$50-$60 for a pair of jeans when I can buy an off brand for half of that? When I was young Levis were cool, now they are a waste of money.
1
Levis management manipulates the process. wlWhen they know things will be great in the future, they go private. when they think the future stinks, they go public just before the bubble bursts. Check it out.
1
I pretty much lived in Levis for decades. From the time I was 10 until about 2000. In the early years a pair would last for years. Now your lucky to get 8 months out of them.
That's not the reason I stopped wearing them. I applied for a job with Levi Strauss in San Francisco; a job I was really kind of uniquely qualified for and was rejected. They said they wanted to go with someone without so much prior training, younger in other words. Understand that walking into their SF headquarters is like walking onto the set of Glee! There isn't a grey hair in the house that isn't a hipster salon job.
A little digging revealed that mine is not an isolated case. I decided right then that if Levi Strauss was going to engage in age discrimination against the generation that made the company an iconic brand they were going to have to do without my consumer dollars from that point on.
9
Another good American company that lost their way.
I will never be a consumer of blue jeans for style, but rather for durable quality work and casual wear. For many years I was loyal to Levi's for that very reason, and now (for that very same reason) I am no longer a consumer of their products.
Please bring back your wonderful quality of old, and I would happily buy them again.
6
The quality is erratic but if you buy from their website you can still buy the best jeans ever made, Levi 501 Button Fly. You have to know the right size for you and how to wash them, though. The site has all available sizes which most stores cannot stock. Been wearing them for 55 years.
Designer jeans. Gag me. But if they ever get rid of the watch pocket, I'm done.
22
@Lou Good- hmmmmmm - my husband only wore 501's for years. Some of the "archival" ones have holes in many places and would probably fetch a pretty penny. I wish I could wear them but way too big. He has recently lost some weight and decided to invest in a couple of new pairs. What can I say........the first pair he ordered don't fit the same way as the "historic" ones, and the second pair have some of the new stretchy material - quite unnecessary for his slender shape - and tend to wrinkle in the wash.
5
Their $30 jeans (when on sale which is half the time) are amazing and great value, the best. Everything else? Total basketcase of fashion and misfits.
1
Good, maybe they can add more belt loops to their jeans. I'm getting too old to care so much about style. Wranglers are a better deal.
Nostalgia! I wore boys’ Levi’s in the early 1950s — they didn’t make them for girls back then — all the time except for school. Best thing ever for living in the country and riding my horse , often bareback, to get to the homes of the “kids next door”— 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile away over hill and dale. Great memories!!
Jeans have gone lower in price and cheaper in quality. Long before they can go through the stages of new to broken in to well worn to suitable for grimy household projects, the fabric frays, the pockets rip and rivets pop off.
Also, I'm troubled by the environmental impact of denim making. https://www.ecowatch.com/environmental-cost-jeans-2544519658.html
I'd like to see Levis develop an ad campaign that emphasizes the company's environmental practices (assuming they are good practices).
I'd also like to get some rationalization of their prices...I'll spend $60 on jeans if I know they're going to last.
And the company should simplify its product naming system.
No one can identify anything other than 501 buttonfly jeans. Get rid of all the other numbered systems and just use words...boot cut, relaxed, stretch, whatever. I haven't memorized the number for boot cut jeans and I never will.
Environment, price clarity, simplified naming structure.
You're welcome.
@Third.coast - as far as the environmental processes goes, they have published this information. check out their annual reports for the last several years, it's all outlined in there.
2
@Tudor City Crab
rather than look at annual reports (although that's always a good source of information) folks may want to check out the links to the water less and waste less programs:
http://levistrauss.com/sustainability/
ok, that's it for my posting of pro LS&Co materials. My only point is that there is more to the story than many of these comments would suggest.
as far as off shore manufacture goes: HBO produced an excellent documentary describing the economics of offshore apparel design and production, and how our addiction to low prices created the conditions to move almost the entire industry off shore. the name of the documentary is "Schmatta". check it out!
I love Levi's, esp the 501's. My son finds the 501 button fly annoying; he'd rather use a zipper. We elders will continue to wear Levi's, and I'll be buried in an old, worn out pair of them.
1
As a former employee, I can say that working at LS&Co.'s head office in San Francisco was THE best job I ever had. The Haas family were wonderful people who really cared about the people who worked for the company. I have so many stories about how lovely and down to earth they were.
