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A Question About Levis Branding

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I've only lived in the US for 7 years and in that time, the Levis brand has been perceived as fairly low cost and budget friendly.

But the Levis brand in other parts of the world is not budget friendly at all. Not in the 80's and 90's and not even now. I remember having to save up for a while to purchase my first pair of Levis 501's in 1992. When my Euro cousins holidayed in America, they stocked up on Levis jeans because it was so expensive in the Netherlands. Levis stores in Paris are quite expensive even today!

Has Levis always been an affordable and fairly inexpensive brand in the US?

Thanks for answering my question

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41 replies

Latest reply was from marianna

Anonymous

I might be wrong but if I recall correctly, Levis used to be *premium* in the 90's, while growing up. I guess the brand fell out of grace for some reason.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Well, Levi's started out as hard wearing pants for hard working men (specifically miners in the Gold Rush). They have always sort of held to that working class target audience, but I guess it depends on your idea of affordable since they are now more middle of the road of non-premium denim in pricing. They are much more affordable than premium denim, and I think that was true even at the beginning of the fashion denim craze. I can remember brands like Guess, Jordache and Calvin Klein being much more expensive than Levi's. I do remember hearing about how much more expensive and hard to find the brand is overseas, and I wonder if that is part of a larger marketing plan.

MNsara

Veteran

Yes, - it has always been the ubiquitous jeans brand since the 60s at least. Levi's have usually been considered superior to Lee's jeans. (FWIW - I found Levi's more durable for my kids than Lee's).

I think they might have been considered the *best* brand out there back in the 70s-80s, and were never a bargain brand, but they have always stayed affordable.

I remember traveling in Europe in college (late 70s) and my friend's luggage was shredded at the UK airport. The airline reimbursement for her to replace 5-6 pairs of Levi's in the UK was astronomical! She bought one pair and pocketed the difference for replacing them at home. . .

Vani

Veteran

Before the global market revolution in India, people paid top dollar (rather rupee!) for the only available "premium denim" then - Levis and Wranglers - and they still do, even with easy availability of all other brands. DH's favourite pair of jeans is a solid, well made, well fitting pair of Wranglers from about 12 yrs ago.

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

I've seen some premium Levis at Nordstrom Rack before. Very good quality jeans, and priced similarly to Citizens, etc.
But then they are at places like Kohls or on Zappos and are under $50, so I wonder if it's one of those labels that offers budget and premium?

MsMary

Veteran

My response is exactly the same as chewyspaghetti's.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I had Levi's Shrink to Fit 501's in high school (80's) and remember them costing $12 or $14 at Miller's Outpost. These were the thick stiff kind that you had to wash 3 times before wearing and some of us (raising hand) sat in a hot bathtub with them on so they would literally shrink to fit. They came oversized and would shrink an inch in the waist and 3 inches in inseam.

LoP

Veteran

My visitors from out of the country still buy a pair or two since a pair still costs more than a $100 anywhere around the world.I used to ask friends visiting US to bring back Levi's in the '90s. They were 3-4 times cheaper compared to how much it would cost back home.

Anonymous

I've always considered Levi's jeans as good, quality jeans for MEN, but never premium or expensive. I've never given them much thought for women, frankly, outside the settings of a ranch. I don't know why.

Diana

Veteran

I agree with what everyone else has said. I'd also add that I think Levi's are perceived in the USA as the quintessential American jeans, and so there is a huge market for Levi's among people who would never in a million years pay premium prices for denim. (This seems especially true among men - I know many men, including my BF, who always buy the same style Levi's year in and year out. If they ever stopped making 501s, can you imagine how many distraught and possibly pantsless men would be running around?) I think the sheer volume of people who fall into this group make it profitable for Levi's to continue making reasonably priced jeans. Levi's are (I think) perceived as durable, classic, and dependable here in the US perhaps because they started out as "work" pants and not a fashion thing at all (rather than in other countries, where they are more of a luxury item).

This may be an odd comparison, but I think a similar thing has happened with PG Tips tea in the UK vs the US, where it's pretty much the "common," non-fancy tea that everyone drinks in the UK, while it's sold as fancy, imported, British tea (in exotic pyramid shaped bags, oh my!) in the USA at much inflated prices.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Hm, I do remember them being premium in Jr. High, which for me was about... 94-97? If you didn't have Levi's, you probably had something really unflattering... some random brand made for a Factory 2 You chain or something. This was back before flares re-emerged. I wouldn't say they were "premium" as much as that they were the only option out there. The premium denim explosion didn't seem to show up until later.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Also, maybe Levi's started making more lower-budget jeans once better materials and stretch fabrics were available for cheaper. They had red tag lines I remember that were still expensive and "premium" like a few years ago. Their men's Offender style can still go for over $200 used.

Kim

Veteran

I used to wear Levis back in the 70's. They were always considered the top brand (even though they were not premium denim, never even heard of that back then..) They were affordable and durable and good value for your money as they took a *looooonnngg* time to get to the faded patched up look we were going for back then! LOL

Since I didn't have a lot of money then I wouldn't have bought them if they were the price of premium denim now. I probably paid about $20.00 or so for them.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I remember visiting a Levi store is Las Vegas as Ben was hoping to get the jeans heavily advertised at the time in the UK, but either they were sold under a different name or there are different styles for different countries but the jeans were not available.

