Where do you buy jeans?

If you are loosing weight why not pop in to some charity shops? Rather than buy cheap to be disposable.

There's usually a Levi's store in those awful outlet village places. Or M&S or Tesco

TK Maxx if you want decent stuff without paying a fortune. They always seem to have brands like French Connection and Levi’s in, but you’re paying 30 quid a pair for them, rather than 70 or 80

Same thing happened for me dropping from size 44 to 34. Start off with jeans that are a bit tight and so lose weight and wear a belt. Get to the point they're just too big and buy some tight jeans, Repeat. I am hoping my waist won't be getting much thinner and the 34 inch jeans will just get a bit loose.

First replace my 44" Wranglers with some 42" Wranglers then it was going to be 40" but I couldn't face buying more when I had only worn the last pair for just over a month so then it was £22 M&S ones. I wore for about 6 weeks before they were too lose so became jeans for doing stuff in the garage.

Save the planet and go charity shop, or 2nd hand online with Depop/Vinted/eBay if you know exactly what you want.

(Usual STW recommend what you own...) If you prefer something not steeped in the farts of strangers, try uniqlo's regular fit; well made, long lasting, no weird "fashion" shapes.
Right now I'm wearing a 10 year old pair. Bought 2 pairs 10 years ago, one pair has finally been binned and I've recently replaced that pair with a new one of the same.

The last time I bought jeans, the high street stores had all the different styles. Skinny; extra skinny; super-skinny; skin-tight; paint-on... If I wore something like that I'd look like an advertisement for a famine appeal.

Think I ended up at a Levi store in the end, paying silly money for something that used more than 3" of denim.

Stretchy Levi ones from Amazon

they will only fit me for a few months

I echo the charity shop comment. The financial cost isn’t the only issue. If the jeans don’t need to last, why not use up the remaining wear in an existing pair of jeans rather than add to the demand for new ones to be made?

Gap do free returns. I had a similar issue lost a load of weight. The problem with Gap is their sizes vary between batches. Same style etc one minute I was a 33 waist then they were too small when I ordered exactly the same size and cut. And before you say it - the 33's I ordered previously fit fine!!

Plus one for charity shop. I have one pair of nice Howie's jeans I've had for years, and another couple of charity shop numbers that get worn out and replaced as required.

Another charity shops FTW from me 😎

I tried charity shops but could not get anything to fit properly. (I'm very fussy due to lots of things not for discussion here) so I ended up with TU ones from sainsbury. As good quality as brands and cheap. (i apologise for killing the planet but I've bought 2 pairs in 4 years)

Tk Maxx for Levi’s or Diesel. Obviously but hit and miss as to what’s in stock but normally come away with something ok for around £30.

is TJ on a break, he's normally pretty quick to provide denim based sartorial advice?

TKs

I gave up buying cheap jeans as they just didn't last me at all (few months). Didn't want to buy expensive ones as I'm always planning to lose weight but gave in in the end and bought some from HebTroCo. If I lose weight then I'll just keep them as I'll almost certainly be fat again at some point.

is TJ on a break, he’s normally pretty quick to provide denim based sartorial advice?

Say his name 3 times in front of a mirror.

44 down to 34 that's some achievement, how long did that take?

Diesel - Second hand from ebay.

Charity shop or vintage clothing store? I agree.

Denim Doctor does repairs so you can keep favoured jeans going for ages if, say, the crotch wears out or the knees go.

New jeans? Brave Star every time these days.

Alpkit bouldering jeans. So comfortable.

Lidl or Aldi.

Always seemed OK.

#workzone #workwear

Sainsbury's

Does anyone make decent quality jeans now?
Uniqlo were doing some ok (still not great) ones a few years ago.

Does anyone make decent quality jeans now?

Yes. The same people who’ve been making decent quality jeans for ever.

Alpkit. So comfy

Primani.

Where do you buy jeans?

Debenhams own brand of stretch jeans before they closed down.

TK Maxx occasionally.

Nothing cost more than £40.

Howies and Spoke. Neither cheap nor temporary. Incredibly long lasting. Still wearing Howies jeans that are over 10 years old. A lot less wear in the last 2 years as Fox Slambozo Technical shorts are the leg wear of choice.

Another for Sainsbury's here. Mainly because I abhor clothes shopping like nature abhors a vacuum so being able to buy a pair of jeans while I buy beer/bacon/bread is the most convenient solution.