Working for a company that had so much influence on not only American history and culture but on the world was a great experience. The archives are INCREDIBLE!!! People forget that there was a time when wearing a pair of Levi's was a symbol of freedom and protest for young people behind the Iron Curtain.
The business changed and LS&Co. isn't as 'American' as it once was. But the heart is still there. I still 'bleed blue' and I wish my old company the very best in this new chapter.
9
I worked for a number of years in the apparel industry and consulted to LS&Co for a few years. Just to put a few things on the positive side of the ledger as everyone is making blanket statements about the company:
LS&Co was one of the first companies who set their own internal standards to ensure that any products sourced from overseas are produced in safe conditions and that the employees were paid a fair wage.
LS&Co has also been a leader in environmental concerns, developing denim dyeing and treatment processes that minimize the use of water, and have incorporated recycled fibers and even recycled plastic water bottles in their fabrics
I found that at least in their headquarters, they have created a work culture that is inclusive of differences and heard no one complain about widespread abuses or inequities.
Just want to make sure there's a balanced view out there.
8
I have to agree with many of the Comments posted here. I stopped buying Levis years ago when they stopped making high quality jeans in the USA & moved production to the same off shore sweat shops that make most of the junk clothing we are forced to buy these days. Levis did not start charging less for the inferior jeans they now sell; indeed they still charge a high price. Like so many "American" companies, they think they can trade forever on their brand name & on the good will their company built when their stuff was still made in America and worth the price they charge for it.
12
Oh please, I hope to never see another pair of bell's or super bell's again. The first 501's I remember wearing back in sixties the denim was so thick they'd practically stand up by themselves. The last pair still in my drawer that I rarely wear I think I got back in the nineties were like tissue paper. Don't even try to pretend real Levi days are back just by going public.
4
Oh no! I hope they don't mess with the jeans I wear. You know, cheaper fabric, stretch which they don't need, etc. Maybe I'll buy some more while they're still the same.
2
In Paris, last summer, we saw that about every tenth person was wearing a white t-shirt with the red Levi's logo. Levi's in France cost at least twice what thy do in the US.
4
Levi's use to be my favorite Blue Jean. But the quality has really gone downhill. The fabric is poor quality. The stitching and dyeing is terrible. And it's almost impossible to find 501's anymore. Hopefully this signifies better days ahead. But I won't hold my breath.
8
Levi's dual class shares with unequal voting rights make this a super bad investment. The new money will have no say in how this company is run.
5
Lee jeans always.
4
@Richard2, Wrangler's carpenter jeans are good also. If only they'd make that little side pocket for the carpenter's pencil a little deeper to fit an iPhone in. I can't stand sitting on one in my back pocket like I see all the kids do today.
I've worn only Levis 501 button-front 100% cotton shrink-to-fit jeans since 1974. You have to know how to size and buy shrink-to-fit all-cotton jeans, but once you figure it out, you'll never go back, and you can safely buy them online knowing you won't have to return them. It's amazing how well they fit after they shrink to match your body. Once in a while I've been tempted by other jeans, such as pre-shrunk Levis, or some other brand, but they are never as good fitting or as durable as the original shrink-to-fit 501s. Recent purchases of shrink-to-fit 501s have been good quality, but since that's all I ever buy, I can't comment on any other type of Levis.
10
Went to high school in the early 80’s. Remember Levi’s cords?
10
It's unfortunate that Levi's, an iconic American brand, has all of their clothing made outside this country. Some the Levi's clothes I've seen were made in Bangladesh, such a perfect place to maximize profits with cheap labor.
I remember when Levi's was closing down their U.S. manufacturing in places like Albuquerque, New Mexico. Employees in the factory were weeping at the loss of their jobs.
Today, New Old Stock American made levi's fetch premium prices. One Levi's denim jacket sold recently on eBay for $356.00, there were 21 bids on this item.
The quality today isn't the same as the original American manufactured garments, and I'm glad I still have my worn, but lovely American manufactured jacket I purchased many years ago.
16
@Jim Closing the plants was a difficult time for the company. They made some hard choices, maybe not the best ones. It cost the company a great deal in morale and identity. People weren't just weeping because they were losing their jobs. In a lot of ways they were losing a family.
I don't think the company can ever go back to those days. The world has changed too much. But Levi's still has it's spirit of inclusion and American style. It won't ever lose that.
