N80
Super Member
I've bought my last pair of Levis jeans. I've worn Levis 505 'regular fit' jeans since I was about 15 (I'm 54 now). Back then it was 33x34s, now it is 34x34s. For decades I could go into the store grab a few pairs of 34x34 505 regular fit jeans and they'd fit just fine. No dressing rooms. No trying stuff on....which I hate. I find something good and I stick with it. I don't wear them to work or to church but other than that I'm usually in Levis. I wear them on the farm, working on my car or to a nice restaurant with a white button down shirt and sport coat and a pair of dress boots. And that makes them, or used to make them, the perfect clothing for me. Very happy for decades.
Not anymore. I won't buy them again. Why? See below:
1) The quality has gone down. Rarely do I get a pair with straight seams. They often come apart in unstressed places. And that's just sad. They've had the formula for success for a long long time and they've apparently thrown it away. I don't know where they are made. If it is in out of the country sweat shops, that's sad for such an inherently American product. If they are made in the USA that is even sadder because they are junk now.
2) Fit. And I don't mean that the 34x34s don't fit me. The problem is that some do and some don't. And the problem varies. Some don't fit in the waist, some don't fit in the crotch and some don't fit in length. And this happens when I pick up two pairs from the same stack in the same store. There is no consistency. This is also a quality issue.
3) Price. It has gotten ridiculous. Still, I'm happy to pay it if not for the two problems above. I just can't see paying higher prices when the quality goes down.
4) Advertising. Let's just say that Levis no longer markets to my demographic and leave it at that.
5) Too many options. I can go into a store with a wall of Levis 505s and still not find my size. To many 'relaxed fit' or 'distressed' etc etc. Takes an hour just to find what I want if they even have it at all. On line isn't much better.
So, sorry about the rant but to me this is sad. A great American product, maybe one of the greatest, down the tubes. Sad. Sad. Sad. But they cannot have any more of my money. I will not reward a company for trashing a great product and charging more for it.
I may try Wranglers. I would not expect much from them but at least they cost less. I might look at Duluth Trading Company too.
Not anymore. I won't buy them again. Why? See below:
1) The quality has gone down. Rarely do I get a pair with straight seams. They often come apart in unstressed places. And that's just sad. They've had the formula for success for a long long time and they've apparently thrown it away. I don't know where they are made. If it is in out of the country sweat shops, that's sad for such an inherently American product. If they are made in the USA that is even sadder because they are junk now.
2) Fit. And I don't mean that the 34x34s don't fit me. The problem is that some do and some don't. And the problem varies. Some don't fit in the waist, some don't fit in the crotch and some don't fit in length. And this happens when I pick up two pairs from the same stack in the same store. There is no consistency. This is also a quality issue.
3) Price. It has gotten ridiculous. Still, I'm happy to pay it if not for the two problems above. I just can't see paying higher prices when the quality goes down.
4) Advertising. Let's just say that Levis no longer markets to my demographic and leave it at that.
5) Too many options. I can go into a store with a wall of Levis 505s and still not find my size. To many 'relaxed fit' or 'distressed' etc etc. Takes an hour just to find what I want if they even have it at all. On line isn't much better.
So, sorry about the rant but to me this is sad. A great American product, maybe one of the greatest, down the tubes. Sad. Sad. Sad. But they cannot have any more of my money. I will not reward a company for trashing a great product and charging more for it.
I may try Wranglers. I would not expect much from them but at least they cost less. I might look at Duluth Trading Company too.
and their quality is doing the same thing. The only good pants I've had recently were Carhartts...but they are out of my "lower middle class white trash" budget. 