Also, they are cheap.

Alpkit bouldering jeans. So comfortable.

15% off too with EGGSTRA15 I'm going to try a pair

Hot UK Deals for Levi’s alerts based on my size. Not run out in years and never pay more than £30.

TK Maxx if you want decent stuff without paying a fortune

Branded, yes. Decent?

Diesel from Costco a few years ago but not sure if they've done them since.

I am a male supermodel so can rock a pair of skinny's

Shirley we all agreed a few years ago it was Next?

Next ones wear thin soooo quickly. They are comfy but crap.

Edwin jeans, generally from Brown Bag. Quality jeans at reasonable prices.

I've been buying jeans in Uniqlo. The selvedge isn't the bargain it was about 10 years ago but they're still reasonable quality and fit.

M&S for Lycra stretchy jeans. Bought some skinny ones to replace a favourite pair I wore through and they’re very good. Curiously the £25 organic cotton ones fitted less well and were dyed a different colour to the cheaper non-organic. £22 will see you fine in any style you desire. The Lycra will give you a longer wear as you lose more weight.

My Next jeans fit well and have worn well, though they are probably at least 6 years old so maybe they aren't made so well any longer.

Another for M&S

Alpkit and Uniqlo. Well that's what I have now, but in the OP's position I would go to a charity shop. No point I spending unnecessary cash if you are rapidly changing size. There is also the bonus of getting some films for 20 or 50p whilst you are there.

Shirley we all agreed a few years ago it was Next?

I've put on a little weight since then...

Uniqlo were doing some ok (still not great) ones a few years ago.

Bollocks! Uniqlo Japanese selvedge jeans are excellent quality, the regular straight leg jeans are virtually identical to original 501’s that I was buying years ago, they fit as well as, if not better than jeans I paid £80-odd for, and the two pairs I bought recently, which are natural unwashed indigo are fantastic - unless you have light coloured furnishings or white leather car seats, in which case they’ll be irreparably stained blue by the dye!
Cost? Those two pairs cost me £70, you’ll pay more than that for a pair of 501’s, and I’m certain the Levi’s won’t be any better quality.

Thing is, virtually all selvedge denim comes from Japan now anyway, because the American mills sold all the looms to Japan and installed wider ones to cater for increased demand.

I particularly like the fact that Uniqlo do not put any fancy stitching or logo labels on their denims, or stupid ‘distressing’, I’m perfectly capable of creating my own wear and tear, given time, bugger paying £100-odd or more for already worn-out jeans.
It was the case when I bought my first Uniqlo jeans I happened to be in London and had a chance to try a pair on, which was a good thing, as I had to go up a size, to 34 from 32. However, the two pairs I bought last year I forgot and bought my regular 32x34 size, and the fitted perfectly, so it’s likely they’ve altered the sizing for other markets.

I have looked at jeans in shops costing £150-180, and I thought they were flimsy cheap-looking rubbish, my oldest pairs of Uniqlo jeans are getting on for twelve to fifteen years old now and are at the nice soft comfy stage, but I wear shorts most of the year, so don’t get a huge amount of wear.

Yeah, losing weight is a challenge when you don't want your jeans to fall down.

I went from 38 to 32. Next was my go-to shop, just because they do so many different styles and they're fairly consistent sizewise. I went and tried them on each time, bought a couple of pairs of 36, a couple of pairs of 34 and most recently some 32s. Switched from skinny to slim fit for the latest ones as I found the skinnys kept riding up my legs.

It does feel like a bit of a comedy moment when you give them a shake after washing them - as they look like kids jeans. Or at least they did to me after a lifetime of fat boy jeans.

The eBay suggestions are all a bit useless as you actually need to try them on. Or I did anyway. At least they're cheap enough in Next. M&S is probably a good shout too - and you could always buy some lattice sausage rolls at the same time, save you going down another size 😀

If you're on a weight loss 'journey' there's no point in spending big money on Diesel or Levi jeans, you'll only be disappointed when they look stoopid in a couple of months. Save that sort of thing to when you're down at your target weight and your maintaining not losing.

Have you not got a seconds place/ vintage clothing place near you?

Whenever I'm in newcastle i tend to make a trip to Flip Vintage  They have endless supplies of 2nd hand Levis, Lee, Wrangler and the like, most are £30- £40 and nicely worn in.

