Budget Shopping: Denim

Some people spend countless hundreds of pounds on the latest jacket or a pair of expensive footwear – amounts that most normal people would consider nothing short of weird. Personally I don’t find it all that unusual. Indeed, there have been numerous occasions where the “weird” label has been thrown at me once people have discovered how much I spent on a certain shirt or jacket. Paying good money is the consequence of wanting to look good and this applies to every part of the outfit in my view. It’s because of this that I find it a tad bemusing that some people will spend hundreds of pounds on their latest high tech Stone Island shimmer jacket or Nigel Cabourn’s new effort and countless on a pair of second hand trainers off the net yet display an unwavering reluctance to spend anything sizeable on a pair of jeans. For me what you’ve got on your legs is as important as what you’ve got on your feet or over your polo or shirt. It sets off the look and keeps everything appearing as it should.

In my mind it is really worth going to town on your denim and buying selvedge or unwashed jeans is definitely the ideal option but some people just aren’t willing to do this. Here are three ways to keep your legs looking smart and hold your outfit together without breaking the bank. You’ll never have to buy a pair of jeans from Marks & Spencer’s again!

Levi’s
Every man has probably had a pair of Levi’s jeans in their wardrobe at one point or another. There’s a very valid reason for this; they’re absolute style classics. Without a doubt the most iconic jean ever produced, Levi 501’s are certainly not the best jeans out there but for the price they are arguably the best value out there. Pretty much every jean you can think of owes an awful lot to Levi’s. Widely available and often obtainable for around the £40 mark, Levi’s come in a wide range of styles for all shapes and sizes. They won’t last forever but provided you avoid the multipocket versions favoured by street types, you won’t go wrong.

Uniqlo
Boasting fourteen stores in the UK (all in Greater London), Uniqlo is hugely popular with pretty much everyone at the minute. However, don’t allow this to put you off. There’s nothing really wrong with their jeans. They’re modelled on the classics (rightly so) and last year they produced their own selvedge denim which retailed in at £35, reducing by a further £15 in the sales. I’ve a pair myself and they’re definitely worth that. They won’t have the longevity you get with the more premium brands but if you’re still reading this, this probably won’t bother you too much.

eBay
One other option open to you is to head over to the world’s largest auction site and see what’s going there. eBay can be a frustrating place at times to say the least but your patience can, every now and then, be rewarded handsomely. I’ve had all sorts of bargains with my denim on there, having picked up a couple of selvedge efforts for less than a score each. You may be forced to go second hand but if you’re willing to fork out a huge amount on a second hand pair of deadstock trainers then forking out considerably less on a pair of jeans doesn’t seem that bad really. Do your research a bit as well. See what Super Denim or Oi Polloi is stocking. Often a lot of these brands are fairly unknown and therefore can stay under the radar which will limit the amount of money you have to spend quite nicely.