with Edwins and they can often be found for around the £100 mark.

Has anyone tried any of the community clothing ones? UK made and the prices look sensible.

MEN'S JEANS

A subsidiary of the classic rainwear brand TJ Macs?

Come on, chaps, that deserved some recognition at least

Levi 511s work for me.

 

As noted above, they shouldn’t need washing regularly, though I do mine more than once/year!

 

If you’ve an outlet store nearby, they often have a 2 for around £120 offer on .. .. might be busy for a week or two.

Was going to say Levi. I just buy mine from the Levi store on Amazon. Prices vary like crazy from day-to-day and between sizes (i.e. £33 then up to £100+ after a post appears on HUKD)  , but I’ve got about 5 pairs and have always paid less than £40. I have a few 501s (non stretchy ), as well as 511, 502 and 512. 511s are the pick of the bunch and comfiest.

Has anyone mentioned HebTroCo? Clearly outside of the price range, but very nice jeans.

https://hebtro.co/jeans-and-pants/

Has anyone tried jeans from ‘The Moleskin Jeans co.”?  Made in Lancashire from Yorkshire denim, apparently.  £100 for denim, £80 for moleskin.  I’ve never spent more than Levis money, but I’m tempted by these.

Personally happy in Next jeans – they’re lasting well & fit nice. I have tried more expensive jeans & never found the fit to be good on me (must have a cheap body shape) & have been annoyed by small pockets

Community clothing are good jeans

However I am currently sat in a pair of HebTroCo in their slimmest cut and they are such good jeans it’s worth the extra

cheers everyone so far. plenty to take a look at!

I’ve bought Nudie Jeans for the past few years, never paid full price, mostly from ebay / Vinted, once you know the size style that suits it’s just a case of waiting for the right colour pair at the right price to come up.  On the skinny pairs (mainly Skinny Lin, though fashion is now for a less skinny jean) I do tend to blow the crotch after a while, but Nudie do a free repair service which extends the life of the jeans somewhat.

I do also have a couple of pairs of Hebtroco in their ‘slimmest’ fit.  I’d not class them as skinny / slim at all as they are made from non stretch denim so need to be sized to get on and off without ‘give’, I’d say they are more gently tapered.

Uniqlo selvedge for normal jeans. Reasonably durable, nothing incredible, but they are c£40ish.  For diamond gusset jeans, the Alpkit Jeanius are quite good. Pockets wear out before the legs though, but I have had the pockets repaired to get to the lifetime of the jeans. If Uniqlo made diamond gusset slim-fit jeans, that would be perfect.

Pretty Green castlefield for for me. I’m 6’2 30″ waist and they’re the best fitting jeans I’ve found

I’ve got some Bolger jeans from Sportpursuit which I’ve had for a couple of years and I really like them.

Hebtroco.

Wearing a pair of their canvas ones now.

Another 511 wearer here. The problem is that there are about 30 different fabric options, some of which are pre-distressed so will not wear very well. You really have to read the small print carefully to see what they are made of, and it’s really difficult to find out what has been done to them. I find the Rock Cod and Nightshine Black wear reasonably well, but even those don’t last more than a couple of years – and the black doesn’t stay black.

I’ve bought Nudie Jeans for the past few years, never paid full price, mostly from ebay / Vinted, once you know the size style that suits it’s just a case of waiting for the right colour pair at the right price to come up.

Annoyingly, I find Nudie to be as erratically sized as all the other jeans companies!  I’ve got 3 pairs of Lean Dean 34/32, and they are very different sizes – two need a belt to stay up, the third I can barely button up. I bought one pair directly from their website and they were so hilariously long I had to send them back, they must have been about 40″ in the leg!

Another shout for Levis 511. Great fit and durability, in my opinion.

Diesel D-Strukt are a great fit but may be out of your price range, however Vinted will be your friend here.

Jeans shouldn’t need washing very often. Maybe that’s why some experience accelerated wearing out…

The nicest jeans I’ve bought recently are from White Stuff, bizarrely.

I wouldn’t buy any other clothes from there, as it’s a bit “old man outdoors” style, but the jeans are good.  And jeans are jeans, really,  as long as the fit and material are good.

The denim is thicker than other high street brands, including Uniqlo, which were my old go-to, and they have some stretch but not too much.  Mine are straight fit, which were actually slimmer than the slim fit ones when I tried them on.

£55 a pair.

I have several pairs of Lee jeans, cos they have my name on them!

They are durable but sizing is totally random, so best try before you buy.

Uniqlo selvedge – good quality and good value

My automatic response is Uniqlo Japanese selvedge. Maybe not as heavy duty as some 18oz fancy brand, but they’re around £39 instead of £180-250/pair. And to emphasise, they’re Japanese selvedge.

I came in here to recommend Levi’s 511 jeans.  Looks like I am in a party of one there though

No, I see a few more have since piped up! 511s work for me, good fit and wear well. I’d recommend some of the above comments re washing – don’t just chuck them in the wash unless they really need it, if they get stained see if you can spot clean first. Frequent washing wears them, quite apart from the environmental impact. You should easily get them for under £50, less if you buy (cautiously!) on eBay.

And to emphasise, they’re Japanese selvedge

Seriously, what difference does that really make in a £39.99 pair of jeans?

Seriously, what difference does that really make in a £39.99 pair of jeans?

Apart from quality of the jeans themselves, perhaps “higher welfare” – not made in sweat factories paying pennies, non toxic dyes, reduced water production, organic cotton. Could be anything depending on the retailer.

The nice men’s wear shop near me sells Mac jeans. They are £130-140 ish these days, but they are incredibly comfortable and last ages and ages and ages. I’ve had several pairs now, and I’m very focused on value for money (as distinct from “cheap”).