My Hunt for the Bluest Blue Jeans
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Welcome to Jeans Month on the Strategist, where we’re obsessively vetting denim — from trying on every pair at the Gap to asking dozens of stylish people about their favorite fits. For more, head to ourJeans Month hub.
What is the truest blue? Is it one of Mother Nature’s gifts, the majestic cerulean of a cloudless sky? Or the gleaming aqua of an equatorial sea? Is it manmade, the richness of Yves Klein’s pigment? Or is it to be found somewhere less lofty, like on your legs?
There is a strong argument to be made that the most blue of blues is the faded indigo of well-loved blue jeans. For about a decade, the only jeans I wore wereA.P.C. New Standard, which came in midnight blue, a color I didn’t even like that much. But that was just its starting point: Over months of daily wear, the indigo dye would fade and the pants would transform into a hard-won illuminated turquoise. That was the perfect blue jean. But who has the patience for that?
Lacking interest in the durational achievement of A.P.C.’s raw denim, I started shopped vintage, which was fruitful if unreliable. But now I want a pair of pants, not a game of chance. Could I not just walk into a store and pluck from the rack a great pair ofjeansin a great color blue?
I hit the streets of Soho to find out. I tried on jeans at both high-end and low-end stores to see what was on offer across the blue spectrum.
I’d hoped J.Crew, master of prep, might present a timeless go-to, and as I stepped into the store, that appeared to be the case. I was immediately drawn to theClassic Jeans. The moniker felt promising; you can’t mess with the eternal. In this case, however,classicreferred to the fit and not the color. J.Crew offers jeans in an array of blues, most of which I found unappealingly artificial. But one shade of cobalt felt honest — that is until I unfolded them and saw the unearned fades on the thighs and rear end, a needless interruption of an otherwise pure blue.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Less pure was Acne’s bizarre but impressive take on blue jeans. You don’t go to the Swedish shop for the traditional, however, so I was open to a freakier perspective on a staple. One pair was covered infauxdirt, a funny punch line, if somewhat impractical as clothing. With synthetic veins of white across both legs, theDelta Jeansmimicked an overhead view of a frozen river just before the thaw — or the crinkles of jeans you left wet and balled up in the washing machine for weeks. While I did admire the pants’ unique pallor, I can’t say I’d recommend paying $750 for them.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I had to pay a visit to my old haunt, which, of course, still offers the stiffest of denim in the most severe blue-black. Besides the raw artifact, however, you can buy a used pair in store, with someone else’s literal sweat having eroded the dye into the perfection I had once so proudly obtained myself. Although I have made peace with my impatience, I do not yet have the stomach for such stolen valor. So I was pleasantly surprised to find the unique shade of my shopping trip, theMartin Jean in stonewashed indigo. It felt like Yves Klein blue with a hint of blue-green, bright but not bold. Though not flashy, it did feel like a statement jean (in a good way), and if I had something I felt needed to be said, I’d be comfortable wearing these.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I was curious to see how big-pants purveyor Eighteen East might approach blue jeans. Its clothes are geared toward people who want to appear as though they enjoy climbing mountains but who most certainly never leave the city. It’s a look of which I am reluctantly fond. There were two pairs of blue jeans on offer, one adeep-navy raw denimthat felt brutish. I preferred the more springlike turquoise with a baggy fit, but they don’t seem to be for sale online.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Noah is close to the platonic idea of how I’d like to dress: elevated preppy. So preppy, in fact, that among all the track pants, khakis, and cords, I had trouble locating a single pair of blue jeans until I saw one neatly folded on a shelf below a rack of books and magazines. The “light wash” was nearly robin’s-egg blue but with a dusting of yellow, like a cowboy wore them to a rodeo and let the dust settle into the crevices. A nice painterly touch.
New! You can now save this product for later.
If you were to ignore my advice and break the bank on a pair of blue jeans, you could do worse than Drake’s. The British store specializes in refined versions of basics: Its khakis and corduroys, suits and sweaters, all appear of a piece with, say, Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers but with an iota more of softness, a silhouette with just a touch more perfection. Rounded but not roomy, sleek but not slim. They are paradoxically clothes you can afford only on a corporate salary but are so perfect they would be wasted on your corporate job. Like Noah, Drake’s is not a denim specialist and sells only a few pairs of blue jeans. But the brand knows the value of a staple, and the pair of blue jeans it calls “bleach wash” sang the loudest of all of the blue jeans I saw. (At $450, a relative bargain compared with Acne’s.) Where other jean colors felt distinctly seasonal to me (darker for winter, lighter for spring), Drake’s particular shade of cornflower had an eternal quality, the democratic color of progress, of unadorned and better futures yet to come.
New! You can now save this product for later.
In a small corner of the massive Levi’s store, you can find the brand quietly launching a new project: faithful re-creations of 501s and 505s from eras past. The’50s 501sare a rich, handsome midnight blue, but I preferred the gentler shade of the’90s reissue— much easier on the eyes. These are jeans for springtime, the lightest of blues. (The product shot on the Levi’s site gives them a somewhat white sheen, but I promise they are warm IRL.) It’s the type of earnest, easy blue that makes me think of grunge rock and busted knees. The workingman’s blue as co-opted by the artistic class. What I liked so much about these jeans is that the blue justworks. It’s unassuming, anonymous. It’s a pale, opaque blue that signifies utility. These are trustworthy jeans. You will not look original; millions of people wear Levi’s. But is that not the point of blue jeans: to disappear? The rest of your outfit can write a complex tale; good blue jeans are the book’s spine. To me, that is the purpose of jeans. That is the purpose of blue. It is a beautiful and reliable color, and thankfully it is everywhere.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