Debbie

Veteran

If Levi's were ever discontinued my husband would have nothing to wear.
We lived overseas when I was a child and my Mom would only buy Levi's in the states or on the rare occassion they were available in the base exchange.
I don't know why they are so expensive overseas. Something to think about.

mumtojessandluke

Levis here were very much sought after in the 90's. I remember in high school, the Levis 501's red tag were the Bees knees... I could only afford the orange tag- LOL! But yeah, lots of people checking out buts for what jeans you were wearing.
The look went particularly well with Doc Martin Boots, which I wanted SO, SO badly. Worked for two weeks on my school holidays to acquire a pair, but still working for family and didn't get enough $ together to buy them :(.

These days I think people over here are a lot less concerned about branding than back then. It's more about finding the right pair of jeans to fit your body. And Levis have come down in price a tad, still a little pricey but not out of reach.

I was so rapt to get a pair of Calvin Klein jeans, when I was younger and wore them until the but was ripped out of them after climbing under a barbed wire fence on a farm. But thinking back, they were probably knock offs as Calvin Klein wasn't really a brand that was sold around here... and I brought them from an open air market. Brands like Guess and Calvin Klein were not readily available and I haven't even heard of Jordache.

Thanks for the flood of memories!!

mumtojessandluke

Oops got side tracked. In response to your question Ange, they were really expensive in Australia in the 90's but readily available and are now something that is achievable for most at just under $100 a pair here. So still, they are probably much cheaper in the states but are still classed as a 'premium' brand here.

Queen Mum

Veteran

I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that when Levi's were at their peak of popularity here in the US (80's-90's) there really wasn't such a thing as "premium denim". It was more about the brand name. Levi's, Calvin Klein, Jordache... those were the pockets you wanted adorning your backside I couldn't begin to guess what we paid for Levi's back then, but it wasn't comparable to what we pay for premium today.
To Sarah's comment about premium Levi's.. I have seen this too, and I think it is Levi's attempting to break into the premium denim market, but I think this is relatively new.
I agree with Diana to the point of Levi's being the quintessential American jeans. That is probably what the overseas countries are paying for.

Beth

Veteran

Like Diana, I've always considered them the "quintessential American jeans," the classic originals. DH wears them exclusively and they're my work jeans on the farm. I've never considered them low-end, more like they're in a class of their own.

In the 80s, Guess and Calvin Klein were the rage. I remember having two pairs of treasured Guess that sold for around $80, which was a fortune at the time. My sister and I would put them on our Christmas lists and Santa usually came through for us:)

I tried a pair of skinny Levis year before last but wasn't impressed with the stiff denim and the not-so-perfect fit. I'll still wear the classics for work clothes, though. The kind you can still toss in the washer and dryer!

Kyle

Veteran

I've always viewed the brand as a solid workhorse. Not flashy or expensive, with no special cachet. They are an American classic, which is one reason they have historically been coveted overseas, in my opinion.

rute

Veteran

Here Levis is still very expensive.. in fact one of the most expensive brands!

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Levi's were always affordable, even back into the 70s and 80s. Of course, most jeans in America were affordable back then, in the era before premium denim exploded onto the scene.

medusa

Veteran

Levis used to be very good quality, solidly made jeans - they were never super expensive, but they weren't cheap either. And a pair would last for a long time, you'd have to break them in, they would really become yours.

Then they stopped using good quality denim and all that changed. The manufacture of good quality denim moved to Japan (apparently Japanese companies literally bought up the old looms Levis used to use), and I believe that by switching to cheap denim Levis basically forced the invention of "premium denim" as consumers looked for something of better quality. Today's premium denim is worse quality than Levis were in the 80s. I'm really bitter about this.

Here's a bit of the history.
http://ask.metafilter.com/5249.....asic-denim

Here's a more recent article.
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk.....denim.html

Beth

Veteran

Interesting info. Thanks for the links, Medusa.

sarah

Veteran

Interesting, Medusa. I grew up on Levi's (I loved my 501s), but they weren't particularly expensive, or I wouldn't have had them as a college student. I have a couple of pairs of Levi's now (skinnies and boot cuts), but I do have to say that the denim really stretches out after a couple of hours of wear. I don't remember that happening back in the day, but then again, I think it was sort of 'in' to have baggy 501s in the 80s and 90s.

Anonymous

I and many girls started to wear jeans in the 60's and Levi's were considered tops and were affordable. I don't think there were women's sizes available. At least we figured out what we would wear in men's sizes then. I remember in the 80's at least, most places carried Lee's and Levi's. Lee's were cut slimmer so many girls and slim men bought them. The prices were about the same with Levi's being a bit more, as I remember. Lee's were made locally and I knew a Lee fit model. We all envied her great look in jeans.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Wow! Such great information and I thank you all.

Seems to me that Levis has had it's hey day here - but that they are *still* very expensive and sort after abroad. I'm willing to bet that the product is different too. Amazing.

Kristine

Veteran

Yes, even in the US Levi's has several different lines. I actually wore them faithfully until a few years ago and would wear them again if I could find the right fit. I always thought they did nice things for my backside, maybe it's the angling on the pockets! My boss (very stylish lady) had a pair on today now that I think about it! So I definitely don't think of them as premium but more as standard denim.

bella

(website)

Veteran

My experience is similar to yours Angie. We didn't even have Levi's stores until late 1980s. I remember having to save up for my first pair of 501s in 1992 or 93. My parents wouldn't pay for one. I made a trip to the part of town where they sold smuggled US goods and bought my first pair of 501s and Timberland boat shoes.

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