Best places to buy women's jeans in 2019: Everlane, Mott & Bow, more - Business Insider

NailTamie Mart 23, 2021

Posted: 14 Nov 2019 02:44 PM PST

A great pair of jeans is a staple every woman should have in her wardrobe.
Our favorite place to buy women's jeans is Everlane because the denim fits well, is affordable, and is made transparently.

If there's an equivalent in your closet to, say, butter in your refrigerator, it must be your favorite pair of jeans. Is there a food that butter does not improve? No. Is there an outfit that a good pair of jeans does not make better? Absolutely not. Is butter a necessary part of life? Yes. Do you need jeans to get through society? Surely. You see, the parallels are uncanny.

While there exists no shortage of stores from which to purchase your new favorite bottoms, there are a few places that we turn to without fail for a great pair of long-lasting, comfortable, and good-looking jeans. And that's because they satisfy a few key criteria.

First and foremost, you'll want your jeans to be incomparably comfortable. After all, I practically live in my favorite pair, and that's only the case because wearing them and wearing leggings are about equal when it comes to mobility and stretchability (though leggings, are not, in fact pants).

Second, you'll want to think about your favorite cut. The boot cut, believe it or not, appears to be making a comeback, though other classics like the straight cut or skinny cut are also great options. Be sure that your favorite jean purveyor offers more than just one jean varietal — after all, you'll need different jeans for different occasions.

Of course, you should also keep price point in mind. While a great pair of jeans will last you for years on end (and as such, can justify a high price tag), it simply is not the case that buying a great pair of pants requires you to pay an arm and two legs.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you'll want to pay attention to the type and quality of denim used in your jeans. Given that the fabric can make or break your pants, this is certainly no place to skimp. Be sure that your favorite jean purveyor sources its denim from top of the line suppliers, and know how to take care of this durable material. After all, the longer you own your jeans, the better they look.

No matter which of our favorite stores you choose for your next shopping spree, we're sure you won't be disappointed.

Here are the best places you can buy women's jeans:

Best place to buy women's jeans overall: Everlane
Best place to buy comfortable jeans: Mott & Bow
Best place to buy plus-size jeans: Warp + Weft
Best place to buy petite jeans: Madewell
Best place to buy high-end jeans: Rag & Bone
Best place to buy skinny jeans: Liverpool
Best place to buy performance jeans: DUER

Updated on 11/13/2019 by Remi Rosmarin: Updated prices, formatting, and links. Added Madewell and Rag & Bone as new picks. We also added other brands we love for your consideration.

How often should you wash jeans? It's fine to wait weeks — even months, experts say - USA TODAY

Posted: 30 Oct 2019 12:00 AM PDT

The CEO of Levi's might have admitted something strange about his jeans. Buzz60's Mercer Morrison has the story. Buzz60, Buzz60

In 2019, jeans come in all manner of styles but there's a divide among jean-wearers as to how much to wash them.

If you're washing your jeans after every wear or two, you're likely washing too much. At least, that's what multiple designers and experts from denim brands tell USA TODAY.

The fabric on denim is thicker than a T-shirt, and you're (hopefully) wearing a layer of underwear beneath your jeans. Concerns about bacteria are likely unfounded: In 2017, a student in the University of Alberta wore jeans for 15 months straight, and they contained the same bacteria levels as they did when he wore them for less than two weeks.

But the reasons are manifold: It's better for the environment, it keeps jeans looking good and less faded for longer, and, most importantly, it reduces laundry.

A report issued by Levi's in 2015 says that washing jeans every 10 wears "instead of every two times reduces energy use, climate change impact, and water intake by up to 80%." Levi's CEO Chip Bergh even confessed to not putting his jeans in the washing machine for over a decade.

Some brands, such as Madewell and Levi's, have even taken to adding a detailed cleaning guide on their jeans.

How often should you wash your jeans?

The one overarching rule: Go by the smell test.

Mary Pierson, head of denim design atMadewell , advises at least three wears before a wash — but also advises for "washing jeans as little as possible."

"The actual time between washes will vary greatly from person to person, based on how they're used," said Stephen Powell, co-founder of Berkeley, California-based clothing company Gustin. "Those who find themselves in cleaner situations can go as much as a year between washes, while someone really working in their jeans might need to wash them daily."

