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DH needs jeans advice

shiny

Veteran

Yes, I know the pic is silly... we were goofing off in NYC, doing a Law & Order joke... nobody was harmed.

My DH asked me to poll the forum for jeans advice. This is MAJOR, as DH's style changes at glacier pace, and it is a very rare event he wants to upgrade anything in his wardrobe, much less asks for advice... unfortunately, I am clueless when it comes to men's fashions. So we need your help!

DH is looking for new jeans. The ones in the pic are Hollister. He thrifted them. He has received so many compliments on these jeans, he now wants to add more, but he feels a bit silly wearing Hollister brand, at his age (50). Perhaps this is all in his head, you tell us.

DH's previous jeans have all been Levi's, and way, way too big and baggy on him. Think: the male version of mom's jeans. DH is quite slim from all his daily biking. He has long had issues wearing clothes that swamp him, but over the years, he's slowly adjusted and learned the glories of wearing a slim fit shirt, a medium sweater instead of a large, etc. And now he wants slimmer fitting jeans too....

He calls these jeans his "hipster" jeans. He doesn't mind going a bit hipster, though his style is actually preppy. He doesn't want to go too hipster -- no super skinny jeans (even if he could probably pull them off) because he wants to avoid what we call... twisticles.

Suggestions on brands of jeans to try? He has an aversion to clothes shopping, but I may be able to get him into the store for about 1/2 hour. I need to maximize the time.

If it helps, his measurements are 32/30. That's what he says, but I think he's actually a 31.

I also plan on buying him a new leather jacket as a xmas present (shhhh... it's a secret). His current one is wayyyy to large. Any advice on that would also be appreciated.

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29 replies

Latest reply was from April

Mo

(website)

Veteran

My BF is in his early 50's and likes the CofH Sid (straight) and Jagger (bootcut) fits. He's thin legged (also a 31) but long at 33-34 inseam. His fit looser than the ones in your hubby's pic.

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Queen Mum

Veteran

Are you looking for premium? or does it matter.
IMO, if the Hollister jeans are a great fit and a great look, there is nothing wrong with him wearing them. Even at 50, he deserves to wear hip jeans
We found a great fitting pair of jeans for my DH at PacSun (do you have that,or is it just a west coast chain?) Anyway, I loved them on him because they fit great a and yes,looked hip. The cut I liked so well on him were the Graves Slim. They are a slim cut without being teenybopper skinny. Unfortunately, he has gained a few pounds and they don't currently fit him.

Preppy Pear

Veteran

My husband is is a similar size and wears slim cut everything. (So unfair!) After some trial and error and being forced to spend a small amount of time in the dressing room, he mostly wears Levi's 527 - slim straight in a 32/32. I think he could easily go down to 31, but he likes a bit of a loose fit - also wants to avoid the "twisticles," ha, I'll have to share that with dh! His legs are skinny and so the slim straight cut doesn't look like a skinny fit at all.

He also has a couple of pairs of Seven for all Mankind Standard fit, also in a 32, that he adores, one in a solid gray, one in a very dark wash. I tease him that those are his hipster jeans but he loves the way they look and feel (I enjoy the view as well).

Not sure about the leather jacket, but we are loving J.Crew's slim shop for him for shirts! What a difference the fit has made.

ETA - husband is younger, almost 30, but is allergic to trends or anything that might be considered remotely flashy. I think he feels that the details (stitching, pockets, etc.) on both of these styles are subtle and that's really important to him.

shiny

Veteran

I would love to get him into premium, and I have tried, but he never wore the jeans I bought him for xmas. In fact, he re-gifted them. Without telling me ... I'd have rather returned them for a refund, and bought him something else.. also he had no clue how much I'd spent on those jeans... . Grrr.

He does like the Hollister jeans a lot. He's been wearing them every single day. Considered duplicating.... but says he feels silly wearing what he thinks is a teeny-bopper brand.

