Reconsidering Jeans
The post above made me start rethinking my personal denim strategy.
I have finally found a jean that fits and looks good on me...the APC New Cure. The New Cure has a great slim leg and doesn't sit too high or low on the waist. Of course my cleaning lady washed my "unwashed" hard denim jeans recently which I thought would ruin them, but actually it just gave me a new "rinse" and a great reason to buy a new pair to replace the old ones!
However, just as I got a handle on the slim leg jean I have started seeing guys doing a slightly fuller leg jean again - and looking cool doing it.
I think this picture I took last winter is looking more and more interesting now.
Also, yesterday I was at a Japanese bookstore and finally bought a copy of Free & Easy. A great denim magazine that all the denim and casual wear designers I know swear by for design inspiration.
I have finally found a jean that fits and looks good on me...the APC New Cure. The New Cure has a great slim leg and doesn't sit too high or low on the waist. Of course my cleaning lady washed my "unwashed" hard denim jeans recently which I thought would ruin them, but actually it just gave me a new "rinse" and a great reason to buy a new pair to replace the old ones!
However, just as I got a handle on the slim leg jean I have started seeing guys doing a slightly fuller leg jean again - and looking cool doing it.
I think this picture I took last winter is looking more and more interesting now.
Also, yesterday I was at a Japanese bookstore and finally bought a copy of Free & Easy. A great denim magazine that all the denim and casual wear designers I know swear by for design inspiration.
Comments on "Reconsidering Jeans"
That's a great jacket, and I think it's very possible to "dress up" in jeans, and that they are not just for dressing down.
OH! I am totally in the mood for a new pair of jeans! Great to know about this magazine! Thanks for sharing!
Reminds me of Henry Fonda from Grapes of Wrath for some reason..good overall shape created by complete ensemble...
damn! It is a guys magazine!
Mr. C has a pair of Sugar Cane jeans from Blue in Green that have faded to such a stunning blue/green ocean color that I can hardly bear it. Truly, I *never* expected to gaze adoringly at indigo--it always seemed more functional than a piece of art. But my mind has changed!
Awesome post Scott! I agree with the whole jean thing.. More full is lookin good to me now. Also agree with the A.P.C. love the jeans. and reasonably priced too! Thanks for the mag. info.
That looks like awesome magazine -thanks for posting. All throughmy fashion school days i refused to wear jeans telling anyone who would listen it was my stand against the ubiquity of denim and the supression of individuality and creativity in dress... now, older and wiser i know there's nothing better than a perfectly fitting great pair of jeans!
Hey...you should get this Japanese magazine called Commons & Sense. I can't find this mag in The Netherlands. I wish we had a japanese store!!
Commons & Sense.Remember!
http://www.commons-sense.net/
My guy looks great in his wider-leg jeans. It just seems less fussy. Also he's not a skinny guy, and skinny jeans are just not that flattering on a bigger guy.
Really nice jackets!!!
Scott,
didn't your APC shrink up to like...shorts when your cleaning lady washed them? I love having a new rinse but not if they look like Thom Browne jeans.
WAD also recently released a denim issue.
Very interesting to read and a good mapping of all the important denim brands and where they come from.
WAD also recently released a denim issue.
Very interesting to read and a good mapping of all the important denim brands and where they come from.
Hello
not a fan of APC, the denim is not as good as it could be and the finishing is poor, but these look good on you, love the Jacket.
F&E is a good resource but there a little to focused on there own store (Rugged Museum) but the infomation and history is great
Neil
Love the fabric of this guy's jacket !
Very masculine...
Sart!
I think you are thinking about your jeans too much. The beauty of a good pair of jeans is that they become a part of you and fit the wearer in a stylish manner no matter what the trend is. I think what makes a pair of jeans look right is the broken in - well loved- marks of wear + the adaptions a person often makes to the jeans to make them just theirs. Know what I mean?
It is not the jeans or the cut of the leg that only qualifies them - it is the person inside them!
Love,
A dedicated jeans wearer.
Yes wide leg jeans always look good even if they are not right on trend. Japanese have had a long love affair with vintage american workwear. I scour thrift stores and have found old jackets like these ones, which are very comfortable to wear. APC is in my list of stores to visit next time I am in NYC. Jorge from W Palm Beach
Damn. I need new shoes.
You americans are so after.. that type of jeans has been popular in europe for a year or two now.
By those few pages I got the urge to the sit down in a good chair read the magazine and get inspired!Wow!
Tweed and jeans: always a winner when done well. But not sure about the 'rinse' on those jeans. Looks suspiciously like it was an 'old lady in a factory in Italy' job. I think if you're going to pull off the 'hovering the turn up above the ankle' thing, you need some ankle boots too. A pair of Alden boots would round that off nicely.
Some body types look better in slim jeans, others look better in something with a fuller leg. This is a great example of how a man shouldn't allow fashion to direct his choices.
Are you familiar with R by 45rpm there? (A store in soho and UES) I used to live in Tokyo and was spoiled by living so close to their flagship store, Badou R, in aoyama, Tokyo. Try on a pair of their denim's, you will not regret it! And as a plus, the folks that work there are great and very helpful!
