A Reader Question:
I understand that jeans are never preppy. There are, however, occasions when jeans are handy. What jeans do preps wear should they ever wear jeans?
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Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich, Editor of Salt Water New England: The Thing Before Preppy, since 2010. And a 12th Generation New Englander.
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It's not an oxymoron. Plain, classic Levis.
ReplyDeleteLevi's "button-fly" 501's.
ReplyDeleteLevi's quality is now poor as production has been outsourced to China, Vietnam and Egypt. The exceptions are the limited editions which are made in Japan. Japanese brands such as Full Count and ONI offer much better quality albeit at a higher price but you get what pay for.
DeleteJapanese brands are not preppy. Discussion is about "preppiest" not "fanciest".
DeleteSelvedge (or self-edge) jeans are not necessarily fancy, they do cost more because more fabric is needed to make the pant.
DeleteGood old MiUSA 501s can be found on eBay and the like, and for most of them the pricing compares favorably to the newer offshored stuff. As an added benefit, I find subtle differences in the cut, making them less of a dad jeans cut. There are situations that simply call for jeans, but even the best fitting jeans are less comfortable than an old pair of rumpled khakis.
DeleteYou're absolutely correct; khakis are more comfortable than jeans - as long as they fit properly. Same goes for the jeans - it's best to avoid looking (and feeling) like 10 pounds of ground sausage stuffed into a 5 pound casing... My antecedents, who hail from central Europe, via the UK, detested jeans. I take a somewhat more pragmatic view; jeans do have a place. Particularly here in North America where many continue to cultivate a frontier style reminiscent of the West in the late 19th century. Also, in parts of the continent where the weather - particularly during the winter - poses survival (rather than mere sartorial) challenges, jeans can be a practical alternative to woolen trousers. Here, north of the 49th parallel, I tend to wear jeans (in casual situations) when old man winter throws his worst at us, and khakis when milder temperatures arrive. As for the jeans; Levis. Always Levis. Anything else smacks of a kind of dilettantism that I prefer to avoid. It seems to me that adaptability to whatever nature throws at us ought to surpass stylish concerns; but then again, our temperatures tend regularly to be a tad more extreme than points south. Here, the weather is out to kill us on an annual (autumn/winter/spring) basis. Our temperatures are known to vary 80 degrees (Celsius) between the summer and winter. It all depends upon one's geographic location...
DeleteBanacek
Plenty of preps are still wearing dungarees.
ReplyDeleteWhite 501´s or Wrangler´s 13MWZ for playing polo are great. Anything fancier like Casablanca or even PoloRL is crap, IMHO. Why wear them in any other time?
ReplyDeleteI miss my old Levis because I won't purchase any jeans made in the last 20 years due to poor quality cotton and added spandex.
ReplyDeletePshaw!!! ... I invented the jeans with pearls and espadrilles look.
ReplyDeleteExcellent reply!
DeleteFlannel lined for winter snow shoveling.
ReplyDeleteLevi's 502 dark indigo
ReplyDeleteThere is a big difference between a man who occasionally wears jeans around his property for chores, and someone who literally lives in his jeans all the time.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the latter category is unfortunately legion in America.
Culture (or lack of it) plays a role in this jeans decision. For example, my father (a European) never wore or even owned a pair of jeans his entire life – and the same goes for Frank Sinatra from what I’ve heard.
Anyway, if one wants to wear jeans, then the simpler the better. Nothing distressed, fancy or pre-torn like the kids wear, just basic denim like the pair I own from LL Bean:
https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/32865?page=double-l-jeans-natural-fit&feat=men%20jeans-SR0&csp=a&attrValue_0=1703&searchTerm=men%20jeans&pos=8
You nailed it (again), R.R. The stonewashed denim shade is best (medium shade) because it doesn't look like you are trying for "a look".
DeleteHave always kept one pair—only one pair—to wear with green uni-stripe button-down, or a black sweater, and occasionally when I just feel like a change. But since moving West I have gotten so repulsed by the jeans cult that I never wear the one pair I own.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear jeans often, but have a pair of blue 501s and white 501s for summer, both at least 15 years old.
ReplyDeleteWhite 501s are a delight. I still remember trying to get away with them. The masters' eyes often seemed to be tricked, probably thinking they were uncuffed ducks and not jeans.
DeleteAgreed! Equally at home with a soft and wrinkled OCBD or polo, or a navy blazer or seersucker sport coat. Just got mine out of storage for the coming post-Memorial Day season.
DeleteI'm no fashion icon. I have two pair of straight leg, button-fly Levis 501. They're from the 1990s. I generally prefer khakis, but I do wear denim from time to time, usually in very casual situations. Paired with boat shoes and a rumpled oxford, polo or rugby shirt, usually.
ReplyDeleteI also have a denim Levis trucker jacket - all cotton, no stretch, bought in its original deep indigo and bleached to the color I wanted. [there is some art to bleaching denim - worth researching before doing it yourself. Keep in mind that bleach keeps working unless you deactivate it, which you can do by rinsing a bleach-soaked garment in hydrogen peroxide solution]. Worn with an oxford and khakis, I do that sometimes.
There is a reason Ralph Lauren has sold truckloads of denim over the years.
To each his own but, I find jeans repulsive.
ReplyDeleteMy prewar mother, a Berliner, felt the same. Always one, or two apparently.
DeleteI am not American, not preppy, love classic and traditional, decent, real clothes though. I think white jeans if not "skinny" model, are always appropriate, I wear them even in the winter time.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 pair of jeans. They are work pants in the yard/garden. They are beat up and worn out, but they serve a purpose--working in outside. They are NEVER EVER worn in public. When I was in my teens and 20s, sure jeans were fine, in that era. But no one, least of all me, wants to see me in jeans at 60 out in public.
ReplyDeleteBest spare us all RC! Thanks for the chuckle.
ReplyDeleteI admit I'm still prep as old as I am. But I wear faded beat to hell levis starched with my button down collar oxford shirts and topsiders all the time.
ReplyDelete...me too; though my pairings include dark washed Levis with OCBDs, crew or V-necked sweaters (when its chilly) and camp mocs, boat shoes, penny loafers - or pebble grained chukka boots, depending upon: whatever happens to be falling (or not) from the sky; and - of course - the season... (...dang, it can get cold and snowy here...!).
DeleteB.
Jeans are absolutely fine. Blue, Wheat, and if you can pull off White...get some. They have their place.
ReplyDelete