Utilitarian, Sexy, Glamorous, Cool, Iconic, Hard-Working, Longevity.
Oh, the power of a pair of Denim Jeans♥
There are not that many items in our closets that we love even more as they begin to show the signs of aging. Denim jeans, in all their hardy indigo beauty, have this power. The fading of color, and the softening and thinning of the denim fabric through wash and wear, gives a pair of jeans its own unique patina. Denim Jeans take on the character and spirit of the owner.
My first pair of jeans that I remember wearing when I was around 5 years old, were bell-bottomed. I have vague memories of my mother hemming and letting them down to accommodate my growth which would result in telltale lines at the cuff. Hilariously, one can now buy jeans with this effect pre-done.
Over the years I have owned and fallen in love with many different jeans from brands such as APC, J Brand, and Acne Jeans. However, Levis 501s will forever be my favs, as they always look and feel spot on. I’m usually drawn to a straight leg cut, worn either true to size or a few sizes up and belted. Oversized is, in fact, my current preferred silhouette. Denim is complimentary and allows everything in my wardrobe to shine. It has the ability to make a simple white t-shirt a superstar. I feel jeans have always been in my life and they will be to the end. No other items of clothing get as much use as my jeans. Have a minute to get dressed? Pull on your jeans, throw on a coat and you are good to go!
I reached out to a few women who I greatly admire, not only for their fashion savviness but who I know share the denim jean obsession with me, and I will now hand you over to these wonderful women and their thoughts on DENIM JEANS!
-Simone xo
Alyson Walsh
Journalist/Author,
Founder,” That’s Not My Age“
THE DENIM DAME!
As a denim lover, I like my fabrics plain and simple; pared-back as opposed to pulverized, pre-worn or distressed. The best thing about denim is that it gets better with age. And we all know how we feel about that phenomenon. For me wearing denim is more of a lifestyle, an approach – and fortunately, I’ve always had the kind of job where I can add a bit of daily denim attitude.
The first pair of jeans I ever owned were cheap and cheerful, unbranded – I was about 10-years-old (and tall for my age) – and then my neighbour’s mum gave me a pair of her old Brutus Gold jeans. I wore them with one of those elasticated ‘snake’ belts and thought I was the Bee’s Knees.
My current favourites are Levi’s 501’s – the original and the best. I bought this pair a couple of years ago at a small vintage store down the road for £25. I’m also a fan of the MiH Phoebe jean –a boyfriend style that’s not too baggy.
Once a Denim Dame, always a Denim Dame.
–Alyson xo
www.thatsnotmyage.com
Esther Voisin
Denim Artisan & Photographer,
Founder, “Evdenimes“
MY KIND OF BLUE!
I have a great passion for jazz, the sky, the ocean, and DENIM!
My mother’s hometown, Nimes in the south of France, was where denim was initially made. Denim is iconic and what I use as my canvas. It’s an inspiring, versatile, functional and vernacular material.
My first pair of jeans? Levis 501.
In the 70’s the fabric was stiff and raw. Before wearing these jeans I would first wash them in hot water – It would bleed its indigo and shrink. This process was essential before cutting and stitching the hems. Otherwise, it was fatal, easily an inch too short.
The boot cut was too wide for my taste, I had to stitch the lower part of the legs as well, straighter was better. To make sure the pants would fit me perfectly tight, I would wear them still damp after washing. It was all part of the crazy process. What a ritual!
Then years later in Paris, my favorite brand for jeans was A.P.C. Raw and stiff. Perfection.
I wear all my jeans until they die and become threadbare. I simply can not throw them away. I would cut raw edges at the waist and the back pockets of some of my A.P.C jeans. I even wore Wrangler men jeans, one size up, belted low on my hips and with high heel shoes, long before it became a trend.
Right now I’m wearing a pair of vintage Levis 646. However, I’m thinking of revisiting APC, as I’m feeling the need for dark raw blue.
-Esther xo
Evdenimes: www.evdenimes.com
Photography: www.esthervoisin.com
Giannie Couji
Fashion Stylist,
Creative Director & Editor in Chief
Ubikwist Magazine
SEXY FLARE!
