Jeans of the same model (Levi's 501/502 specifically) have huge price differences. Why?
Evening folks. I live in Japan where the thrift ("Reuse" or "second hand" out here) market scene is from what I can tell much bigger than where I'm from in America. Usually thrifted items are really high quality, but are a little more expensive.
Recently I went thrifting for some jeans. I've been told to look for the Levi's 501 as it's apparently the most classic fit and doesn't sit too low on the waist, plus I like the button fly.
(1000 yen = roughly 10 dollars for comprehension sake)
Some thrifted pairs of 501s will go from 1000-3000 yen, while new ones will go to 5000 yen. Okay, fine.. but then youll see thrashed up and old 501s being sold for 10,000-15,000 yen. The variance in prices go between these two extremes.. so why? Are newer Levi's worse than the old ones? Or are you just paying vintage prices for older jeans? Is there something special about older jeans I don't know about?
10 Replies
Yes, newer Levi's are much worse than old ones
Is the quality as such that it would be better to buy a newer brand? Got any recs for jeans in that 150$ ish bracket you'd suggest?
For raw denim or for any jeans
There's so many variables that go into that, is there something you're looking for specifically that would require you to look for more expensive options?
Actually, no. I just want a good pair of jeans. I am actually unsure as to why pants can go up that high.
I just buy my jeans from Uniqlo but I like how the Levi's fit on me, I was wondering about why the jeans just are so pricy
Denim can be expensive for the same reasons as any other item of clothing: quality, labor, and demand. Some jeans are heavier weights, made on vintage looms, hand dyed, made using difficult or arcane methods, etc.
A $200 pair of jeans won't necessarily be better than a $80 pair of jeans, but it will likely have some of those factors influencing why it costs more^
If one of those factors is a requirement, you start finding that only those more expensive options fit your criteria, especially if you get super into the some of the more unique pieces.
Vintage Levi's are valuable, the older they are the higher the price goes. There are tons of factors at play but collectability/history is probably the biggest one. Levi's is the denim brand and people want to buy into that. The wear/distressing is also seen as a positive cause it's a more physical representation of the history.
It's 100% a meme recommendation at this point but if you're really interested in Japanese clothing history and in particular attitudes towards American fashion then Ametora by David Marx is a good read.
Alright folks, thanks for answering my question, as always :D
Not sure if you've heard of Orslow? You'd be looking at their 105's. They're an homage to old Levi's but do have a zipper fly.. They're about $250-300 rn in the US, unaware if they can be found cheaper in Japan since they're made there. I love mine.