Heather
As a long time denim buff, no one piece of clothing is more inspiring to me that a pair of perfectly worn in denim with perfect patina. it's a labor of love. wearing the jeans for a year or so on a almost daily basis to get them there.
I'm glad that you did this post and I agree about the fuller leg jeans. for the last 6 months I have been putting my APC L'anglaise jeans back on the top of the pile. it's a low waisted full straight leg cut. I think that the fuller straight legs although never out of style, are coming back in. new cure are nice but new standard is probably their best cut. been a big fan of APC for almost 10 years.
Scott, my latest favorite pair of Jeans are the RRL slim fit raw salvage. check them out if you haven't already. some of the best denim I have ever worn.
where did you pick up a copy of free and easy? need to get a copy. I live in LA and haven't been able to get my hands on one. cheers and great post.
raw denim is huge in japan. i myself wear new cures! and i got them in a 25~ but i feel like the leg is too big for me and i wanna taper them but i can't make the decision just yet.
i think right now if u trade in ur NCs u can get a pair for half off? of one of the newer styles, im not too sure bout this.
but yeah APC makes great denim!
but for japanese brands check out SKULLS and D-bones? im not too sure what they're called now :x
oh ! for japanese men's fashion, definitely pick up Men's Non No to read! women's non no is typical office lady style but i LOVE men's non-no (im a girl ^_^)
You should check out HUGE magazine as well if you haven't already. It's another fantastic men's mag out of Japan that you can get at Kinokuniya.
Sart, this is a round-up of numbers of top fashion magazines in Japan. http://mekas.jp/en/trends/469.xhtml#1
I love jeans on other people, but personally I've just completely given up on them. I've found ONE pair in the last 5 years or so that have really fit me.
Miriam
Oh, my god, I love, love, love those jeans. What a great cut.
Unless you are tall and skinny, I find rolling up fuller-leg jeans just makes one look shorter. Then again, maybe I am overly self-conscious because I am only 66 inches tall...
APC denim - with you on the cut, but since they moved prod. to Tunisia they seem to be overly stretchy.
Albam in London do a nice cut, their lower hem isn't chain stitched, but worth a go.
-APC by far is the best denim producer now a days, the fitting is perfect, and the price is reasonable, compare to other brands.
-Even I don´t understand a word (japanese) it has a great editorial design, everything in Japan, it´s almost mathematically calculated.
- Scott, you should post more japanese influences, or recomend which blog´s.(I only know the men´s-ex blog, but there should be tons more) thanx.
great work!!!
No jean has ever looked as good on a man as a Levi 501 button up. So distracting ... all those buttons ...
The APC New Cure is a classic cut. They are somehow slightly slouchy despite being a "skinny" jean. Tough to keep them unwashed, but I'm vowing to just let this latest pair get grungy and whiskered. My last pair (I've owned for 2 years) have been through cold water washes twice and hung out to dry and even then they are noticeably a different shade (and slightly shorter). Like you say, nothing wrong with that, but there's nothing like the patina on an unwashed pair.
The next question is: If you're a 30 inseam, would you dare hem them a little?
And I totally agree with the comment that Men's Non-no is the best J-fashion mag I've ever seen!
You should seriously check out Acne, they make amazing jeans.
www.acnestudios.com
I love APC New Standard... They are great for dressier occasions but can also wear them casually. Also, Rag & Bone 'RB11' are very dark and soft. I wear jeans almost everyday towork and get asked why am I so dressed up when I wear either pair with a blazer or sweater.
How great would it be if you could not only see the pictures and the style at all.
Reading it would be great ..
for men only
I get my mag monthly from my japanese friends...
and now it's time for you to come to JAPAN!!!!!!!!
I'm doing full legs razor creased and cuffed. It looks dressy with a waist coat and blazer or really classic with a T and my Dickies work jacket. AND they can stand in a corner by themselves!
Noooo.... you've let the secret out!
I love Free&Easy! Simply brilliant.
do you have any recommendations for japanese magazines geared towards women's fashion????
I have also sworn by the APC new cure for a couple of years, until I recently discovered a small English company (I live in England) called Albam clothing, their skinny jean is very similar but with a couple of subtle alterations, well worth a look.
Go wider leg jeans! For one thing, they're more comfy and easier to move in -- and surely that's what jeans should be about?
These past couple years have led me to realize that I live my in jeans. I actually just recently bought my first pair of non-denim pants in almost a year. I'll definitely be checking out this magazine!
Great pics!
Free and easy never disappoints
This man looks much younger without the beard we've been seeing him with.
ive been reading japanese magazines for more than five years nows, they are always ahead with the trends - they are sooo on point! rawr
can you please never mention free & easy again....its a secret
I've been trying to make the move from skinny to more full leg. But since the skinny jean was so skinny a regular full leg now feels baggy. Has anyone else had this problem? It's all mental I know I just to get over it and feel more confident in them