Wednesday, March 3, 2010

LEVIS 514 PREMIUM SELVEDGE

There have been a lot of inquiries regarding the new Levis Slim Straight 514 Premium Selvedge (British English spelling) jeans, but not much feedback is available. Perhaps because they're not LVC (Levis Vintage Clothing) or a Japanese reproduction, thereby detracting buyers? It doesn't help that Gap is also currently offering premium selvedge jeans for ten dollars less. After all, we are in a recession.

I was quite pleased at the feel and weight of these jeans right out of the package. They are stiff, heavy, raw untreated denim just like I had hoped for. At first they felt a little tighter in the legs than my normal 514's, but after two hours of use they began to loosen up and fit like they should - this is true for all my selvage jeans. They have a standard 34" inseam to allow for "selvage bragging". This is a bit long for me and after allowing the obligatory break-in time (6 months), I may have them hemmed down to the length of my other 514's.











I've owned tons of selvage (US English spelling) jeans over the years, to include a current pair from Gap, and I'm here to say that these are decent premium selvedge jeans. They have slim straight legs and fit very similar to a pair of 1955 LVC's I own. Of course all 514's are "low cut", but are not noticeable in this pair.


















These have a classic fit completely missing from other jeans currently offered. They are zip-fly to boot. If you're like me and have grown tired of button fly jeans, these are for you.












They are labeled 32x34, but actually measure 34x36.  The leg opening measures 8 3/8".   A warm soak or two will have these jeans fitting my waist just way I like.















All three of my 514's are tagged 32x30 and after a few normal wash/dry cycles, the waists measure: 
"Rigid":  35" unwashed
"Highway":  34" washed maybe three times
"Coast":  34" washed once

Bottom line - If you're a fan of 514's and are looking for a pair of premium selvage jeans then you'll want to consider these.  They may not be the be-all and end-all pair, but the quality of these jeans is superb. The best part of it all is that these won't break the bank. I've spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on LVC or comparable jeans only to find out they aren't the right fit (too big, wide or small). These are, in my opinion, premium rigid selvage jeans that shouldn't be overlooked and, perhaps, the best non-LVC selvedge to come out of Levis in recent years - in my own opinion, of course.

My only concern is that they aren't as deep indigo as other selvage I've owned.

Cost: $98.00
I Signed up for e-mail's and received a code for free shipping on my first purchase
Total (including tax): $106.58

2 comments:

  1. Any word on how these have faded overtime? I'm curious if they've been treated to resist fading (and stacking, and whiskering) like the gap selvedge. Do they leave blue on all your white clothes?

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  2. So are you saying these are more STF? Or just the normal shrink one would expect from sanforized jeans?

    Could we get an update?

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