Designer Jeans For Less Than $20?
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Even the most frugal of shoppers have their weak spots. For some, it’s splurging on an expensive pair of shoes every now and then, for others it’s designer purses.
For many, it’s premium denim. There’s something about a $200 pair of jeans that makes one feel that purchasing it was a solid financial decision. The soft fabric, the trendy frayed look, the creases at the very right places. And, let’s face it, after spending a week’s worth of groceries on a piece of garment, one even begins to imagine that this new “investment” is making their legs look longer and buttocks — smaller.
That argument was particularly easy to buy into during the go-go years of the first half of this decade. Designer jean labels sold distressed looks adorned with Swarovski crystals for $300, $400, and even $600 a piece. But harder economic times got many consumers to reconsider their jean budgets — and, pun not intended, ultra-pricey demin fell to the bottom of their shopping list.
Today, some savvy fashionistas are even finding ways to give cheap $20 jeans an expensive, designer look. How? Take a look at the WalletPop video above, where “Bargain Babe” Julia Scott shows you in detail how to create your own designer-esque jeans. From softening the fabric by washing them repeatedly with a pair of clean tennis shoes, to achieving a darker wash by soaking them in strong coffee, you’ll learn some neat tricks that could ultimately save you hundreds of dollars.
Still can’t quit your addiction to premium denim? Head to a discount retailer like Filene’s Basement or even warehouse clubs like Costco, where these days you could find a perfectly fine pair of 7 For All Mankind or Guess jeans for half the department store’s price.
How much do you spend on jeans? Let us know in the comments.
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32 Comments so far
leave a commentDiesel all the way. I’ve paid anything between $100 and $250 for a pair.
Diesel Jeans are Amazing. Usually I can buy them at the Diesel outlet for 80 – 150.
I guess the quote about a fool and his money totally apply to this guy.
Old Navy jeans: Dreamer.
My mother is big in bargin jeans from outlet stores, but it started driving me mad when I found the ONE pair of perfect jeans… and then never saw them again. After that, I found one reliable pair that I could go back to over and over, and that wasn’t too expensive.
Also, $200 for a pair of jeans? I didn’t spend that on my wedding dress…
I refuse to spend more than $30 on jeans. I get a great pair once a year or so at Marshall’s and couldn’t imagine paying much more than that!
I happen to despise the faded jeans look, I like a good dark wash which you can keep longer by always washing them in cold water (generally a good rule for all dark fabrics). I never pay more than $30 for jeans, I wear them so often that it’s not worth playing a lot of money for something that will wear out so quickly. I’d rather spend my money on accessories that are fairly inexpensive and are likely to last longer, like a pretty belt.
I shop at resale stores, like Buffalo Exchange and even Goodwill. I’ve found several pairs of 7 for All Mankind jeans at Buffalo Exchange for less than $40, and at a Goodwill in Santa Monica I snagged some Lucky jeans for $5.
One of my best friends recently told me that if she gained ten pounds she would have to give up over $3,000 of designer jeans that would no longer fit. So that’s the upside of expensive clothing…
Considering that this is supposed to be a penny pinching blog I am surprised about the comment in the article about spending $200 a week on groceries. My family doesn’t even spend that over the course of 2 weeks. As to jeans, I find that women seem to have a harder time finding “that perfect pair” at a decent price compared to men (at least in my social group). But iit also seems like men buy them more often because we wear them out faster. My wife will look for months for a pair of jeans whereas I always buy the same Wal-mart $15 jeans in the same size time after time. Mine start as appropriate for Casual Friday only, then go to evening and weekends only, then yard work only, then fabric scraps. But it seems like I am in the minority.
I’ve found some nice jeans that fit me well at Ross. Like a couple people have already said, I can’t fathom spending more than $30 on jeans. I bought a pair of dark-wash Nine West jeans at Ross for about $20. Spending triple digits on jeans just never made much sense to me. All that extra money saved can go to things that are much more important, like emergency savings or groceries.
