[RX135]

There seems to be unanimous opinion that all brands have gone down in quality and fitting and design etc, can someone care to say, which brands offer better jeans?

I've used Wrangler, Lee, Levis, Pepe, Newport, Killer over years, though I don't give a damn to the brand (at least with Jeans).

[johnjacob]

Originally Posted by yogesh

Any opinion on Guess jeans?

I went to their store in Bangalore (Lido mall) once. The sales people claim none of the styles that I liked are available in my size, and the only styles available in my size are those costing INR 8K+.

I used to be a great fan of Wrangler from my school days right upto when I started working. When I started my first job in 1999, I bought myself a brand new pair of Wranglers. A couple of months later, I was sitting in my cubicle and working when one of my colleagues started laughing hysterically at me. I asked him what's the joke, and he pointed at my right thigh. The seam had split completely at my inner right thigh, leaving my leg open for the whole world to see! I had to go home that evening with my legs pressed together. Ok, I admit I had gained quite a bit of weight then (the culprit was the switch from lousy hostel food to good company canteen food, coupled with hard work and no exercise) but I didn't expect this to happen. That was it, I never bought Wrangler again.

Nowadays, I buy only Levis. I find the quality is decent, even in India. My jeans typically last two years or so. In comparison, the Levis I bought in Canada lasted around three to four years. My advice: try the jeans on before you buy them, and make sure you like the fit and the style. As long as you do that, you should be ok. Also, the classic Red Tabs are generally of better quality (though more conservative style - which suits me though) than the new fangled Red Loop stuff.

Its true that if you buy abroad, you can get jeans at the correct length, so you don't need alteration to be done. But the flip side of that is you may have to go through several stores before you find the style you want available in the size you want.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

I used to be a great fan of Wrangler from my school days right upto when I started working. When I started my first job in 1999, I bought myself a brand new pair of Wranglers. A couple of months later, I was sitting in my cubicle and working when one of my colleagues started laughing hysterically at me. I asked him what's the joke, and he pointed at my right thigh. The seam had split completely at my inner right thigh, leaving my leg open for the whole world to see! I had to go home that evening with my legs pressed together. Ok, I admit I had gained quite a bit of weight then (the culprit was the switch from lousy hostel food to good company canteen food, coupled with hard work and no exercise) but I didn't expect this to happen. That was it, I never bought Wrangler again.

I am a fan of wrangler too. could never convince myself to spend levi's/guess prices on jeans which in my mind are the rough and tough garments.

Anyway, about splitting the inseam, I know it can hapen if somebody irons the jeans' seams at cotton setting. the stitching many brands use is synthetic and the iron can just melt it. I had one happen to a flying machine jeans back in college. since then i always speare the seam when I iron the jeans. Never give it in laundry, some of them WILL try to iron it on seam, some even try to create a crease in front .

[mclaren1885]

FCUK @ Garuda has some horrendous collection. Calvin Klein had a nice assortment of T's. Tried jeans from Lee, Wrangler, Pepe and god know what, didn't like any. Finally picked up a UCB. Puma has a nice collection of sweaters, so does UCB. Got tired looking for a good pair of jeans, so ended up picking up Chinos instead.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

since then i always speare the seam when I iron the jeans. Never give it in laundry, some of them WILL try to iron it on seam, some even try to create a crease in front .

Never iron jeans! Never never never!

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Never iron jeans! Never never never!

What is the reason? I iron it as it looks creased otherwise.

My first set of Pepe jeans is close to three years old. It is still good however my Levis used to give up in a year. The fir, finish and comfort is great. My experience with Pepe has been very good.

I do not use Wrangler as the fit is not good on me.

Spykar jeans is having flat 40% discount sale in Marathahalli in Bangalore, very close to my home. I will check it out soon.

[amitk26]

I am not sure if this point is covered in the thread have not gone through all posts.

Before we discuss if quality has gone down or not have you guys given a thought to the fact that fashion has changed a bit and so it the cut and finish of the denim being used resulting in the reduced life.

Till late 90s conventional thick denim was the only denim and there were only few fits but in last couple of years the trend is towards the softer feel and ring denim and soft denims are in vogue also low waist and tighter fits on bottom and thies such as boot cut means more stress on seams.

Today the thick denim of 1998 and little baggy fit looks so out of date . Even earlier a thick denim Levis jeans + Sports shoes + leather jacket was a dead giveaway for a Desi on H1B or B1 visa returnee from USA.
Throw in some Bose speakers and doller shop knick-knacks in an oversize baggage for more realistic effect

[Limpid]

I wear 501s from the month I’ve started earning. I used to get them from US first and used few Made in India also. Few months back, just before one of my business trips, I bought a black 501 from Levi’s store on 100 feet road Indira Nagar. I generally sit for long hours on a chair (occupational hazard) Due to this, fly of the pant was stretched and top three buttons were visible while sitting and even while standing / walking ! It was very embracing.
I eventually returned back to Bangalore four months after the purchase and complained Levis’s India about the poor quality of their 501s. After a weeks time I’d got a call from same showroom and they replaced my pair of 501’s with a new one (even after the length alternation)
But as many have mentioned earlier, there was a remarkable difference in fit and finish of two garments of same size, fit and colour!

[beejay]

Originally Posted by Limpid

I wear 501s from the month I’ve started earning. I used to get them from US first and used few Made in India also. Few months back, just before one of my business trips, I bought a black 501 from Levi’s store on 100 feet road Indira Nagar. I generally sit for long hours on a chair (occupational hazard) Due to this, fly of the pant was stretched and top three buttons were visible while sitting and even while standing / walking ! It was very embracing.
I eventually returned back to Bangalore four months after the purchase and complained Levis’s India about the poor quality of their 501s. After a weeks time I’d got a call from same showroom and they replaced my pair of 501’s with a new one (even after the length alternation)
But as many have mentioned earlier, there was a remarkable difference in fit and finish of two garments of same size, fit and colour!

You were lucky. They did not replace my pants which after 3 weeks had a torn pocket. They blamed it on my wallet and stitched it for me instead.

[vikram18]

I love Pepe and they fit me really well. Esprit is another brand that is at the top of my list. Shop during their discount sale and it won't hurt your pocket too much. I picked up 3-4 pairs at a 50% discount last year.

[Mr_Bean]

Brought a L531 yesterday after visting 2-3 levi's stores in Chennai. I also observed some of the patterns look very cheap, something like which is sold on the footpath

Also for a moment I went around checking the price of the 501 range, the ranged between 5000-6000

[GTO]

Funny to see this thread bumped up today. To answer the question in the thread title = NO WAYS! I bought a pair of Levi's cargo pants a couple of days back. The second time I wore them, the zipper broke.

Compare that to an older pair that's 6 years old and still in one piece. Bunch of idiots, we pay 2,000 bucks a pair for quality. Once that quality is gone, customers start looking at other brands.

[beejay]

Originally Posted by GTO

Once that quality is gone, customers start looking at other brands.

Gone are they days when one can live in them denims.

[Latheesh]

Where can I get Levis 527 in Bangalore? Checked at their 100ft road store, BF and factory outlet stores but its not available.

[khan75]

The problem out here is that Levis stores don't stock their 550 line of relaxed fit jeans which I highly prefer. Some of the jeans that I tried at their local store in Mumbai (Colaba) were so freakin tight that I thought my quads would rip them apart in the trial room. The quality of the fabric was hopeless compared to the stuff that you get a hop away from here (Dubai), let alone the US.
For the record, all my 550s that I've purchased over the years were made in either Colombia or Mexico and have never had a problem with tearing or fading, so maybe Levis India should start importing denims from their Central American factory.