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So I get paying a lot of money to buy a nice dress shirt or tie. There you can see the quality.
But, out of curiosity, is it worth it to buy expensive $100-200 jeans? Are they really any better in quality that someone can notice than, say, a $30 pair from GAP?
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Mostly lower quality, at a less than a dollar higher production cost. What one pays extra for is being a lazy *** who can't put wear&tear&laundering into ones own clothes, and has to hire someone else to make one look cool (ie like someone who actually does things).
And the "dress" jeans are just plain cheap **** produced at a lower cost. The extra one pays is for the designer label to impress folks who are impressed by designer labels.
posted
aspectre, what evidence do you have to prove that they are mostly lower quality or are just plain cheap?
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Mar 2005
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That depends. 1) How much is in your (sensibly made) clothes budget; and 2) How much better do you look in them compared to other jeans, determined after due diligence.
If you have the money for it and you do look substantially better in them, then yes, totally worth it.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Take a look at designer outsourcing practices: ThirdWorld sweatshops, often paying so little "by piece" that it leads to less than legal-minimum wage for that country. And at the cloth quality. Then at the stitching and reinforced areas.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Where are cheap jeans made? The cloth quality, hardware and stitching is undeniably better in more expensive jeans
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I suspect the answer to this questions depends on how much you value being able to say or know you are wearing expensive jeans.
Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
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I have noticed quality differences between jeans in things like cloth quality. Some cheap jeans do not hold up as well to normal day to day life. Also, is it levi's who has admitted that the jeans they provide to walmart that are so much cheaper than everywhere else are made from a cheaper fabric. Also, a lot of outlet stores have products made just for the outlets. Cuts might also matter, but the fabric quality is the easiest to see a difference on. Also, cuts are a bit subjective- I imagine there are some people who look really good in some of the ones that look awful on me.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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How they look, how they fit, how they hold up is not universal across all denim.
There are lots of different body types out there, and jeans are not one style suits all.
If you find that the style that suits you best, after due diligence and ignoring the "impress others" factor (because no one who thinks actually cares after junior high), happens to be an expensive pair and you have the money for it, then knock yourself out.
Jeans are generally tough, even the cheaper kind, and I wear a pair almost every day. A pair that lasts even a year that makes me look good every time I put it on? Definitely worth $100 or even $200 if I had the money in the budget for it.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I tend to shop for both jeans and running shoes without looking at the price tag. I pick the two or three I like best, then buy based on cheapest price. In my experience, the jeans and shoes that fit me best are the more expensive ones. So, for me, expensive jeans are worth it.
I tend to wear the same two pair of jeans until they fall apart before buying new ones, so in that sense they are also worth it. It only costs an extra forty or fifty dollars to feel confident in the way my butt looks for six months, and to own jeans that I can wear for any occasion, thereby eliminating the time I waste on trying to choose my wardrobe. Best fifty bucks I spend.
ETA: Or, pretty much what Kat said.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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That depends largely on your definition of 'worth it'. We just had most of this discussion a few weeks ago in a thread on the importance of physical appearance.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I've worn Nudies and I've worn Levi's. I prefer Levi's.
Edit to add: The fabric was better on the Nudies, I have no doubt, but I preferred the cut on the Levi's and the Nudies definitely are not worth the price tag for the relative increase in quality. I can get several pairs of Levi's for one pair of Nudies and that allows me to also have a variety of colors.
ETA2: I should probably think out my entire post before posting, but whatever. I think it's worth noting that Levi's are significantly more expensive in non-American countries. In europe I saw a bunch for about 120 euros and I'm told that in Australia they're pretty expensive too. They're not much cheaper than fancy jeans. Maybe the quality of the Levi's is better there, or maybe we get a better deal. Just worth putting out there.
Posts: 2705 | Registered: Sep 2006
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No. I'd buy ear canal phones. But don't listen to me. I'm a bum and a barbarian. Who should probably buy new jeans.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I wear jeans everyday, some days are lots of physical activity, others are mostly desk bound.
Worst fabric was a Gap brand. Very thin and wore out quickly.
Worst fit was some carpenter style ones I got at Walmart, can't remember brand.
Best fit (for me) has been from LL Bean. about $30
Longest lasting is a tie between the LL Bean and ones I buy at Sams Club (store brand called Members Mark, about $13)
As a side note, the store brand stuff from Sams Club I find to be of fairly good quality, comparable to the name brands or better. There is not much similarity between Sams and Wally World as there used to be.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Apr 2007
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I've never tried really expensive jeans. I think the most I've paid is about $38.
What I've found is that the cheapest stuff (ala Walmart) tends to develop weird creases and bunches in the wash. This correlates with durability problems. I think this indicates a lower quality fabric. Also seams and buttons fail too often, and the fit is often pretty sloppy.
Levi's department store brands are better. The 565 jeans were my favorite for a while. They tend to last several years and don't act funny after laundering. I'd get these on sale for around $25-$30.
The slightly more premium Levi's Silvertab jeans are the most expensive and longest-lasting ones I've owned (although they'd probably wear out fast in a manual labor setting), and come out of the dryer with nary a wrinkle, and fit great. Still, I don't know if I'd pay full sticker price on them.
I'm not sure how spending a lot more could be worth it for me. Getting 4 or 5 years out of $38 pants that I'm completely satisfied with, and that my wife says look good on me, seems good enough to me.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: ... I think it's worth noting that Levi's are significantly more expensive in non-American countries. In europe I saw a bunch for about 120 euros and I'm told that in Australia they're pretty expensive too. They're not much cheaper than fancy jeans. Maybe the quality of the Levi's is better there, or maybe we get a better deal. Just worth putting out there.
Probably you get a better deal. I suspect that this has to do with region-based pricing having to do with the relative position of the Levis brand compared to other competitors.
Like so:
quote:Tesco claimed Levi's use of its trademarks to stop it selling jeans imported from the United States breached the retailers' right of freedom of expression, freedom to own and deal in property and the right not to be discriminated against. ... The European Court of Justice ruled last November that retailers selling trademark goods bought from the so-called "grey market" outside the European Union needed the owner's consent.
It left the way open however for designer goods to be sold at discounted prices as long as they were bought from sources within the EU.
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