I paid $300 bucks for a pair of True Religion jeans. I regretted it so bad after I left the store because I couldn’t return them. They had to be hemmed, conveniently the store did that for me. I decided at that point wine and shopping were a bad combination. I must say the free wine was great and I do love the jeans!
Jeans are one area of clothing (fashion) where I think the comfort and enjoyment does go up somewhat proportionally with the price. A $100 pair of jeans is going to be favored over any $15 pair, unless you are simply looking at them as a purely utilitarian item and the financial cost is your primary decision factor. Typically, I spend $50-70/pair, having found this is a pretty good price/performance range for my budget. If you think there is no difference, go out and spend at least this much on one pair, and tell me I’m wrong… I figure I get at least several hundreds of dollars use out of any decent pair of jeans, so it’s always a win.
Love the Gap jeans. They’re around $50, but since they last so long for me I figure it’s worth the extra cash.
I shop for jeans at Marshall’s, Ross or TJMaxx and you can usually find a designer pair for $25 or less there if you look hard enough. And I try to take good care of the ones I already have – I just recently learned how to replace a broken fly zipper, which is pretty time consuming, but if the jeans cost a bundle it’s worth it. It takes about 1.5 hours to do.
I am a 24 year old male and I usually spend between $60.00-$250.00 per pair of jeans.
Because they’ve already been properly broken in?
I dont know about you guys, but I usually wear the same pair of jeans until they wear out. So one pair a year @ $100 isn’t that bad IMO.
I think I have the best of both worlds; I live in Hollywood, where costumers from major motion picture studios take their surplus wardrobe to resale boutiques… essentially, pricey thrift stores.
I’ll be a bit of a snob and say all I wear are PRPS jeans; they have the best fit for my body type and I like several of the washes. But I get them at huge discounts, as they are surplus from movie sets… I expect to pay anywhere from $38 to $120 for these jeans, which retail from $320 to $640.
Would you be willing to give a few names of those stores?
Im in your area.
And Sheryl, if you must wash jeans, cold water is the only way to go. It preserves the wash the best, but real jean snobs never wash their jeans. Air them outside on a line.
All you need are Levis. They have a large variety of sizes and styles with a price range of $30-$60 if your looking in the right area.
I get jeans from Old Nacvy Baby! So comfortable!
The most I’ve paid is probably about $300 at Barneys. They have a good, quality selection, which doesn’t compare with most stores just trying to sell average styles for the same price. Bloomingdales is another store that has good selection.
I wouldn’t buy True Religion. I can get a pair from Nordstrom Rack for half the price, but the quality and fit don’t really appeal to me. They were going for “cheap jeans” that look expensive, and they hit that market pretty well. I feel sorry for the people who are TR whores, because it’s really just another LV, popular, but not quality. BTW, LV is made in China, I know somebody that does business with the plant, and I get countless free shit. Made in china says it all.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with spending $200 on a pair of jeans as long as you can afford it. I’ve done it in the past with no regrets…the more you wear them, the better they feel and the better they look.
I literally have jeans that I’ve been wearing for 7 years on a regular basis. If you’re wearing out jeans quickly, that’s the price you pay for buying cheap ones. I’m not exactly playing football in mine but I ride bikes, a motorcycle, work in the yard, do house chores…I wouldn’t sell them back for $200 and they’ll probably last me for another 4 years hopefully. Maybe more with a little attention and care.
You just have to be wise enough to understand the difference between cost and value.
For something I use on a regular basis for 7 years that includes comfort and quality and durability, that’s NOT an luxury…that’s a justified expense and to a degree, an investment.
I won’t even get into shoes but I like expensive ones, I probably buy way less shoes than the average person and with minimal upkeep and care, I’ve got shoes that are 10 years old that still look nice enough to wear to formal occasions and work. Same idea…I’ll never, ever skimp on something like a shoe that determines how well my feet and back feel at the end of the day.
My favorite designer jeans are Lucky Jeans, which usually cost between $150 and $200, but I shop for mine at the outlet store and on the sales rack–So I’ve never spent more than $50 on them and I once found a pair for only $10 at the sales rack at a full retail store!
