Let's Talk About Denim

Well, both denims are going to be fairly heavy (not insane heavy like more specialty offerings, but still weighty). They'll probably feel to the touch unlike anything you've ever tried on before. Embrace that.

Sizing may feel a little awkward at first because of how rigid the denim will arrive. That's all normal - although you can usually also tell right off the bat if they'll work for your body type or not.

Judge well how they fit initially, and then my preference has always been to give new denim a soak immediately after getting them. If I know they're keepers, and there's no real risk of needing to return them, I'll throw them in the washing machine on its lowest possible setting with a bit of Woolite Dark, or really any mild detergent. It will help break them in, get them more flexible, as well as take out any possible shrinkage the fabric may have left (whether it's sanforized/pre-treated/etc. or not - I find there's always a bit of contraction by the fibers when it gets wet and dry again). Assuming you're not going for massive fades and all that, which it doesn't read as such, you won't lose enough indigo to notice, and they'll be immensely more comfortable and inviting right off the bat.

That soak though will also make them usually unreturnable, unless there's some serious defect in production. So make that sizing and "Do I really like these?" judgment carefully.

Finally - despite the price tag, they are just jeans. Treat them as such. They don't need to be babied (although you'll feel more inclined to take care of them because of their price). Wash them when they get dirty. Don't be hung up on the oft-quoted "Don't wash your denim for 6 months" type junk. Denim admittedly doesn't require as much washing as other materials, but you be the judge - when they feel gross, don't hesitate to throw them in the washer.

Please do ask any other questions! Happy to help -
 
Thanks again!

Any other brands and models I should look into similar to those two?

I definitively like heavier denim - currently wearing Elephant II Wierd Guys.
 
Thanks again!

Any other brands and models I should look into similar to those two?

I definitively like heavier denim - currently wearing Elephant II Wierd Guys.

If you want to stretch the budget? PBJ, Momotaro, Samurai, 3sixteen, and Sugarcane. , Iron Hearts.
 
They're pretty good with communication. Sadly, not as good with production. But I get it because they're only doing it on demand. I had to send mine back to be sized up. Unfortunately, they don't have anything in my size.
 
where do they say gustins are made?

Our Story

Gustin has been in the high-end fashion industry for six years. Frustrated with retail, we created a way to make the garments we love, get closer to the people who buy them, and deliver them at a price that changes the game. Here is how we are doing it:
Premium menswear hand-crafted in San Francisco

We designed premium denim sold at the best boutiques in the country, produced locally in San Francisco. We have earned a reputation for classic styling, impeccable quality, and superb fit.
Crowdsourced

Other fashion brands guess what their customers want – we let you decide. We design a complete collection from premium denim to the perfectly fitted dress-shirt and you have the final word in what gets produced.
Delivered to you at wholesale

If you purchased our jeans at a traditional retailer you would pay $205 or more. We sell them directly to you for around $81 a pair. We follow this pricing model for everything we make.
 
What rise is considered low, medium and high in jeans?

Is 9.25 with a 32 waist on the low side?
 
Something I would only ask the good folks on this site: What's the deal with LVC 1947s? I've never seen or touched a pair IRL, can't understand the loyal following or hight price. Why the love?
 
Wanting to experiment with more denim. Can anyone suggest me a similar jean fit to levi's 501? looking for something pre-washed with a higher rise (around 12")

EDIT: Taylor stitch looks pretty good.

I'm in the market for the same thing, so let me know what you narrow it down to. The Gustin's are a good choice, assuming you need a higher waist size. The lower waist sizes have a short rise.
 
So far, I prefer the Gustins due to being abit roomier and not tapering so aggressively toward the ankle. I'm not too picky with the brand as long as the fit is right. I could just go for another pair of 501 or 505's. just weighing all my options first.

I want to try something new. 501's are getting old. Time to branch out.
 
Something I would only ask the good folks on this site: What's the deal with LVC 1947s? I've never seen or touched a pair IRL, can't understand the loyal following or hight price. Why the love?


My first experience w/ '47s was because of a #menswear recommendation.

