501’s - YouLookFab Forum

Do you own a pair of these classic jeans, and how do you wear them? Are they for every day? Do you dress them up and wear them for ‘good’?

Having recently added 501’s to my closet, I’m really happy with the fit, the straight leg, the dark wash, and the thickness of the 99% cotton, 1% elastane fabric. The button fly is working for me, too. I’m reaching for them quite a lot for my casual day to day, but plan to experiment with dressier stylings when it gets warmer and I can wear them with interesting shoes and sandals and tops other than warm sweaters!

Outfit shown is for a chore day that included changing beds, laundry hands-and-knees washing of the kitchen floor, etc. - just to show one of the ways I wear mine! Flannel shirt from 2020 with 67 wears!

Please share you 501 styling experiences.

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1 day ago

kkards

Veteran

501s and converse sneakers. Does it get any better than that?

Well I guess you could add a faded vintage sweatshirt, but the flannel is pretty fab as well.

I love my 501s. I wear them for do nothing weekends, and for dinning out and everything in between

Style Fan

Carla, you rock the 501s! I love the look of Levis, but they don't fit me. I keep trying them on and then realize Levis are not for me.
Everlane is a better fit for me. I wear my straight jeans casually.

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Dee

Yep, I own 501s , love them and wear them quite often. I thought too, that the button fly might be an issue for me , but nah, its perfectly fine. A great classic jean. Love your plaid shirt with the jeans.

Here's a typical dressier combo for me, that I'd wear to meet a friend for coffee. You may have see it before in one of my earlier posts.

Lisa

I own many pairs of jeans, but alas, none of them are 501s. However, I have a pair of Paige straight legs that are a similar wash to these and have a found the wash works really well to dress up or down. I've worn them with t-shirts, shirts, blouses, hoodies, blazers, heels, boots, sneakers, sandals, really everything in my wardrobe works with them.

The wash, straight leg fit, and lack of raw hem or distressing makes them very versatile for casual or business casual, as well as with flats or heels. The most recent outfit I posted with them was in this post My Layered Classic.

Your 501s look great casual here with the plaid shirt and converse. They'd look lovely with a sweater, boots, and a beret too.

Nordstrom

PAIGE Cindy High Waist Ankle Straight Leg Jeans

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Jaime

(website)

I have been very frustrated over the years to find that the classic 501 just does not fit me. I have one vintage pair that works but it is not my favorite. I have found, just this past year, vintage 517s and newer ribcage straights do though!

23 hours ago

Helena

I have a pair and I wear them a ton ...they work with lots of shoe heights and casual to a little more polished looks.

22 hours ago

Sal

I love 501s and yours are fab Carla. I have not owned a pair since the 1990s, when I had two.

I do wear straight leg denim, and a new pair of jeans is on the horizon for this year, I am yet to decide on the cut and colour.

Jenni NZ

I don’t believe I have ever owned a pair. In fact I don’t think I have ever owned any Levis?
If I ever buy any blue jeans again (ATM I own one pair of white jeans and that’s my only denim) I feel like I would go to a store here that had lots of different sorts of jeans. There is one called Just Jeans. Or if considering Levis I would try to find a big Levis store (possibly not available in this country) to check out different ranges as I might need a curvy fit.
I bet there are some Fabbers who couldn’t manage without their jeans!

JAileen

Carla, you look fab in your 501s. I haven’t had any since I was a teenager. Back in the day, they were men’s only, heavy weight 100 percent cotton and $9. I looked on Macy’s and saw lots for women. Maybe I’ll try a pair.

21 hours ago

cjh

The 501s are certainly iconic with the classic cut and wash. They really look great on those who wear them. Alas, I haven’t been able to wear Levi’s either. There is such a gap at the back waist, in every style I’ve ever tried. And I remember the front rise being generally too long on the medium and higher rise styles.

I’ve had much better fitting luck with cheaper jeans, from Old Navy-my favorite, Kohl’s Vera Wang, JCPenney and some from Meijer Foods which have that same straight leg cut. Kut, Lucky, Jag, and Democracy are other brands I’ve had in recent years, in various skinny, cropped and boot cuts.

20 hours ago

MsMaven

I rediscovered the 501s a year ago and I love them. I do get them with a zipper though. I have 8 or 9 pair now in different blues, a black, and a beige. I wear them most of the time. I like that they have a little longer zipper--the longer rise fits me better.

It's been decades since I've had a pair of Levis! I do like Joe's and Paige, and sometimes NYDJ, but for my life now, Levis are great. And they are just the right length for me--don't have to hem them.

They look great on you!

RobinF

I have had some Levi's over the years but not sure if they were 501's. They seem like a straighter fit which works well for me but the rise is often too high. Now I want to try them again!

11 hours ago

Star

In the 90s and early 2000s I only wore 501's in every way possible, ie. dressed up/down, with platform heels, with flats, with boots. Now I when I get vintage pairs, 501s or 521s (as recently shown to Angie), I struggle to style them to my liking. For me some things are best left in the past. Yours are the new ones clearly and fit totally fab. Besides the obvious Converse wear them with loafers, oxfords, booties. Just go for it, most tops will work. Try them with your yellow slingbacks as well for dressy, and your fisherman sandals for less dressy. The fisherman sandals will definitely look fab.

Janet

I haven’t tried them in decades. They didn’t fit me right, even when I was 20 and I suspect they may not now. I wouldn’t mind a new pair of relaxed straights, but not sure 501s would work for me.

10 hours ago

LaPed

I have a couple vintage pairs that I used to wear non-stop, but they feel a bit low-rise to me now, and not in the slouchy-around-the-hips way I'd prefer. I still wear them, but only in specific combos, and there are now other jeans I reach for first. It's funny, because when I first discovered them a decade ago, they were the highest rise jeans in my closet!

8 hours ago

Suz

Those look great on. you, Carla!

I don't own a pair of 501s -- like others have said, I don't seem to get a great fit from Levis -- the rib cage straights don't fit me well either. But I love a classic jean and think it is very versatile.

Roberta

I didn't wear true blue jeans until at least my 30s. I wore colored denim (remember elephant bells?) in the 70s, but blue jeans made me feel like a farmer. When I found a pair that I liked, I think they were Gloria Vanderbilt. Now I wear Kuts, NYDJ, and Old Navy.

I'm tempted to try this pair at Nordstrom.

Levi's Ribcage High Waist Wide Leg Jeans

Angie

Fashion Stylist

You look great, Carla! The jeans are smashing and versatile

If you go to the Levi's site, there are at least 10 different 501 styles these days. Not just ONE that all genders wore back in the '90s. Button-fly. The only thing you could change back then, was the waist and length measurement

I haven't been drawn to wearing 501s again, although I LOVED them when I wore them 30 years ago. But I'll try them on again soon! Fun nostalgic moment to do at the Levi's store in Seattle.

7 hours ago

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