Places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc are great places to get name brand jeans for MUCH less than regular retailers. If you don’t care about brand, then you may not save as much money there are just going to the local discount mart, but if you want the name (and quality?) it can save a fortune.
Unfortunately for some of us, being very tall makes these places less practical. They seldom carry any sort of tall/long sizes.
For that, I tend to end up at The Buckle, and yes I spend 60-70 for a good pair of jeans. They last a long time, look fashionable, and most importantly, I’m comfortable in them (because they fit and feel great). Shopping for tall sizes in many places seems to be limited to clothes for farmers and lumberjacks.
Ironically, those $200 “7 for all mankind” jeans are made by the same folks who make $12 Wranglers: http://www.vfc.com/brands I sometimes wonder if there’s ANY difference beyond the accelerated aging and some brown dye mixed with the indigo.
For me, it’s not about the look, but how they fit. I’ve tried on plenty of pairs of cheaper jeans.. H&M, Old Navy, Gap, etc.. I didn’t like the materials or how they fit. I pay the higher price because of the how they fit me.
This perfect pair happens to be $100 from J Crew. I don’t need to and won’t go over this price for 7 or True Religion. I can also afford this price, and I probably won’t buy another pair for a long time. So, I don’t mind one bit.
I don’t care about the look. I don’t care if they are ripped or sandblasted ( I hate that, actually).
I buy $100 pair of jeans because of how they fit me and because they’re comfortable. They just happen to be $100…
I agree with Mark. I could care less about the look or wash of the jeans, although I do prefer dark. I simply buy premium jeans because of the fit. It just also happens that it costs more than what people would normally pay for jeans.
I’ve tried just about every brand of jeans there is out there, and jeans are not JUST jeans. It’s about the quality and softness of the fabric, the cut, and fit. I can never go back to buying non-premium jeans.
I’ve always been really frugal with my money, so I’ve never spent more than $70 on a pair of denim, and I had a hard time doing that. They were a brand I’ve never heard of before, called KUT…and let me tell you, NO pair of denim has ever fit my body that perfectly before. So I sucked it up and paid the $70.
I do believe some jeans are worth the investment though, especially if you can afford it and its something you really want. Besides, a lot of premium denim jeans are well worth $100-$200. I would rather shell out the money and have those jeans for several years rather than buy a $15 pair somewhere else and have them wear out on me…not saying there’s anything wrong with buying low cost jeans, but I always beat the crap out of them and they never lasted longer than a year.
Then again, my sister taught me well in the ways of thrift shopping. We go to places like Value Village, Goodwill, Salvation Army and find all sorts of used designer jeans still in great condition, some have never been worn. It’s amazing what people will just throw out, eh?
If you’re willing to put forth a little time and effort you should never have to pay more than $40, tops for a pair of designer jeans. Or maybe I’m just a super shopper? I don’t know if I want to share my secrets..
Then why waste time posting a comment.
Jeans are a weakness of mine, as well as shoes… but definitely jeans! The only thing is that I’m a 5’4” white girl who’s curvy (like a white Kim Kardashian; not overweight, just hips and an ass), so finding jeans isn’t all that easy. While I’m all for saving money on my denim purchases, I have no problem splurging $200+ if I find a pair that actually fits! The one brand that’s most consistent w/ my body is Bebe’s brand denim and they do charge $200+, but I’ve also bought pairs of off-brand designer inspired types from small boutiques or outlets out here in L.A that are well made and fit properly for $30-$40. It really is a give and take and depends on your body type. Some people don’t even realize how ridiculous they look because they don’t dress for their body. So even if you’re budget conscious, keep that in mind. It’s just like in a professional office setting; you’re not going to work every day in your casual beach shorts and Hawaii print button down shirt. You’d get fired (unless your job actually calls for that type of dress)! That’s why you have to be willing to splurge on at least 1 or 2 good quality suits, because it makes all the difference in the presentation, and ultimately, your career and being able to influence people. Sacrifice quality for saving money ONLY if its really worth it for you in the long run…