Jean Genie
How's your relationship with jeans? Easy rider or bumpy ride? A favourite pair that you reach for. Maybe you don't wear them, you'd like to but you can never find the right one.
I'm sure we all have a story or two. I certainly have a denim diary and plenty of wardrobe entries from certain times in my life.
Proof the denim diary started early. My Nan's garden, my first pair of jeans, and I was obsessed with The Fonz. Happy Days.
My best friend Sarah and I both had white pairs of Levi's Orange Tab, hers a size 10, mine a size 12, and we swapped them during our time at Sixth Form College, the 10 for feeling fitted, the 12 for a looser look. Genius.
Back in my home town there was a shop called London Underground where I loved to get my denim. It was filled to the rafters with Levi tabs. The changing rooms were telephone boxes, and trying jeans on in one was a skill in itself.
I wore my Dad's Lee jeans at this time too, and we shared a washed blue pair of 501s before I left for university. There the sharing carried on with my great friend Cath who I met there. She had forest green and jewel purple 501s, I had navy and jet black, and between us we doubled our daily denim choices. I also had a pair I found in the sale from Gap for £10, a welcome price on a student grant.
Years later Cath became a client. She asked me to take her jeans shopping, and I still remember what she said to me: "Becky, how did you do that, you knew the shape and the size just by looking?"
These days my wardrobe houses some RAEY Press Straight-Leg Jeans, which I've had for coming up to eight years, I miss that brand. A black KHAITE pair and black TOTEME pair, bagged as sale buys from Harvey Nichols and Liberty, some JW Anderson workwear jeans and white Isabel Marant jeans I found in TK Maxx ages ago and accidentally re-dyed to a milky-tea wash. There are a few more in between.
I’ve shared my current denim direction mood board below, my Style Snapshots as I call them.
I'm an avid second-hand and vintage shopper of blouses, dresses, trousers and coats, but until recently I'd never bought much pre-loved denim. I'd looked and tried many pairs on, but I'd never really found what I was looking for. I've bought new for years, but there are already so many incredible jeans out there needing a home, and stores are making it easier to shop second-hand. This last year I've bought two previously owned pairs, a black stretch Levi's workwear style, I'm all about that look right now, and then, a few weeks ago, I was over the moon to find my Levi's red tabs. I'd been looking for this exact style for ages and I knew I wanted them to be worn in. That doesn't mean I'll never buy new again, but whether you buy new or pre-loved, jean shopping can be a challenge. Either way you need proper dedicated time to find your right pair, to work out what suits you, leg shapes, proportions, the wash and so on.
You might want to look to brands turning old into new. E.L.V Denim upcycles deadstock and pre-loved garments into new pieces, made locally in East London. In the US, RE/DONE reworks vintage Levi's into modern cuts, so every pair is genuinely one of a kind.
But if you’re thinking about pre-loved, here's where to start.
Pin Point
I discovered Pin Denim a few years ago, a curated vintage denim brand from founder Chloë Culpin. Chloë was recently featured in Sunday Times Style. She hand-picks vintage jeans from around the world. Whether you're after a classic pair of 501s or something harder to come by, Pin Denim will help you track down your pair. Chloë offers 1:1 in-person appointments too.
Hunting Ground
And then there’s me. I found both pairs of my Levi's in Beyond Retro. The Coal Drops Yard store is great, with a well-organised space. Rokit in Covent Garden is good too.
Here’s some advice worth thinking about
Size Savvy
Whichever brand you try, new or already worn, ignore the size on the label. Sizes differ, a 30” waist, a size 12 or a M in one brand and shape will be different to another. You have to try them on to see what fits.
Persevere, there may well be a lot of off and ons but don’t be afraid to try them on, you might well find a winner, they generally come when you’re least expecting it, my recent Levi’s red tabs did. Don't be despondent if the size is bigger than you would want to wear, the best outcome is how they look and make you feel, and remember the hanger does funny things to something that’s meant to be on a body.
Make Your Move
Denim moves and reacts with your body. A new pair can feel tight when you first try them on, but both stretch and non-stretch denim will give with wear. The same could be true of second-hand pairs, as they may well have been washed or never worn.
Run the ‘give’ test. Bend your knees, sit on a chair or stool and cross your legs. See how they feel with some everyday movement. Snug is fine, pinching isn't. You’ll know, you’ll feel it.
Detailed Decoration
Decorate to be different. A belt isn’t just for practical reasons, it adds interest and proportion, big buckle, small buckle, gold or silver. As on my mood board, jewels and decoration can add a whole new dimension. You can get the Dior look with a bit of your own handicraft, and rough some up a little too. Add your own rips and tears, easiest way is sandpaper or a pumice stone, wear down the knees or thighs, then pull out a few horizontal threads with tweezers to create the fray. Overdye a light pair down to indigo or black, or go the other way entirely and surprise yourself with a colour you'd never normally buy, rust, forest green, a deep plum. A simple fabric dye and a washing machine is often all you need, check the care label first for the fabric content, since stretch denim can take dye differently to 100% cotton.
Versatile Variations
A good pair of jeans is prepared to work hard. Worn casually with a T-shirt, sweat and trainers, swap in a fancier top and heels for the evening, with socks if that's your thing. Cuff the hem, roll it or leave it full length, and the same pair takes on a new personality. If one pair can do all of that, you've found a keeper.
The Long Haul
I love a bit of history so I'm ending this blog with some. The first pairs of jeans were work trousers, reinforced with rivets to survive a proper day's graft. Levi's took that so seriously that in the late 1800s they printed a logo of two horses pulling a pair of jeans in opposite directions, trying and failing to rip them apart. Horses rather than words were used, as literacy was low in the American West at the time. People could simply walk into a shop and ask for "those pants with the two horses." That toughness never really left denim, it's why a good pair still goes the distance, whatever you throw at it.
If rifling through rails feels like too much, consider me your Jean Genie. Whether you are looking for a pre-loved pair or a new pair I know the stores, I know the sizing, and I know what actually suits you. Get in touch with your wish list and let's find your next favourite pair. Easy rider, here we come.