I finally made a trip down to Atlanta last week, and stopped in at Sid Mashburn (I made the pilgrimage, you might say). Obviously everybody knows Sid’s got great products and a great style, and they of course have a great e-commerce setup. But going in person lets you easily try on things and get a feel for the fit.
My pair of off-white jeans from J.Crew are now 5 years old (they’re called “vintage slim”, which was later rebranded the 770, but now all their jeans have stretch, and I’m unsure if they have changed the fit since then). They’re still going strong and I wear them all the time, year-round. But, there are some holes starting to fray near the waistband, and I have been searching for a pair of off-white jeans to wear once these bite the dust (and to wear in rotation with them in the meantime).
Sid’s house-label denim has been a strong contender as soon as it was introduced. I’ll be honest, though, it is a huge mental barrier to pay more than $85 for jeans for me. But, given that I’ve searched for years, and that all jeans under $100 now have stretch in them (which I’m not against philosophically or anything, I just don’t like how elastane ruins a fabric’s hand and how it feels when I wear it), and also given that the last pair of off-white jeans I bought are still in heavy rotation 5 years on—I decided before the trip that if I liked the fit, I’d pull the trigger.
And it turned out, I loved the fit. They are nearly identical to my all-time favorite-fitting jeans, which are made by Rugby Ralph Lauren c.2013 in the “vintage slim fit” of that time period (basically a perfect slim-straight, mid-rise cut with a 16-inch leg opening on the size 34 I have and slightly slimmer knee than is often found on slim-straight silhouettes). These have a barely narrower leg opening, but in practice it’s not noticeable. The fabric is the color of un-dyed cotton, so they have more tan and yellow to them than the off-white J.Crew jeans I have and love. No bother, they still look perfect with a navy blazer and blue OCBD. Speaking of Oxford cloth, the pockets are made of an oxford cloth in a perfect, slubby blue that I want 10 shirts made out of. The buttons are gold, and they are free of adornment on the pockets (and don’t have a leather patch). They’re not selvedge, but that doesn’t matter to me. The one thing against them is they’re heavy weight, so on hot/humid summer days they will wear warmer. This is why I’m grateful I’ve still got the other pair, which are lighter weight and wear cooler, to rotate with. Size-wise, I wear size 36 dress trousers, but often go with 34 for vanity-sized pants like jeans or chinos. I am thankful Sid makes in-between sizes, because the 34 were skin tight but 36 would’ve been giant. I bought size 35/32.
Below are some fit pics, worn with the new Spier & Mackay made-to-measure shirt I just got (stay tuned for my review on that and a special announcement with Spier & Mackay).
If you can make it to Atlanta, or any of Sid’s other stores or trunk shows, I highly recommend doing so. And I unequivocally recommend the natural denim.
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You have proportionally very short legs and a pearl shaped body, try to wear more wool trousers instead of jeans or chinos.
I have no idea what a pearl shaped body is
You look great – Mike’s off his rocker. I have Sid’s jeans in non-selvedge denim and had to have them altered in order for them not to billow out so much around the lower legs. They look awesome now. I bought the 36/30, but brought in the waist and tapered the leg from the knee down.
Ohhh interesting. Tell me about bringing in the waist. My 35’s are a tad loose and I wondered if they could bring them in. What do they charge?
LOL, I think he meant pear-shape, but i don’t see that either! Sid’s store and service is great. I went the cheap route and bought the Levis 501s in white. They also sell tailored 501s, garment died, for a modest uptick in price over the base 501s.
Haha I thought of that like 2 days after I saw his comment.
I tried the 501s and thought of doing what you did, too. But, Levi’s top block just is not flattering on me. Hard to describe what it is. But, glad you got some awesome jeans! Ultimately that’s what counts. And to be honest, there’s something pretty awesome about a pair of Levi’s, paired with an OCBD.