Lacoste Low Rise Jean – $130.00 vs Men’s Authentics by Levi’s Straight Leg – $19.99
How much is too much for a pair of jeans? We’ve all seen that the designer brands can get ridiculously expensive, while other lesser knowns are dirt cheap. Someone walking into Barney’s in New York City could easily lay down a couple hundred bucks for a pair of denim, while at the same time some fella in Roanoke scoured the clearance rack at Sears and walked away with a pair of Wranglers
But what’s the difference? And if there is one, is it really that big?
We took two pairs and put them head to head. The bargain brand at Target, and the top of the line at our Macy’s.
Here’s how they stacked up:
WINNER: 
Yep. Gap. Or, real Levi’s. Not their lower brand available at Target. Spend the extra $15 and get yourself some 501s. Although the pair from Lacoste wiped the floor with the Target brand, they’re just too damn expensive and the fit wasn’t quite right. The color was perfect. You have to give the Lacoste pair that. Deep, dark, inky Navy. With just enough white threads showing up in the mix that it almost looked like a super-subtle birds-eye pattern. And the stitching was also deep blue, so… it all kind of blended together. Which is nice. But you do get the feeling that you’re paying for that Croc. “Designed in France” but Made in Morocco? C’mon.
The Targert Levi’s
Better to just find something in-between. Because maybe it’d be worth saving up $130 for a pair made in the US. But until that day comes, we’ll stick with the Gap Authentic Fit.
Levis guy through and through. My favorite are the 514 slim straight. Despite having slim in the name they are not too slim, I feel like they fit me just right. I have 4 pairs of them in different colors. I haven’t tried Gap, but I have tried a bunch of their competitors at that price level.. American Eagle, Pac Sun, etc. I’ve always been able to find something wrong with them, usually the fit was off in some way. Levis are a little more expensive, at about $60, but the extra money is definitely worth it in my opinion.
Note that when I talked about Levis in my last comment, I meant the authentic ones as bought at a Levis store or higher scale department store. Not the “Target Levis”.
I have also had some good luck with certain pairs of Old Navy jeans.
Gotta agree with Bryan. The 514 slim straights are a really good jean, my only issue with them is that if you’re a little wider in the quads and hamstrings, they get a little snug when you sit down. Now they certainly aren’t skinny jeans, but if you’re more or less slim, but not slim in your upper legs, you might feel like they’re skinny jeans when you take a seat… Perfect for wearing with a blazer though.
I love the 514’s, I too have 4 different pairs. I agree with Joe as well, I am a wrestler and a track runner so I have “athletic quads” as the jean stores claim. With the 514s however, even with the tighter fit around the quad they do a good job of not having an awkward waist. What I found in other slim jeans is that I have to drastically give up either comfort in my waist or quad. With these I am able to walk comfortably in both. Sure when I’m sitting down it’s kind of tight, but I’m an active young lad. I have time when I’m above 30 to sit down.
How can you tell if you are buying the cheaper “Target” Levi’s vs. the nicer ones? I had picked up some Levi’s at Dillard’s and had planned to get another pair through Amazon.com to save a few dollars but how can I make sure I’m not buying the cheaper line?
They’ll slightly change the name if they’re cheaper. For example, the cheap Levi’s (that aren’t “real” Levi’s) are called “Men’s Authentic’s by Levi’s” They really do look and feel cheap in person. Stick with Levi’s 501s from Dillards or Amazon. And check the name…
I just bought 350$ Jeans and as sad as it is, they just look soo much better than cheaper versions, you can really feel and see the difference also you’ll probably be able to keep the pair of expensive jeans a lot longer. If it comes to jeans, spending some extra dollars is never wrong.