If you live in a more humid climate, or wear your jeans for gardening or construction work, washing more regularly is recommended. But, as Bahzad Trinos, a denim specialist at Canadian denim brand Naked & Famous Denim, told USA TODAY, "if you're just doing normal stuff wearing a pair of jeans on the weekend, you could easily go 6 months to (a year) without washing."

There are some people, Trinos said, who go years without washing their jeans on purpose. It's a small but very devoted community of denim obsessives who buy their jeans raw — unwashed and untreated — so that the jeans can mold and distress uniquely to their body.

"The jeans obviously are pretty filthy, but they look pretty darn cool," Trinos said.

Robert McMillan, the founder of Dearborn Denim, a jean company that manufactures its jeans in Chicago, recommends "washing as infrequently as you can while still enjoying putting them on."

So if that means that they reek, or feel icky upon wearing, maybe put them through a wash. But until then, wear it. It's better for you and the planet.

How should you clean your jeans?

There's no one right way of cleaning jeans, but there are a few ways to doing it incorrectly.

Rarely, if ever, should jeans go in the dryer. "Make sure to air dry your jeans," Kathleen Talbot, the vice president of operations and sustainability at sustainable womenswear brand Reformation, said.

And when they are being dried, it's usually better to finish them off in the dryer on low heat rather than let them dry in the dryer, Pierson at Madewell advises. That helps "to soften them up after they have dried." Hanging them to dry, according to Levi's, cuts climate impact by 67%.

Also, should there be a spill on your jeans that requires a cleaning, spot-cleaning is the way to go. Pierson suggests "mild soap" and a wet cloth to wash and blot dry.

"Spot cleaning will remove stains and odors while preventing your pants from losing elasticity and fading," said Roian Atwood, senior director of global sustainable business for Kontoor Brands, which owns Lee and Wrangler.

Jeans, multiple experts advise, should be washed inside-out in cold water with a mild detergent. McMillan at Dearborn Denim uses Woolite Dark detergent, which is designed to reduce fading on dark clothes, at home.

Some denim experts suggest more extreme measures, such as freezing your jeans. Others, though, such as Naked and Famous' Trinos, would advise otherwise.

"With regards to freezing your jeans, if your aim is to make your jeans cold then yes it's a great way to do that," he said. "But it won't help remove the stink."

Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote

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How Jeans Got Weird - The Atlantic

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 12:00 AM PDT

It's hard to imagine how a person could be better at wearing jeans than Rihanna. While the pop star is practically worshipped in fashion circles for her wardrobe's endless variety, the one thing she clothes herself in nearly constantly is denim. Her repertoire includes every permutation of jeans imaginable, but also extends to denim jackets, denim dresses, denim shorts, denim skirts, denim thigh-high boots, and, on at least one occasion, a c arpet-dusting denim trai n.

Rihanna is one of the most photographed people alive, so her appreciation for denim has made her a walking billboard for the fabric—especially its abundance. Daily paparazzi photos of her entering airports or leaving hotels have proved that virtually every type of clothing, at every price, can now be made of denim. Jeans themselves have never been more varied: cropped, skinny, wide, straight, kick-flared, light, dark, distressed, embellished.

For denim purveyors, Rihanna's favor years couldn't be more opportune. Before 2018, the American jeans market had been in decline for half a decade. Consumers turned to stretchy pants and leggings, spurring many nervous whispers in the fashion industry about denim's demise. Now, thanks to a confluence of factors, it's clear that the death of denim was largely exaggerated. Not only is America getting a little bored of its black leggings, but jeans are back and, in many ways, bigger—and wider, skinnier, shorter, and more varied—than ever.

If you want to sell clothes in America, it helps a lot if buyers think your product is cool. Jeans have a backstory that any marketer would kill for. "Denim first became popular in the 1920s and 1930s in tandem with the rise of Hollywood," explains Emma McClendon, an associate curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, who orchestrated a denim retrospective at the museum in 2015. "That positioned jeans as the uniform of the lone cowboy, synonymous with the romance and promise of the American West."