So that is the conundrum. Because of his shape, he may fit best in brands for teens. He will probably reject anything premium, because he's far too frugal. But I do plan on trying that again. I bet if I can get a bunch of young pretty SA's telling him his butt looks so cute in those jeans, he'll buy them. Hee hee.

shiny

Veteran

Preppy Pear, thank you!! He does love Levi's. I bet I can get him into Levi's, but a less "dad jean" style.

And J Crew... he fits really well in their clothes, it is definitely his aesthetic (preppy), I have bought him JCrew items in the past, until he asked me to stop, because he found the quality highly lacking. And, it does seem to be true. The men's line is not as well made as the women's. Then again, DH is very very hard on his clothes, since he bike commutes in them every day, rain, shine, snow... all weather conditions.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Why don't you get hubs back into Levi's.

rachylou

Veteran

I think he should go get more Hollisters. I don't see a problem except for the stores themselves, hehe. At least they don't have the toxic reek of Abercrombie. Other men certainly won't know or notice. All those teenie bopper stores also cater to adults, because they are the source of the money.

Gaylene

Veteran

Another vote for the CoH straight Sids. My husband is an athletic 60+ who is slim-legged with a small butt and the Sids were the ones that got the highest approval rating from both his sons. After acquiring a couple of pairs, he has designated his Levis as yard-duty-only pants.

sinead

My son also really, really loathes shopping and what I loved about Levi's was being able to go to the Levi's area in Macy's, pull his size from the styles and after a quick try, we were done. And after a year, they still look great.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Love the pic - lol! My hubby who just turned 50 has started wearing Tommy Hilfiger dark wash relaxed fit and really likes them.

Girl X

(website)

Veteran

My guy likes Adriano Goldschmied's, which we normally get from LastCall.com when they have a 35 or 40% off sale. He finds their denim to be durable enough to wear on a motorcycle, while still feeling great on his legs. Also, he likes that their back pocket embellishments are pretty minimal; he's in his 50s and feels silly in jeans that have bold swirls on his bum.

shiny

Veteran

Gaylene, DH actually has a very well rounded rear. I wouldn't call it small. It's muscular... and, well, perky! So, that is also a factor. Are the COH best for a smaller male rear?

DonnaF

Veteran

Zappos has a ton of men's Levi's on sale right now. You could probably get VIP status by asking and have jeans in your home in two days. DH could then try on jeans in the privacy of your home, so it wouldn't be so much like *shopping*. I used to laugh when my mom would go out and buy shoes for my Dad, but I've had to do that too for DH. Of course, you don't get the cute SAs that way. *My* cute UPS guy will take my returns if he's dropping of (yet) another package, so I don't even have to make a trip to the UPS Store if I happen to be home when he's making a delivery.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

LOL @ the pic. The ones he's wearing look totally age-appropriate, and if Hollister fits, why not buy it? I'd maybe shy away from the really trendy and faded looks, is all.

Or how about Lucky? I don't know about their fits for men but I've heard great things about the service in store, and how they'll help you get the best fit and look.

pil

Veteran

Shiny, between your poses and your husband's Law and Order scene I want to hang out with you two : ).

No suggestions for you though as my husband needs better looking jeans as well. However he is older and, well, rounder than your husband.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I got some 7FAM for my bf and they look amazing on him. Even the fuller cut ones look slimmer than the typical baggy Levis. Levis do come in slimmer fits -- maybe stop by the Levis store? You could also try Gap.

ElleH

Veteran

My DH wears Levi's 511. They are straight leg not skinny but cut for skinny guys. Not dad & not teen.

ETA: There are always sales at Macy's that make them very inexpensive. I can't remember if they are $40 before the sale. I think so. He has black ones with white stitching & white ones. They come in various washes of indigo too.

ETA: They are called skinny but they are really straight. The super skinny 510 is what I call skinny. Here is a link.
http://www1.macys.com/shop/men.....y?id=57697

ElleH

Veteran

What style of leather jacket?