Other than that, Howies or Edwin for me.

Carhartt website, Howies website (both when having sales) or pop into Uniqlo and try some on.

Another vote for TK Maxx.

Picked up a pair of Folk selvedge denim the other day for £34 that retailed for £135.

Best value / quality at full retail has to be Carhartt, though look around and you'll often find them cheaper.

The real question is Black,Blue or Tan.

Red or Green is just for weirdo hippy types.

Which carhartt site are you using? There is carhartt and carhartt-wip

There's three Carhartt lines, there's the industrial work Wear stuff that is cheap as chips and super durable (best found online), the standard range and the WIP line for the posers.

I'm a bit of a poser but they're all great.

Geordie Jeans... particularly tight around the arse.

Yes they were actually a real product.

I've both carharrt and WIP

WIP is bought when I want a more dressy Jean regular carharrt for day to day and I avoid the workwear stuff these days as the materials are good but the cut is just cheap/poor

Can pick up on their twice yearly sales at source for bout 45 quid.

The last forever as are not stretchy thin nonsense denim like next stuff though so maybe not what op needs

the WIP line for the posers.

These are the jeans I have.

Really smart and have been very durable.

Did you know that many brands make separate lots of their stuff specifically for 'discount' retailers? The levis/wranglers/whatever you get at TKMaxx or matalan or your local out of town Outlet Village may not be the same cut/material/quality as the ones you get elsewhere.

Also, there was an interesting program on radio4 a few days ago Sustainable Jeans where they compared some £300 jeans (Hiut denim from Wales) with some cheap ones from boo-hoo, including on an industry standard "rub test" machine to see how many rubs they can withstand, which made me think of Vic Reeves thigh rubbing.

Did you know that many brands make separate lots of their stuff specifically for ‘discount’ retailers? The levis/wranglers/whatever you get at TKMaxx or matalan or your local out of town Outlet Village may not be the same cut/material/quality as the ones you get elsewhere.

Sounds like an urban myth to me, have you got a source for that?

IME when you get branded stuff from the likes of TK Maxx it's often weird sizes that presumably don't sell well in regular outlets. Which suits me as I'm a weird size, they've kept me in Craghoppers for years.

Sounds like an urban myth to me, have you got a source for that?

You mean the same way that Currys etc get special models that different from the real deal by a digit or two to save them having to be price matched.

Or the fact that tk maxx stuff appears to largely be seconds with defects - miss stitched pockets , wierd/sample cuts , marked etc etc. Ok if you check it over in your hand and know what your getting but I wouldn't like to buy tk max stuff unseen - as well as the wierd sizing and brands you thought went out of business years ago.

But besides all that dispatches confirmed the "urban myth" years ago.

You're right, it does sound like an urban myth 😀. Nonetheless, it's true, I had the misfortune to work in fashion retail (at the website end rather than physical stores) and the choice of discount vs premium ranges is normal, not any kind of industry secret.
There was a C4 expose a few year back called something like Discount Store Secrets or Secrets of a Discount Store.
Definitely not saying EVERYTHING in our favourite discounter is of lower standard, but a moving percentage of gear isn't premium range.

You mean the same way that Currys etc get special models that different from the real deal by a digit or two to save them having to be price matched.

Or the fact that tk maxx stuff appears to largely be seconds with defects

Both of which are entirely different claims.

Well you see the funny thing about my post was I said OR almost like it was an entirely different point.

the choice of discount vs premium ranges is normal

Different ranges, sure. But I'm fairly confident that Levi's doesn't make 501's for its own retail stores and an entirely different substandard range of 501's for discount outlets.

TK Maxx might well sell seconds as suggested above, or "refurbished" (put back on a hanger) customer returns, or Levi 397's instead of 501's. But I'm not buying the notion that you can buy something sold as the exact same product from two different places and one is inferior. I'm not wholly convinced that that would even be legal.

It's all of the above.

https://www.channel4.com/press/news/c4-dispatches-unwraps-concerns-about-pricing-and-labelling-tk-maxx

Water for the horse.

Well you see the funny thing about my post was I said OR almost like it was an entirely different point.

So irrelevant to the conversation, then? Must have been some usage of the word "same" that I'm unfamiliar with.

