Denim 101 for Men's Clothing

[aj_del]

^^ Jack Black, Nacho Libre style ?

 

[pebblegrain]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Seriously, no disrespect to NOBD, but it's really bad advice to tell people not to size down on APC. It will only result in people wasting money on jeans that will fit loose after 5 or 6 wears. Definitely size down, and -2 is probably right for most people. I am by no means a skinny guy but I size down 3 on my APCs now.

seriously. are you guys ordering on the internet? because APCs will not even measure correctly when brand new (they measure bigger than tagged), never mind after they stretch

 

[NOBD]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

seriously. are you guys ordering on the internet? because APCs will not even measure correctly when brand new (they measure bigger than tagged), never mind after they stretch

I bought mine in a shop.

 

[Captain Winky]

My experience with APC is to size down 4 or 5 from your actual waist measurement. Keep in mind, when I say "waist" I mean the part of your torso you want your jeans to sit at, not your actual waist. For example, around my hips I'm 34in. I bought a 29 in NS and they fit very well. Unwearable at first, but now perfect. They're a tad tight in the top block still, and I have that aesthetically-unpleasing white line down the side from where they've stretched a bit at the selvage seam. Maybe I should have gotten a 30.

Another ideal MC jean is the 3sixteen, either Straight Leg (SL) or Slim Tapered (ST). They're about $200 and I think they're a bit more elegant than APCs. The skinny fit (not that skinny if you're not sizing dow/wearing a small size) comes in a great looking coated denim. Revolve and Self Edge have them. Epaulet Shop has some good jeans by their own label too that will serve as "gents" jeans w/o looking dated.

 

[max_r]

Originally Posted by Some consulting guy

Thanks. But now you have got me thinking again. Others have commented on fairly significant stretching of the APCs after a bit of wear. Was this a factor for you? I’m a little concerned that one size down, plus stretching over time would be too big.
while they will stretch between 2 and 3 inches in the waist (even if they're not tight to begin with), the legs only really stretch like 1" at most around the thighs and whatnot, which is why guys with big legs tend to size down less, and end up with slim legs but a baggy waist, so they have to have a belt.

 

[Captain Winky]

Originally Posted by max_r

while they will stretch between 2 and 3 inches in the waist (even if they're not tight to begin with), the legs only really stretch like 1" at most around the thighs and whatnot, which is why guys with big legs tend to size down less, and end up with slim legs but a baggy waist, so they have to have a belt.

The other thing to remember is while the legs stretch fewer inches, the more the waist stretches, the further down the jeans will sit, giving you more room in the leg.

 

[laphroaig]

Originally Posted by Captain Winky

The other thing to remember is while the legs stretch fewer inches, the more the waist stretches, the further down the jeans will sit, giving you more room in the leg.
This is not an acceptable compromise in MC.

 

[cptjeff]

So for all the people sizing down, would you care to tell your actual waist measurement versus your size rather then hip measurement where they're sitting?

 

[Captain Winky]

Originally Posted by laphroaig

This is not an acceptable compromise in MC.

I'm not talking about sagging here, but when I first got the jeans I had to hike them way up to get them closed. As they stretched out, they fell to where I usually wear my jeans and not a millimeter below. The way you're supposed to size these calls for this. The result will be the legs sitting lower as well, but no lower than you'd otherwise intend.

 

[Captain Winky]

Originally Posted by cptjeff

So for all the people sizing down, would you care to tell your actual waist measurement versus your size rather then hip measurement where they're sitting?

What matters is where they sit, the waist is irrelevant in this case. If you want them to sit at your hip, use that measurement. If you want them to rest at your natural waist (good luck getting APCs to go that high), use that one. The formula still holds true, IME. The jeans come two inches larger than tagged, and stretch about three inches.

 

[JohnnyCrockett]

Originally Posted by TRINI

I actually like the rescues more than the NS due to the higher rise. They feel more suited for dressier occasions than the NS's. I had a pair of Rescues tapered down to 7.5" and they were awesome. Too bad I also had the waist and seat tapered too.