My early childhood was spent in the West Indies. Denim was too heavy to wear in the heat, so I didn’t wear jeans until my family moved to Paris. The first item of clothing made of denim that I remember was a skirt that my mother bought for me to wear to school. It had a 70’s A-line shape. I got my first pair of denim jeans around the time I turned 15 years old.
They were Levis of course.
I like a sexy jean and favor a high waisted straight leg with a little flare. My current favorite jeans are from Stella McCartney. They have the perfect 70’s vibe. They make my bum look great and I got them on sale. I love denim and a love a bargain!
–Giannie xo
www.gianniecouji.com
www.ubikwistmag.com
Wendy Euler
Founder, Goodbye Crop Top
VINTAGE BLUE!
I’ve always been a jeans girl.
It’s where I feel my best and most comfortable. I prefer a little distress in my jeans, but not too much, now at 50 years old. Faded, a t-shirt and flip-flops…that’s my go to.
My current favorite jeans? Vintage Levis.
Levis have always been my favorite, at least as of the 80’s. My first pair was a flare with small pockets on each side. I also had Calvin Kleins, Lee, and Wranglers (coming from Kansas you know)… so my denim jean love has been vast, and has been around a long time.
-Wendy xo
www.goodbyecroptop.com
Tracey Lea Sayer
Fashion Director
I LOVE DENIM!
Call it an addiction but my love affair with jeans has been an obsession since the seventies. My first pair was by a Spanish brand called Lois, indigo denim, high-cut and tight with a slight boot cut. Perfection! I have just found Lois again on Instagram. It felt like finding an old boyfriend, and I can still see why I was attracted back then, all bad boy attitude and still as cool today!
In the 80s, when I turned into a stroppy teenager, I saved money from my Saturday job to get my denim fix. I would jump the bus into town to buy tartan and floral jeans from a ‘Pile ‘em high and Sell ‘em cheap’ shop called Kumar’s in Liverpool. Versace’s denim campaigns were a real source of inspiration at the time, and colored denim was huge. Primary brights and pattered jeans were accessorized with big chunky gold jewelry and even bigger hair. Our love was excessive, vulgar and very, very decadent…
It was only when I got to Art College that I discovered vintage. Levis had just released their 501 TV advertisement with Nick Kamen stripped down to his boxer shorts in a laundrette to Marvin Gaye’s “Heard it through the Grapevine.” My friends and I literally didn’t talk about anything else for a whole month! A new shop called FLIP opened in Liverpool stocking vintage American 501’s and I was sold. I wore mine with a white T-shirt, a battered leather biker jacket, a bandana and a pair of DM boots. This became a uniform for me during my student years. My jeans and I became like old lovers who knew everything about one another, never being more than a day apart, love-worn and comfy in each other’s company.
In the late 90s, I finally got a bit of dollar in my back pocket because I was working three jobs in London. I found designer jeans in Liberty and Harvey Nichols and I was crazy about them! Suddenly brands from Los Angeles, like 7 For All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity, came to our shores. I fell hard and fast for Earl Jean. I had to lie down on the bed and wrestle to get them on. They were spray-on, boot-cut and so low cut I was scared to bend over. I killed them with my love eventually, busting the tiny zip that was only about three inches long. The cut was sexy as hell and they made me feel amazing like a leggy supermodel, it was never going to last but there is a part of me that will always love them…
Two kids and nine jobs later and my love for denim is still going strong, but these days I am a total cheap date. A high street queen if you know what I mean. I flirt with loads of affordable brands like And Other Stories, Gap and Cos. Shopping for jeans these days, for me, is like shopping for a date on Tinder. There is so much choice that it is almost impossible to pick, but once you have found THE ONE you can swipe to buy on Instagram and have the ‘Love of your life’ delivered to your door the very next day.
– Tracey xo
Many thanks to Esther Voisin, Wendy Euler, Giannie Couji, Alyson Walsh and Tracey Lea Sayer for sharing your thoughts and images.