Selvage for the Masses

A couple years ago, I made a post which, in hindsight, I'm slightly embarrassed by. It was to tout cheap selvage at the Gap. Untraceable, unremarkable selvage, made in China, most likely, nothing with much character to speak up, except for a silly blue rivet. The price, was, I believe $88, and I paid $66. And this was 2009 money. Why, they'd probably be regularly $90 today!

To sum up, I was blogging about jeans - at the Gap. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Gustin, however, seems to have come up with a concept worth blogging about. They are going to take Cone Mills (from North Carolina) redline selvage denim, manufacture them in San Francisco (one my my favorite cities in the country, but that's another story), and charge their wholesale price of...wait for it...$81!

This video explains:

Check out the detailed pictures below from their Kickstarter page:

Left to Right - 1.5 years old, 6 months old, brand spanking new

I am very excited by what this could mean - jeans that are U.S. assembled and made of U.S sourced fabric at such a low price point - so to that end, I'll be putting my money where my mouth (and blog) is, so stay tuned for posts regarding fit and finish!

Selvage on the Cheap

Many of us who enjoy looking under every rock for the "perfect" pair of jeans know the special torture that comes from having to decide what pair have fallen from grace to chore status. I am bad at those decisions, personally. I seemingly cannot consign hard worn jeans to yard, painting, or moving duty.

Instead, my solution has been to look around for "cheap" selvage jeans. I was able grab a pair of these - GAP Selvage Authentic fit jeans. At $88 - I got them for $66, on sale - I don't care if they get destroyed from painting, moving, car repairs, what have you. Here are some pictures direct from the GAP's website. They look bootcut in these pictures, but they aren't. They are a straight cut, which fit me fairly slim in the leg all the way down. I am not built like the model, so as they say, "your mileage may vary".




They've only been rinsed, so I can wear them and personalize them over time like I would other raw denim (because I always do a soak first to get the shrinking over with first anyway). Mind you, there are details I don't love on them - the slanted side belt loops are gimmicky, and the coin pocket is mounted too high - it sits behind any belt you wear. But they are comfortable, fit me well, and I won't be worried about them doing messy stuff around the house, and that's all I ask of them.