What you and most of MC needs is a pair of APCs only sold in their own store in NYC (maybe their other stores worldwide as well?) The NYC store will ship them to you. They are not in catalogs or available at any online retailers, I believe. It's called the Original Standard and is identical in fit to the New Standard except that it has a higher rise (forget if it's 1" or 2" higher). This is what they used to call the "Standard" years ago when the brand became famous, before we were told to wear our jeans at scrotum-level. I believe it was the original model which gave APC the praise for making a "better, truer Levis 501." Order the same size you wear in the NS (I size down 2") if you want it to fit like the NS in the legs (just with extra rise). If you want a less tight fit, wear something between your regular pants size and sizing down 2". I am a skinny guy and found my pair of NS unwearable if I put them anywhere near my natural waist (i.e., if I tried to look like an adult). I have since bought two pairs of OS and they are fantastic. I did the whole raw denim thing on one of them -- washing infrequently, waiting for "sick fades". The other pair I started washing regularly (i.e., once ever 3-5 wears) from the first day I had them. The results are...interesting. The babied pair look as one would expect - pretty well-worn in certain areas, fading, etc. The other pair which I washed regularly look like normal well-fitting jeans (almost like a Levis 501 stonewash indigo type color). I like that. I don't want people to pay attention to my jeans. I want them ornament free, slim-ish, and of some quality.

 

[Captain Winky]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrockett

What you and most of MC needs is a pair of APCs only sold in their own store in NYC (maybe their other stores worldwide as well?) The NYC store will ship them to you. They are not in catalogs or available at any online retailers, I believe.

It's called the Original Standard and is identical in fit to the New Standard except that it has a higher rise (forget if it's 1" or 2" higher). This is what they used to call the "Standard" years ago when the brand became famous, before we were told to wear our jeans at scrotum-level. I believe it was the original model which gave APC the praise for making a "better, truer Levis 501."

Order the same size you wear in the NS (I size down 2") if you want it to fit like the NS in the legs (just with extra rise). If you want a less tight fit, wear something between your regular pants size and sizing down 2". I am a skinny guy and found my pair of NS unwearable if I put them anywhere near my natural waist (i.e., if I tried to look like an adult). I have since bought two pairs of OS and they are fantastic. I did the whole raw denim thing on one of them -- washing infrequently, waiting for "sick fades". The other pair I started washing regularly (i.e., once ever 3-5 wears) from the first day I had them. The results are...interesting. The babied pair look as one would expect - pretty well-worn in certain areas, fading, etc. The other pair which I washed regularly look like normal well-fitting jeans (almost like a Levis 501 stonewash indigo type color). I like that. I don't want people to pay attention to my jeans. I want them ornament free, slim-ish, and of some quality.

Very interesting, how much were the APC OS, the same $165 as the rest of the raw collection?

Also, for those who don't like a lot of guess work, I got a pair of NS at Barney's called Marine Noir. Basically they're super dark w/o contrast stitching. However, the size is less subject to massive stretching, as they have some synthetic material in them. Still size down a bunch, but how they fit when you buy them won't change much (from my experience). I have a 29 in both this and the raw, so they run really, really big (not baggy, just above the tagged size).

 

[JohnnyCrockett]

Originally Posted by Captain Winky

Very interesting, how much were the APC OS, the same $165 as the rest of the raw collection?

Also, for those who don't like a lot of guess work, I got a pair of NS at Barney's called Marine Noir. Basically they're super dark w/o contrast stitching. However, the size is less subject to massive stretching, as they have some synthetic material in them. Still size down a bunch, but how they fit when you buy them won't change much (from my experience). I have a 29 in both this and the raw, so they run really, really big (not baggy, just above the tagged size).

Yes -- standard pricing for raw jeans. Isn't that $155? Or did they raise the prices? Haven't bought a pair since September '09 or so.

 

[Captain Winky]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrockett

Yes -- standard pricing for raw jeans. Isn't that $155? Or did they raise the prices? Haven't bought a pair since September '09 or so.

Yup, bastards raised it ten bucks

 

[max_r]

Originally Posted by cptjeff

So for all the people sizing down, would you care to tell your actual waist measurement versus your size rather then hip measurement where they're sitting?

my hips where i wear my jeans: 33"
my true waist: 29" to 30" depending on if i've ate yet, went to the gym lately, etc
i wear size 28 APC NS

i can't pull them all the way up to my true waist because the rise is like 10" to 10.5" i'd need rescues or original standards to wear them that high.