Mirror, Mirror: In tight times, jeans are still a good fit

After the fashion scene exploded with premium denim five years ago, those of us eager for the perfect-fitting trousers were willing to pay $250, $300, or even $400 for a pair of body-hugging Citizens of Humanity, Joe's Jeans, and, as the trend peaked, AG Adriano Goldschmied.

Those days are over - a victim of the recession.

But that doesn't mean people aren't buying denim. In fact, they're buying a little more, according to Long Island-based NPD Group: Compared with the same period last year, total denim sales were up 3 percent for the first three months of 2009.

So I paid a visit to my friend Sebastian McCall, owner of the Old City boutique Charlie's Jeans. Five years ago, I wrote a column about McCall, lauding him as the denim guru. His talent was figuring out what label, style, and size jeans would fit a woman's body like a glove.

I wanted to know where premium denim fit in our closets these days, thanks to a recession and our recent preference for cocktail attire over jeans at happy hours, evening events, and posh city restaurants. After all, good-fitting jeans and flirty tops once defined the hot-girl look; it was worth a fashion revisit.

"I'm still selling a lot of jeans," McCall told me Friday morning, the sun creating trouser shadows on his boutique's hardwood floor.

"It's just that these days people generally aren't spending more than $200 for a pair of jeans. . . . And while they used to buy three or four pair, they are stopping at one or two."

Thanks to the last denim boom, led by boutiques like Charlie's Jeans, Knit Wit, Very Bad Horse, and Smith Bros., McCall has been able to expand his retail space. The 35-year-old father of four now occupies two adjacent stores - one for men and one for women - totaling 5,000 square feet.

Two years ago, as dresses were emerging as the mainstay of modern women's wardrobes, McCall amped up his dress lines, bringing in contemporary girl faves like Theory and Trina Turk. Now, McCall said, non-denim apparel makes up 20 percent of his business.

"But even those price points are dropping," McCall said. "The same girl that would spend $300 on a dress is now trying to keep it under $100."

Still maintaining the bulk of his business, McCall keeps 8,000 pairs of men's and women's jeans at his store, selling a couple of hundred pairs each week. The top brands remain those that ushered in the contemporary jeans wave, including True Religion, 7 for All Mankind, Rock & Republic, Paige Premium Denim, and Rich & Skinny - but now most start at $142 and peak around $200 (still a far cry from the $48 Gap jeans that many of us consider a bargain). Beyond that price point, the customer doesn't buy, McCall said. And the jeans just sit and sit - and sit.

That means the same number of jeans are moving off the shelves, but sales - because of the adjusted prices - are 12 percent below what they were last year, McCall said.

And while people still are willing to pay a bit more for premium fit, the unemployment rate and job-loss fears have established limits. Extra bells and whistles just aren't worth it.

"For example, we have a pair of True Religion Big-T. They are sewn together with five stitches instead of one," McCall said. "Those jeans cost about $100 more; people aren't paying for that."

Yet, while the cost of premium denim is dropping, we're seeing more luxury denim - which is produced by couture designers.

Erin Burke, a product-trend analyst for Cotton Inc., said the fashion world had witnessed an influx of skinny jeans by luxury designers such as Louis Vuitton, Balmain, and Chanel. Several French couture houses also are showing denim on their runways.

Proenza Schouler is even melding our love of casual with cocktail, designing denim cocktail dresses.

"Some people have 15 to 20 jeans in their closet, and they want something different," Burke said.

For me, I'm not as concerned about the label as I am about fit. And if I can get nice-fitting jeans at a better price, why not buy?

In the meantime, while the boyfriend cut is being heralded as the latest must-have in denim, McCall said his customers continue to ask for the skinny jean. In this economy, people want a traditionally snug fit.

According to McCall, that means "the pockets should be on the butt, the jeans should close in at the waist, and the crotch should not hang down. And if they are a little uncomfortable, they are way too tight."

Must be time for me to buy a new pair of jeans.

Charlie's Jeans, 233-237 Market St., 215-923-9681, charliesjeans.net.