Aida

Veteran

My husband has slim legs/hips and at the suggestion of a tall lanky friend of ours got into the Levis 527s which are cut nice and slim but not skinny/tight, even in bootcuts (one pair of which you've seen, as I wear them as my BF jeans!). My hubby also fits well into J Crew but didn't find their jean quality to his liking since he's also quite hard on his clothing.

EDIT: And definitely get him in the smaller size if he's smaller. It took my hubby a long time to admit and finally wear the correct, smaller size that's right for him. Guys like to be bigger, we like to be smaller

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I told my husband about "twisticles" -he's still laughing.
Levis sound like the way to go.

shiny

Veteran

Pil - anytime!

Elle - I am clueless, except to say he would not do anything too edgy or hipster or motorcycle or metrosexual or trendy. Classic. The one he has now is pretty classic -- it's just two sizes too large. It has a zip out lining which he loves, because he can wear it well into the winter (weather permitting) and still be warm. He does like bomber jackets but I really really really do not like them at all on him.... Really. I had to pry this bomber jacket out of his hands. Several times now. It keeps coming back out of the trash, no matter how deep I bury it. The elastic wrists/waistband are all pilly and stretched out, and the leather is cracking all over.. it looks like he should be living under a bridge. Sigh.

I tried to coax him into a store today but he wasn't interested. We did, however, do a lot of people watching, and spotted quite a few men wearing Levi's that were slimmer fit, so I suspect that will be what we try next. I do want to try out the COH too. Just have to get him into a store.

Anonymous

My DH is also very frugal, but he liked the Joe's Brixton jeans enough to spend the money (though only if on sell at the Rack).

He is thin- 33 waist, longish very skinny legs, high (bubble butt) and these jeans look so good on him.

Lokibear

You could also try Old Navy jeans. My husband wears them because he is quite skinny and has long legs, and online they come in a lot of sizes. The downside of ON's quality is that sometimes the length is off a couple of inches (we usually order like 4 prs for him to keep 2), but surprisingly they have held up really well for daily wear. I was surprised at how flattering they are too, as I've never had any luck with the women's jeans there!

JAileen

Veteran

My much much older husband is a youthful 60. He has very slim hips and wears Levis 505s (32 32) which appear to be a classic style. He looks really great in them. Now if I could just get him out of fleece!

Anonymous

I wanted to second someone's suggestion of Lucky jeans. My DS who is in his 30's and usually wears a 30/30 loves their fit. He does not wear his jeans tight the jeans he chooses have a slim fit. He wants to fit in with fashion in Tokyo where he lives, at least enough not to stand out as sloppy. The SA's in a Lucky store are very helpful.
The down side is that they may be more pricy but they last and last.
I so understand your feeling about DH's bomber jacket. My DH has a fabric one that I keep trying to get rid of. The style with the bottom band makes him look like he has even more middle-aged spread than he actually does.

Debora

Veteran

What a great photo! I'm not much here...both my guys wear Levi's, each at the opposite end of the spectrum. Hubby won't give up his beloved (roomy) 505's and DS loves his skinny 511's. Levi's has a great selection of fits and I bet you could find one that would work for your DH

Makrame

Veteran

Great photo!

DH has some nice jeans from the Gap (going a few years back) and some Levi's that he bought directly off their website because nothing like that was available in stores.

lyn67

Veteran

Ha-ha! Great tush(excuse-me, Shinny:-)), but pictie is hillarious:-)

April

Veteran

A vote for Levi's 514 Slim Straights -- as DonnaF noted, currently on great sale at Zappos. The "Inky Blue" wash has a black-blue label at the waist instead of the usual tan -- this was a big selling point for SO/DH.

At this price, and because Zappos makes returns so easy, you can try several washes in a bigger and smaller size and see what he thinks. That's what I did for my also shopping-allergic man, and he was very happy.