Have I wronged you in a past thread or something? You seem awfully keen to pick arguments with me of late.

Funny I was thinking the same.

I even used a full stop after my comparison to James' point.

And started a new paragraph with the word OR to suggest it was a different point and yet I get pulled up like I'm collectively making the point that it's the same.

Tk maxx has lots of issues. I was listing the lots of issues.

Now I don't knock tk maxx I do look there on occasion if I need something specific but don't think your getting your cake and eating it with them.

I then backed it up with a citation.

It read like you were mocking my reply. Maybe I misinterpreted.

Funny I was thinking the same.

Shall we, like, stop it, then? I have no truck with you beyond my own general contrariness.

I was going to look for that C4 episode, thanks for the link.

Deal.
Sure I probably have in the past but this wasn't the case and hasn't been latterly ....new job means I don't have the time to purposefully be a prick. Probably just natural.

Pep and Co for the win.

new job means I don’t have the time to purposefully be a prick

Accidental prickishness, I get that a lot. 😁

Happy new job. Anything interesting?

Happy new job. Anything interesting?

Same shit different day just at a different level.

"Now I don’t knock tk maxx I do look there on occasion if I need something specific but don’t think your getting your cake and eating it with them."

Well I've certainly had my cake and eaten it with TK Maxx, as my fluctuating waistband will testify...

Quite a lot of the brand's in TK are TK own brands. Still ok value though.

As for the premium brand's, a lot are seconds or mis labaled size wise. I'm sitting here in a Les Basics T-shirt, size large. The XL sizes they had were smaller than the large so I think you can tell what happened there.

The Folk jeans I bought weren't seconds, they had the original price tags and labels attached so were either overstock or overproduction.

If it doesn't have the retail labels on then give it a good check over first, sometimes it's as simple as missing a loop to hang a jacket on. I recently picked up a £500 Allegri mac for £95 that had this defect. I can live with it.

I have a beautiful Ralph Lauren tweed jacket that cost me £90 in Maxx (RRP £500ish).

Goes lovely with my Carhartt jeans.

😀

We need a TK Maxx top trumps thread.

cha****ng, I'll take your Ralph Lauren jacket and raise you,

Got a Ralph Lauren jacket for my better half a couple of years back, £550 down to £55!

All the loops and buttons present as well!

Oooooooo... can I join in wit TK Maxx Top Trumps?

I think my best one was at the start of the winter getting a GEOX gore-tex down jacket for 80 quid, that was still retailing on their website for £400.

Everything appears to be perfect. Its SOOOOOOO toasty warm! 😀

Now I'm jealous binners, the only full price item I've bought in the last 5 years was a waterproof jacket last winter when the gods of TK temporarily deserted me.

They were obviously on your side (and in your size) on that day.

The worst part about TK Maxx is finding something you really like but in every size other than your own.

They were obviously on your side (and in your size) on that day

@inkster - I nipped in on a random weekday afternoon, purely on the off chance, as I was working nearby. In amongst all the racks of awful Superdry stuff, they had just the one in stock in my size. Total luck of the draw in TK Maxx, but when you get lucky there’s a certain amount of smugness involved 😃

back in the room...

Has anyone bought jeans from Spoke-London? Are they any good?

I've got some of their chinos for work and they're good but not amazing

EBay or charity shops for me.

Most of mine now come from Uniqlo, as they offer a free alteration service, which is great as I've got short legs. Bit of a pita that it's not a same day service any more though. The quality is reasonable; as good as most other brands often costing a fair bit more. Not amazing though. But cheap enough to have for a few years at least. I did buy some Levis more recently, from the Levi Haus shop on Gt Marlborough st. They seem a bit better, and were only £65 rather than £100+, as they're end of line or something. New Levis are so expensive now!

Uniqlo Japanese selvedge jeans are excellent quality

Yeah, they've definitely upped their game from a few years back. I had a pair then, that were awful, but got a new pair a few months ag, that are significantly better, and nicer even than some much more expensive brands. Fact is, most stuff is cheap crap made in sweatshops, but with branding to push the price up to silly levels. Whilst you can find the odd genuine bargain in TKMaxx, most of it is barely worth the 'discount' price anyway.

Debenhams before they closed down. Bought at least 10 pairs that will last me for many years to come.

Otherwise it would probably be M&S or Tesco. :-=