Over the years, the cuts and washes changed, but denim's position as a relatively democratic element of the wardrobes of stylish, influential people didn't. Bell-bottoms ruled the late '60s and '70s. Acid wash and tapered legs took over in the 1980s. Looser, higher-rise mom and dad jeans were part of millions of outfits in the '90s, a decade capped by several years of angsty skater teens embracing enormous JNCOs. In the 2000s, celebrities took "low rise" and "skinny" to their logical extremes.

Then, for a moment, denim fell off. The jeans popular during the 2000s were uncomfortable and difficult to wear for the hundreds of millions of Americans without pop-star bodies. Cool jeans also suddenly became quite expensive. New designer brands such as Seven for All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity boosted prices well over $150, which made it harder than ever for people to feel like they could be on equal fashion footing with the celebrities whose looks they wanted to emulate.

By the end of the decade, people were ready for something different, and "athleisure"—leggings, joggers, and yoga pants—swooped in. Leggings were far more comfortable than the super-tight jeans of the previous decade. They arrived as much of America was casualizing quickly enough to accommodate stretchy pants in social life and some workplaces. People began searching for yoga pants in earnest in late 2011, and American denim sales began to decline within a year or so.

Read: The mystery of business casual

But the singular reign of leggings was short-lived. After a few years, people seemed to realize that maybe thin elastic pants aren't perfect for all occasions. Usually clothing trends as big as athleisure maintain their dominance for at least a dec ade, but black leggings only allow for so many looks. Jeans were poised to strike back. "The increased popularity of denim is a reaction to the dominance of the leggings and yoga pants of athleisure," McClendon says. Last year, for the first time in half a decade, sales of denim increased.

Leggings are a perfectly reasonable way to clothe the lower half of your body, but in situations where you want to wear an outfit instead of just put on some clothes, they don't provide much personality. That's where jeans excel. Jonathan Cheung, Levi's senior vice president of design innovation, credits Rihanna, along with other mega-famous creatives including Beyoncé, Kanye West, and the Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh, with helping turn the attention of fashion's early adopters back toward denim. They did it by mixing often-inexpensive vintage jeans with luxury goods.

"It gives authenticity to an outfit," Cheung says. "You look less pretentious when you offset your wardrobe with something so democratic." That's a power leggings don't have. A pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos won't work with Lululemons, but heels look just as great with the right jeans as a pair of fresh Nike Air Maxes do.

In the past, only one or two styles of jeans were "cool" at a given time. "Pre-internet, when you just had a store, you probably just had a little section in the store that was your denim table. Your denim table could only hold so many things," Cheung says. "And you had traditional media, so you only had so many pages in a magazine that would talk about denim." Designers had to go all-in on just a couple of cuts or washes and try to please as many people as possible.

Now denim inventory is as infinite as the internet itself. Fast-fashion retailers upd ate th eir selections constantly, which means that nearly every type of denim is available simultaneously. Depending on whom you ask, the big thing right now might be mom jeans. It might be wide-legged cropped jeans. It might be skinny cropped flares. It might not be jeans at all, but denim jackets or overalls. Even skinny jeans have gotten easier to wear, as textile technology has found ways to make stretchier denim look more like the real thing. Cheung says that Levi's only expects the market to become more splintered, right down to individual preference. Earlier this year, the brand launched a program called Future Finish, which lets online shoppers customize the detailing on their jeans with lasers.

Read: The sneaky way clothing brands hooked men on stretch jeans

For a lot of people, the desire for a unique look means going vintage. Straight-cut Levi's 501s and trucker jackets have been around so long that they're abundant in secondhand stores, and the aesthetic has found particular favor with young shoppers who obsess over online-only clothing-swap markets such as Depop. It's those shoppers, now in their teens and early 20s, that brands will need to impress in order to keep themselves relevant going forward. Luckily for them, "vintage tights" just doesn't have a great ring to it.

Jeans brands have a clear stake in selling the narrative of their own immortality, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. Jeans' cool past will seemingly protect denim from new trends, at least for the foreseeable future. As Cheung notes, humans are obsessed with stories. "We're creatures who love meaning," he says. When it comes to jeans, the stories we tell ourselves are just too good to pass up—even for the pleasures of stretchy pants.

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