2
As a point of fact denim, the cotton material from which blue jeans are made, derives its’ name from the French “de Nime” a city in southern France where the material was first woven to be used as sail cloth for the French Navy. It afterward became common for sailors aboard French naval vessels to fashion their clothes from scrapped sails.
28
Levi's has publicly advocated for extreme gun control including confiscation of private property. I don't think they retain much of their "wild west" pedigree. Just more junk from the leftist coast.
6
@cjhsa On that gun position alone, I am ready to give them my money, but only if they stop making Spandex "jeans".
1
Hard to believe; $6.99 for a pair of shrink to fits. Or was it $5.99? Now you don't have to shrink'm or fit'm, but you do pay a little more than six bucks. Prediction, they eventually land in chapter 11 or someone else's lap. This is just a desperation move to attempt to cash out.
3
@Paul
Try $4.25.
Clearly, you're unfamiliar with the company and its history. The very last thing of which the Haas family will ever be credibly accused is "a desperation move to attempt to cash out."
11
@BayArea101 Well said. When I worked there I often said that Robert Haas was the nicest billionaire you could ever meet.
The Haas family and LS&Co. gave millions to the fight against HIV/AIDS and were leaders in the struggle for LGBT rights.
I know I sound like a cheerleader for the company and I guess I am. You don't often get a chance to be proud of the place you go to work for every day.
5
The Denim/Casual cycle continues. Levi's begat Gap, when Don Fisher could not find big sizes, which begat, eventually, Mickey Drexler as a retail star, and further, J.Crew, which is now on the skids, just as Levi's rises...and maybe even Gap too.
Warp and woof. All great concepts.
1
I recently visited a museum in Genoa with an exhibition on the origins of “blue jeans,” as in the “blue of Genoa.” Genoa was a merchant trade capital and used indigo from India to dye the fabrics used by the sailors and merchants. The exhibit had large, decorative, blue jean fabric panels depicting religious events dating from the 1500s. Levi’s innovation was adding rivets to the pants so that they didn’t tear at key stress points.
18
People love that leather patch on the back of the waist. And if it is real leather even better!
9
Levi’s financial issues are a result depreciating quality and competition. A public option won’t solve that problem.
6
@Alix Hoquet - Depends what you think the problem is. I would wager that a public offering will solve the “problem” of the current owners being saddled with the full burden of a depreciating company. They’re just cashing out. Then THEIR problem is solved...
5
When Levi’s abandoned America, I abandoned Levi’s. I now buy my jeans from Diamond Gusset, an American jeans manufacturer that buys American denim made from American cotton, as well as nearly all American-made ancillary components like patches, buttons, and zippers. The first time I tried on a pair of their jeans I was transported back to junior high, when jeans felt bulletproof and you knew they would last you years and years. I haven’t looked back since. And they don’t cost much more than a cheaply made pair of foreign jeans. And no, I am in no way being compensated for this comment! I am just a thrilled customer and an avid buy-America practitioner. Just in case anyone’s interested...
33
@Jim
Correct. The quality of Levi’s has sunk since they shipped production out of the US. I nevertheless have continued to buy them out of habit. I appreciate your suggestion of Diamond Gusset. Will check them out.
10
Another brand to look at is Texas Brand Jeans. I believe they are made in the Carolinas of all American made denim, American made zippers and American labor. I’ve been wearing them for several years. Much cheaper as well.
I own 15 pairs of jeans most of them Levi brand. That said I buy them all at thrift shops and garage sales. I never pay more than 2 or 3 bucks. These jeans are the older ones made with good heavy material, 100% cotton. I would never pay $50 for a pair of jeans. The ones I buy have been washed enough to be broken in and mellow.
I was a teenager in the late 50's a new pair of Levi Blue jeans 501 cost about $4 and change. Sometimes less. My advice buy your clothes at the thrift, bring them home put in washing machine and then you are beating the high cost of new stuff and at the same time getting clothes of much better quality, material and workmanship. Just a old hippie here, I rather spend my money on other things than high priced imported junk.
37
@Michael - Jusy keep in mind that those $4 jeans in 1958 actually cost $35 in 2019 dollars. So yes, I would never spend $50 on a pair of cheaply made foreign jeans. But I would spend $50 on a pair of American-made jeans that I’ll still be wearing in ten years. Then again, I see no need to own more than 3 or 4 pairs of jeans, so the amount I am willing to spend is probably higher.
11
@Michael Music to the ears!
