Blue Jeans
I tried on thousand pairs of vintage Levi's jeans so you didn't have to
I like jeans. A lot! I wear jeans every day, to work, out for dinners, to fashion week, at home on a day off and even on planes. On my bachelorette party my friend all wore blue denim and a black blazer to imitate the bride. Nothing comes between me and my.. well Levi’s.
My collection is big! I have three piles; ‘Favorites’, ‘weird fitting’ (that I wear instead of sweatpants) and ‘don’t fit but will safe for a rainy day’.
90% of my collection is the Vintage Levi’s. The perfect wash and thichness of material.
My all time favorite model is the iconic 501. The most popular Levi’s model and probably the one you’ve seen on all the ‘stars in airports’ from the 90’s. Pretty high waisted with a straight leg and the infamous button closure. I like mine from the 80’s - by now I believe I can scan from how the tag looks. I don’t understand why Levi’s found it reasonable to change the fit over the years, but they have, and the 501’s you can buy today is not doing the original justice.
I buy mine in vintage stores, thrift shops and flea market and ofc on my favorite app Vestiaire. I found some very good ones. Perfect color HERE, my size (so maybe I should buy) HERE, light blue HERE, Another great blue HERE.
The remaining pairs in my closet are the 505. Biggest difference is the zipper closure. This sucks in the tummy a bit more and makes them great for a tucked-in-top situation. The leg is a bit more narrow. I like these jeans for a night out with a heel.
A little harder to find the 505’s but THESE looks very good and found another great pair HERE.
There is ofc a thousand different versions, and the bad news is you better just go and try them all on. but, once you have you will be able to tell if this is one of those perfect magic pairs that makes you feel so chic but chill that you never want to wear anything else.
I’m sailing between size 30 and 31 in vintage Levi’s. I’m more likely to fit a 30 in other brands so let’s conclude they are a bit small in sizing. I wear a length 32 for flat shoes like ballet flats or my favorite Toteme boots. For heels I need a size 34 in length (this is one of the reasons why my collection is ever growing.)
A little trick for flea market jeans shopping is to measure width of the jeans around your neck. It’s the same size as your waist so if you don’t strangle yourself you will fit them.
And if you can’t deal with all this and just want a new pair of great denim - I’ve tried all those too. Khaite makes great denim and THESE are my favorite pair. A budget friendly solution is THESE - I tried them last week. They fit super big, but giving vintage fit.
I send my best of luck to your denim future. It’s quite addictive, but the reward is just as high!
Love all of this
Thank you for sharing. Still determined to find the perfect fit for me, and kind of like that it’s not something you can find easily in any store.