First off, you have a lot of draw from the Americana aspect of the brand and cut. Levi's. Post WWII. It's like a golden age for a lot of the workwear crowd when that was bigger (end of 2000's). Further, Levi's reputation for making bulletproof jeans created a lot of hype for when LVC began releasing "the same" thing as used to be produced. I think it goes without saying that OTR Levi's from your Macy's or JCPenny's aren't the greatest products in the world - you had a lot of older Levi's wearers who suddenly felt like the brand was going back to their youth, with jeans that lasted and which you could abuse in any way imaginable. Played on a lot of sympathies from when standard-issue Levi's were really the bee's knees.

Then you have the cut. The '47 is a classic cut of denim, often emulated by a lot of repro brands. It's a higher waist (than the normal low-rise standard), with narrow thighs and a smallish leg opening. For whatever reason, the cut looks good on just about anybody. For a lot of brands and cuts of denim nowadays, you need to have an appropriate physique to maximize "the look" but '47s just seem to look very good on anyone.

The denim wears fairly well too - I believe it was White Oak Cone, although I could be wrong about that now.

So, history, plus a lot of nostalgia, a perfect combination of market + consumer, and then the cut.

I really, really enjoyed my pair, but agree that prices (as with most anything in the world) are getting severely out of hand. You can try the same basic cut in other brands though like Sugarcane, Workware, Paul Rose, etc.
 
LVC is a fucking mess. They've got something like 9 different cuts of the 501's, and NO ONE at the company can actually tell you how they differentiate them from each other.
 
I've actually enjoyed how the sa from their sf union square store brought out and described the difference between all the models, and helped me choose one that fits my non-greek god like body best.

The SF store is the flagship. The people there know what they're doing.
 
Just got my Gustin Heavy Americans in the mail. I really like them, they're a touch snug in the waist, but after two days they're loosening up nicely. The denim is nice and heavy (obviously), the details are good/great (I dig the lined pack pockets actually, and the buttons are nice and beefy). The selvedge belt loop is okay; but I knew that going in. The fit is sweet too; despite the overly snug waist, the rest of the fit is perfect (I sized for the thighs, and am looking for a touch of stretch in the waist.)

My problem is that I was out at teh clubzzzz on Saturday (and got indigo on my girl's brand new peach shorts, but I should have expected that), felt a pop at my waist, and lost the face of a pocket rivet. I managed to grab it, but I'm slightly annoyed that I just bought these pants and they had a rivet fail; I have never had that happen before - but then, these are my heaviest denim (16.25 oz), so that makes it more likely I guess? I'm also pretty damn annoyed it took me till mid-june to get them (to be fair, I was at the back of the queue) and then there's an issue.
Anyways, I emailed them, will probably get a reply tomorrow. Depending on what they say, I might just superglue the face of the rivet back on, as long as that won't likely lead to further issues with durability. What say you, experts of denim?

Did you end up hearing back?
 
Yeah I did. I'm mailing them back, they're gonna fix em and ship em back to me (and they cover both directions of shipping with either a paypal reimbursement or store credit).

Thats awesome. I ended up getting in on a run of Heavy Japan. Sadly, I might not be here when they finally get shipped.
 
After doing some research and measurements, the straight fits from Gustin are nearly exactly the same as the 501's (apart from .5" shorter rise and 0.25" smaller in the thigh)

It is definitely workable for me and a great alternative to 501.

I hope so. I can't give you a definitive answer since they were too small to even button up, but they look to be good. I'm even thinking about getting in on a second pair.
 
If I wanna pay a bit more the 3sixteen "slim straight" has identical measurements. Not sure why they call it that, as the cut seems more generous than other brands "straight" cuts.

Ugh. I avoid anything with slim in the name. Been bit in the ass one too many times for that.
 
I'd just like to plug Momotaro in here for an amazing straight cut. The 701 or 702 sized up one is a great silhouette with thigh room while still maintaining a sleek appearance.
 
Well, yes...

Just saying though. I'm not sure how I'm being put on the spot in a fashion forum for the more expensive item?!?!
 
Well, yes...

Just saying though. I'm not sure how I'm being put on the spot in a fashion forum for the more expensive item?!?!
You're not. You just brought it up in the course of the Gustin discussion. I thought you were making an A to B comparison.
 
I did a little batch testing of Levis yesterday since I needed to jump up a size from my normal 35's to 36's: 501 STF 36" jeans vs. standard 501 STF 36" jeans.

