At $200 you can buy Outlier pants (or Mission Workshop, no experience with those though). At $400 you can buy freaking Arc'teryx Veilance pants. That's way too much for something that is just cotton (and not even etaProof or anything interesting).
The main appeal of high-end raw denim is not its utility or technical performance. In fact, denimheads cherish flaws in their jeans. For example, fabric with yarn unevenness and imperfections is prized as "slubby", and the objectively weak chain-stitched hem is highly sought after. These flaws add character and uniqueness.
What is exciting about raw denim is that it develops highly personal wear patterns that reflect your life over a long period of time. Picture a beat-up pickup truck, or a pair of boots. You've had it for years, taken it everywhere, it's full of stories. That's the idea.
Tell that to someone who'd buy a pair of Vetements pants for $1200[1]. And it's standard Levi's denim! But hey, the fly goes all the way around...
In other words, the fashion aspect does matter to people, oftentimes more than any practical aspect. (I think sometimes people take it to a silly degree...)
So long ago that it seems like another life, I used to work at Barney's New York. The people who think nothing of dropping $1,200+ on a pair of jeans, or $500 on a T-Shirt don't even remotely take practicality into consideration.
I don't think Vetements is a fair comparison though as they're based around that sort of hype and designer fashion. There's really no reason for such high prices aside from exclusivity and who the designers are. If some people like that, that's fine, but they're not being bought specifically for quality and looks you can't find elsewhere.
Even the founder/designer jokes that he wouldn't pay full price for his own designs.
> My friends very often can’t afford the clothes. Like myself, I wear prototypes but I don’t think I’m crazy fashion enough to go and buy those things. I’d rather go on holiday. I feel like it brings more use. Holidays are important. Holidays and quality time on your sofa.
Heh, yeah, that was sort-of what I wanted to emphasize. I feel like some of the appeal of high-priced denim is for the fashion aspects, even if the quality is a little better than Levi's or similar mass-produced stuff.
> Even the founder/designer jokes that he wouldn't pay full price for his own designs.
I really don't blame him. A lot of it seems like jokey conceptual art stuff. Cute to look at/think about but I probably wouldn't wear.
Agree! I have several pairs of Outliers from 4-5 years ago, still look new. Price to value of something like Outlier or Ministry of Supply speaks to me, pay more but it will last. You also get benefits like water resistance and strechability for things like cycling.
Tripling the Outlier comment. They are current the best pants on the planet and I challenge any HN commenter to show me better technical biz casual slacks. I basically only wear Outlier, Duluth Trading Co, and Uniqlo. And nice shoes.
I'm partial to Bluffworks personally. I've sat in an office for 8 hours a day in them, hiked, ran, bouldered, rode motorcycles through the mountains of Vietnam, swam, the gamut. Anything I do in any other specialized pant(jeans, sweatpants, khakis, Carhartt work pants, etc), I've done in them to see how they take it. They've held up beautifully.