1
From the early 1950s through the 1980s our family stores in PA sold Levi jeans and sportswear with exceptional success. At back to school we could easily sell 700 pair of jeans a week and more. In the early 1980s Levi's not only sold jeans but also shirts, shorts, casual slacks (Docker's) and also entered women's wear too. The women's line was limited and didn't fit well either. So, it was marginal. Products from other companies like Lee fared much better. Levi's also cut is sales force and began, deliberately to sell more to department stores cutting out mom and pop stores. Levi's also cut production in the United States and began manufacturing in France, Canada and wherever the labor was less. As Levi's waned so did our business and we sought diversity in other brands. The most difficult part of doing business with Levi's was Elesco Factors, their financial arm and also with the allocation of goods due to shortfalls in production. We simply could not get enough product to sell at high season. In 1994 after almost 100 years of business we closed the doors. Levi's could be found in discount stores and outlets but not in better stores. If Levis's once again becomes public it will have to answer to others. If it wants to prosper it must have great new products and they must be priced right, made right and available without excuses. Fashion changes quickly and so do customers tastes and desires. Going public will be a great challenge for a once ubiquitous name brand.
26
@Jay
From 1970 to 1980 I was in the jeans business, too. No jean manufacturer was more arrogant or nastier than Levi Straus. Dictatorial to the little guy. I got tired of their horrible insults and ways and dumped them. I found better product and people elsewhere.
1
@Rich
That is exactly what we did! They were the most arrogant and aggressively nasty company and racist too. They fired our African American Jeans Division sales man because he also worked part time to earn some extra bucks. They treated him very shabbily.
The allocation system was grossly unfair to small retailers and they openly said that they were going to cut out their sales force and also cut out all of the small mom and pop retailers. There is nothing to be loved about Levi Straus & Co. We couldn't even get basic denim jean jackets to sell and we'd sell a boat load whenever we had them. They went to the "big boys" who gave large bulk orders and wrote one check. We also sold Lee Jeans and at least they could deliver product. The Lee women's jeans were far superior to Levi's.
I would beware of buying their IPO. Unless they move production back to the U.S. and find a need for U.S. made denim fabric (I believe the U.S. denim mills were sold) then there is no reason to buy products from a company that prides itself on its original American name but can't make anything in America. Put Americans to work and then offer the IPO...then I'll consider it.
2
I love Levi's — though I wish they'd use nickel-free hardware and keep some classic 100% cotton, button-front jeans in women's sizes in stock. I work with a lot of textile artists who are madly embroidering their jeans and jean jackets, just as I did with my Levi's bell-bottom flares in the 70s. Makes me happy to see it.
6
I stopped buying their products years ago when I realized that no name jeans offer twice the life expectancy for half the price. But people still fall for brand addiction ... hard to blame the market for their rich stock price.
7
I stopped buying Levi's when they pulled thousands of jobs out of the US about 3, 4, 5 years ago. Hardly a symbol of America. They won't get another penny from me.
18
Not sure where the all cotton Levi's jean went. They offer many styles that are appealing, but almost all of them, including the line of men's jeans, has polyester or some other synthesized fabric. Even at a low percentage to allow a little stretch, they breathability is greatly reduced. You also lose some of the natural way the jeans conformed to you body and movement over time, which led to fading, whiskering, and tearing. You can now get some of that off the shelf, but it's not the same as your own jeans personalizing themselves for you over.
In the 70's and 89's you could even search Levi's stores for orange tab jeans, which were said to be hand stitched and IMO, a better natural fit all around. I've tried a couple pair of the new Levi's, gave them to charity. I'd pay a premium over the current blended fabric line for the old school pure jean Levi's. Who knows, maybe their listening to former customers?
25
@TheUglyTruth
Cone Mills White Oak denim plant closed down a few years ago and with it went the last of the selvedge denim that what used in the original 501's. New 501's have thinner denim with a lot of cost cutting measures as well even down to the thinner seam at the bottom of the leg. They simply are not the same jeans anymore. I fear that going public will only increase the cost cutting measures and make the Levis brand just another name among thousands alreacy on the market.
25
@TheUglyTruth I'm wearing a pair of cotton jeans now brand unknown. I found them in CDMX. Also I spent 2 hours trying on Levi's brand but the styles were just OK looking on me for the price.
5
Levi’s can go public, they can go private, as long as they don’t go away. I’ve been wearing their 501 button-front jeans since 1954. But then, I don’t suppose I’m their target market for growth.
