Designer Jeans -- Diesel, Sevens, Rock & Republic, and GAP

I've been a fan of designer jeans for the past several years.  This is amazing since when I was young I refused to wear them. When I was young I hated wearing jeans. Back then, the majority of jeans were what they now call skinny jeans or straight fit. With my large rump and large thighs, this translated to really uncomfortable and poor fitting jeans.

I finally decided to start wearing jeans again (and start avoiding khakis) after I graduated from college.  Because of this, I usually went cheap. I was a big fan of the bootcut GAP jeans the first two years after college.  Why did I avoid khakis?  Because they were a pain in the butt to keep wrinkle free.  By the time wrinkle free khakis came about, I was already set in my ways, jeans off work and slacks for the office.

My first pair of "real" designer jeans was a pair of Diesel Zantans. They are boot cut low rise jeans.  Diesels use great quality denim. I have Diesels over 3-years old that has survived through daily wear and still look in good condition. I would only recommend these jeans to skinnier folks with no ass and long legs. The problem with the Diesels is they do not fit people who enjoy wearing boxers and have a larger behind. Because the jeans are so low cut, I looked like I have shorter legs (and I'm already built like a dauchscund) and as I became chunkier, I had this tendency of showing my crack to bystanders.  I had three pairs of Diesels in total (which speaks to how well they fit and how durable they were - up to a certain waistline). Sizes 32", 34", and lastly my crack showing 36".

I decided to look for a better cut and moved on to my first pair of Joe's jeans. The Rebel jeans was a looser fit low rise jeans that fit me well. The jeans are not as low rise as the Diesels. This allows for the comfort of low rise jeans without the risk of flashing innocent bystanders or unaware coworkers. The material also had this intriguing dark blue metallic sheen that attracted me.  Unfortunately, even though they are designed in Los Angeles, the jeans are manufactured in Mexico and of poor quality denim. With less than a year wear, the bottom of the jeans has already embarrassingly worn through (see pictures). You can see advance signs of wear along all areas of the denim fabric, with the denim itself "pillowing" and "fuzzing".  The remainder of the jean looks fine.

I have now expanded my jean wear to Rock and Republic. I have owned a pair of Rock and Republic Henlee jeans for almost the past year and they have held up well. Rock and Republic uses great quality denim that do not fad or wear prematurely. I liked them so much I have bought another pair. I have not tried their "Recession" collection so I can't speak much about it. Based on initial impression at the store the denim looks much thinner and of a poorer quality.  My recommendation is if you're going to spend the money for the quality, and not just the brand, avoid the Recession collection and just get the real thing.

I was recently turned onto my first pair of Sevens for all Mankind by the girlfriend of a good friend of mine. The Austyn fit very well and the denim material is very soft and pleasing to the skin but the durability is still in question. The denim material feels very thin so my hopes are not high - but I'm hoping to be proven wrong.  My friend, who is a die hard fan of the brand, claims the material is very durable.

Here's a great article about it.