The STF's, after shrinking, are looser all around than the standards. Waist, thigh, calf, just about every single measurement. Also, the rises are higher in both the front and the back. This, coupled with the greater stretchiness of the non-sanforized denim in the STF's, makes them ideal for me. I know that the waist and thigh would slightly stretch on the standard 501's, but the fit was GLOVE tight over the thighs (to the point where it was tight fitting in my card case and phone) and the rise was very shallow (without a tight belt, they were showing a bit of crack when I bent over). I honestly think they've shrunk the standard 501 cut. The legs seem much more streamlined, almost like the original 514's before they went super skinny. There was hardly any bag in calf area at all. For anyone who's at the margins of fit on the standard 501's, I highly recommend you trying out the STF's.

If you need sizing help, disregard the tag. For a regular fit, buy the same waist size you normally wear. It might be tight for a day or two but nothing more. They stretch pretty damn fast. For length, I've found that they shrink 1-2". So if you're normally a 34x34, buy a 34x36. I've shrunk over 25 pairs and never had this formula fail me yet.
 
thanks, A.... yeah, atm we're thinking of doing 2 more... one with the same stocks, and the next would include 3 more brands we're bringing in (2 japanese and 1 american). I'm really hoping we get some traction to start on a real store.

Neat. What are you bringing in next?
 
I did a little batch testing of Levis yesterday since I needed to jump up a size from my normal 35's to 36's: 501 STF 36" jeans vs. standard 501 STF 36" jeans.

The STF's, after shrinking, are looser all around than the standards. Waist, thigh, calf, just about every single measurement. Also, the rises are higher in both the front and the back. This, coupled with the greater stretchiness of the non-sanforized denim in the STF's, makes them ideal for me. I know that the waist and thigh would slightly stretch on the standard 501's, but the fit was GLOVE tight over the thighs (to the point where it was tight fitting in my card case and phone) and the rise was very shallow (without a tight belt, they were showing a bit of crack when I bent over). I honestly think they've shrunk the standard 501 cut. The legs seem much more streamlined, almost like the original 514's before they went super skinny. There was hardly any bag in calf area at all. For anyone who's at the margins of fit on the standard 501's, I highly recommend you trying out the STF's.

If you need sizing help, disregard the tag. For a regular fit, buy the same waist size you normally wear. It might be tight for a day or two but nothing more. They stretch pretty damn fast. For length, I've found that they shrink 1-2". So if you're normally a 34x34, buy a 34x36. I've shrunk over 25 pairs and never had this formula fail me yet.
Amen on this entire post. I can manage 33 STF while 34s in the preshrunk versions are tight right out of the store. I completely agree with and endorse everything said here.
 
Amen on this entire post. I can manage 33 STF while 34s in the preshrunk versions are tight right out of the store. I completely agree with and endorse everything said here.

Interesting that you size down in the STF's. Do you do it for the more fitted look or to accommodate for the eventual stretching?
 
A little bit of both actually. Don't like jeans painted on, but too baggy is a no- go too. Because the STF are generally so loose everywhere else, and the waist is easiest to stretch, sizing down wasn't a problem.

Without setting a "size down x" rule, on STF if you're wanting a reasonably slim look, buy whatever tagged size fits your waist comfortably pre-soak. Then make the excuse to tub-soak, and everything else will come in adequately. Waist will fit to you and everything else comes in.
 
To clarify and stress; I only advocate this method because the rest of the unsanforized jean is so drastically oversized compared to the waist measurement. Doesn't typically work on slimmer jeans.
 
I've worn my 3sixteens for a couple of days now. The denim is just lovely and construction is all you could want. The cut is slimmer than I had expected in the thigh and hip, though I expect these will stretch a fair bit (there is quit a bit of natural give in the fabric, new).
 
I've seen a few people saying the new 501's have slimmed down.

Do the new 501's have a nicer looking patch on the back, instead of the cardboard looking patch? I'm grabbing a pair off ebay (with the cardboard looking patch) and presuming it's the older version.

I think the newer versions have this tag too.

levis_501_w.jpg
Patch on the new sanforized 501's
image.webp
 
To cuff or not to cuff jeans, that is my question of the day.
 
need to see pics of both

I guess I'm wondering if I should leave them with a 1" single turn-up cuff showing-off teh shelvedge linez or have them taken up the inch for a clean chain stitched hem. I'm leaning towards going cuff-less for a change.
 

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