13
In this day and age, no private company that thinks it is - and in fact is - well-positioned for growth/profitability goes public. They get private investment and then when it's time to exit their investment go public.
7
There's always a place for Levi's and they never go out of fashion as they've stuck to their original trademark. I've heard of people even buying ripped ones in Op Shops and turning them into cut off shorts and they sell like hot cakes to young people. All generations like Levi jeans.
4
I have never worked for a better company. I love LS&Co. and my Levi’s. Good luck to them.
5
Levi spent so much time "improving their brand equity" and now they'll tank it by doing the same stupid moves other clothing companies (cough, Gap) have done. Namely cut costs on fabric /construction /design /durability to give $$ to shareholders and then be flummoxed when the consumers run away from ever declining quality. The execs will cry all the way to the bank and another company will go down in flames and hubris.
18
Just bought a couple pair of Levi's jeans at Macy's in the local mall. Some caveats-
They're probably never returning to their sales height. Too many other competitors. And Levi's aren't cheap anymore. Two pair cost just over a hundred bucks with their "buy one get the 2nd 50% off" sale.
They're made in China. Had I known that I probably would have gladly paid more for another brand that's still made in the USA.
They have so many different styles to choose from it boggles the mind. That's got to be really difficult from an inventory standpoint. Not easy on the consumer either- do you want the 501s, the 502s, keep counting, you'll need four hands or more.
Tried on a pair of corduroys. They felt rought, nothing like the ones we wore in the 70s and 80s for the cooler weather in my hometown of suburban Detroit.
Buyer beware, esp. if the Haas family gets paid right off the top. They're not as desirable as the more expensive brands anymore for those with disposable income, and they're not as affordable as cheaper rivals.
How does an iconic American company manufacture their product in China? Gotta please Wall Street and the corner suite executives.
22
@drdeanster Same way Harley Davidson manufactured in Asia until their clients forced them economically to stop. Boycott Levi's!
4
"Here's an idea! Let's cut our workers.. and buy a stadium!!"
Even so, I've remained somewhat loyal to Levis thru the years. And though I hate to admit it, "stretch denim" is okay at this point.
3
Levis, Uber, Lyft, AirBnB... all are going public, creating thousands of new young millionaires in the Bay Area, who will bid up the value of housing so far out of reach of teachers and public safety officers and other service workers.
A 2BR house across the street just sold for $1.2 million. In East Oakland. Just wait....
18
@Occupy Government You can't help it, living in the best city in America, confined to such a small area. A buddy of mine bought a house a couple of blocks from the Presidio in 1979 for $35K. You couldn't buy its doorstep for that now.
2
How I miss their good quality jeans. Levi's is a ghost of who they used to be. Thin material, cheap thread. Times change.
41
@Debe
Profits increase.
4
In 2002, I was riding in a cab outside of Valladolid, Mexico. The cab driver spoke excellent English having worked construction in the States illegally. He was grousing with me about his $12 hour job in New Jersey where other legal workers were paid $17-$20 an hour.
Changing the subject I asked him about the big Levi's factory that we were passing; it was modern and attractively landscaped and stretched for blocks. He pointed to the tree lined bike path that followed the road.
"The women bicycle out from the city. They have child care in there and free lunch. They get $40 a month put into their social security plan... But the only make $8.00 a day! Americans are so cheap..." He was back on that again.
Having just had my own factory in Vermont decimated by cheap copies of our product line that were made in China, I filled him in about the study that I had read.
"$8 a day? In China sewers make $8 a week and that's for six days of work... Better hope this factory stays here..." The cab driver was silent for a moment.
"Really?"
"Really..."
Within a year I read in the Times that Levis was closing down their Mexicans factories and moving them to China. I thought of all those hard working women and that bitter cab driver. International businessmen and businesswomen have only grown more ruthless in the decade or so since.
But I still wear Levis. One pair may have even been sewn by those Mexican workers... That's how well-made they were.
49
@Bill Cullen, Author
This tells us just about everything we need to know about our current state of affairs.
7
@Bill Cullen, Author
I have a closet full of old Levis, most of which I can still squeeze into. They stopped making my size (27 x 32) years ago, so I kept them; many active women get skinnier as they get older, and perhaps some will fit in the coming years.
Now I'm thinking of creating a patch to cover the holes so that I can wear them for something other than gardening: an attractive iron-on patch that says "Repair, Repurpose, Recycle."
Any entrepreneurs out there?
1
Their name is the only thing keeping them afloat. You have to try on every single pair of pants you buy from them because their sizing is meaningless. be prepared for +- 3inches in their waist measurements. Rise differs substantially on the same pant model. No longer a great product.
25
@WallaWalla
I haven't bought Levi's in years because they stopped carrying my small size. But the Levis 501s that I am wearing as I write this were one of my fastest purchases ever. I went into the generic big store that sold Levis, pulled the color and size I wanted off the shelf, and was out of the store in 3 minutes -- no need to try them on. 20 years on, they need some patching, but they're still my favourite trousers.
1
@WallaWalla
Yup. It took me three tries to get the right size of 501s even with calling them for advice.
1
I absolutely despise stretch jeans. Spandex is a petroleum product. It doesn't breathe and can lead to skin problems. Jeans with spandex never fade naturally or get the kind of fit that all cotton does.
The Koch brothers own Invista, which came from Dupont and which makes spandex among other things. Is it any wonder ii's in so much clothing now?
13
@Wish I could Tell You
And it's rough, not soft like cotton.
1
I always enjoy reading the bit about keeping a company private so that management can take a long term view. Often it translates as coddled executives and lack of innovation. After the ipo the same insiders will be at the helm. When the time is right, they can take it private at a deep discount and start the cycle anew.
12
When did IPOs go from a means for companies to raise capital for their business to SIMPLY a way for private investors to get rich - effectively selling with insider information unknown to the public? How very San Francisco for this non-tech company.
15
My first pair of Levis was purchased in 1952 in California. I had emigrated from The Bronx to start high school. We called them dungarees then in NYC . When I got back to the Bronx to finish high school, I started a trend by wearing Levis to class and not without comment from a teacher who thought that Levis were not proper dress. My mom ironed them and made certain that they were clean. Over the years, I've worn other brands, but deep down in my soul, Levi Strauss still lives and Levis are incomparable.
12
@Guitarman I still call them dungarees!
3
It'd sure be nice if this iconic American brand, a symbol of the rugged West, made some of its products in America.
86
@Jim R.
Agree, maybe a special label product.
I am still most comfortable in a pair of Levis and a good quality (hard to find) white T shirt.
2
The once iconic brand chased cheap labor and suppliers to poor nations. I hope we don't have to suffer through a huge marketing campaign that attempts to make them seem cool again.
45
Too late, they are already are cool again. They sell them at Nordstrom.
3
@Tom
But the major shareholders of the stock are doing quite well, thank you!
"Levi’s expects to sell $500 million to $675 million of stock in its return to the public markets. Much of the proceeds from the offering will go to the Haas family. The family will hold about 80 percent of the voting shares after the offering."
3
I would say the biggest issues facing Levi's is 2 things: Quality control issues and far too many types of jeans.
The "original 501 button fly" jeans you find in the store today are nothing like the ones I bought in the 70's and 80s. The cut is all wrong, pockets are sewn weirdly, and the material just seems cheaper and thinner.
Levi's traded their long earned loyalty on cost cutting and brand diversification and have suffered because of it.
76
@Jack
I'm glad you mentioned this, Jack. I've been wearing 501's as long as you have and noticed the same thing. I thought it was just me.
10
@Jack I bought Levis from the 1950s to about 2000. By then they had become a sad shell of their former glory.
I buy LL Bean Jeans now. They last, and their return policy and customer service are great.
10
@Jack
I wore Levi jeans for about 50 years. I swithced to Duluth about 3 years ago when they started making a trim fit jean and am quite happy. Ok, I'm and old guy now but, am still in good shape. You get better stitching, more belt loops, and a choice of fabric thicknesses. At least monthly, they have a 20 or 30 percent off sale and you can pick up three pair for about $100. They are made in Indonesia but, they have some American made ones as well, it's just that those lack any style and look like they are for the construction or job site. Downside, they don't pay return postage (so far, haven't needed it) as sizing is true. Duluth will never get the skinny jean hipsters but I'm sure they (and other companies) are cutting into the older, former Levis crowd who are looking for comfort and value.
8
Correction: Levi's WERE a symbol of rugged Americana. Now they're a symbol of the perils of offshore cost-cutting and inconsistency.
The denim is lightweight, the seams of their shirts are crooked, the buttons are cheap and the sizing is unreliable (I recently tried on a 32 that was ridiculously tight and a 33 - same cut - that was loose.)
The brand is so tarnished that I wouldn't consider wearing something with their trademark red tab.
67