A middle-aged friend who owns his own company recently told me that his younger Gen Z employees staged an intervention, sitting him down like Christopher Moltisanti and telling him he had to stop wearing slim-fit pants. It’s perhaps sweet revenge that the Millennials and Gen X-ers who rebelled against their Boomer parents by slimming down their clothes should now have to face the same generational guillotine. For people over 30, “dad pants” are those voluminous, pleated chinos we once saw on bank managers. But for people under 30, “dad pants” are the stick-like chinos and jeans now seen on everyone from Barack Obama to John Tory.
For those of us who have caught wind of this shift, finding new pants can be both challenging and expensive. When readers ask me for suggestions, I feel bad that I can’t recommend much under $200. Rota’s trousers, while tremendously well-made and beautiful, are about $550 for wool and $325 for cotton. Levi’s Vintage Clothing’s 1947 501s, the standard for that “James Dean” look, brushes just under $300. Even Casatlantic, Scott Fraser Simpson, and O’Connell’s hover around the $200 to $300 price point, depending on the material.
So when Gustin reached out to me earlier this year and asked if I thought there was a market for looser fits, I said, “Absolutely.” There’s no point in creating another slim-fit model—the market is flooded with those cuts, and many men are looking for fuller-fitting options at a more affordable price. Gustin’s is unique in that they sell directly to consumers using a pre-order model. This allows them to cut out middle-men mark-ups and eliminate unsold inventory, making it possible for them to sell made-in-USA, raw denim selvedge jeans for under $100.
After toying with the pattern, they sent me a sample on loan. I’m happy to report it’s one of the better cuts I’ve encountered in a while. It’s distinct from an athletic cut, which tends to be roomy on the top block and heavily tapered at the bottom; it’s also not so wide that anyone could call it baggy or even relaxed. Instead, I think of it as “grown-up” jeans for guys who are used to wearing slim fits but want something more forgiving on their aging bodies. The size 32 measures 16″ around the leg opening (or 8″ across), which is roughly what I think should be the minimum nowadays for people inching away from tight-fitting clothes. The rise is also 11.75, making it perfect for tucking in a shirt and pairing it with a sport coat, should you wish.
The other jeans I’ve seen in this territory include LVC ‘s 1947 501s ($295), Rubato’s Lot NR. 1 ($405), and Blackhorse Lane NW1 ($414). This is not to say that all of these jeans are identical—slight differences in cut and material may still swing you in one direction or another. But I’m happy that I no longer have to recommend $300-400 jeans as the only option.
Gustin’s new 1968 Vintage Straight fit, as they call it, is made from deadstock 13.5oz Cone Mills denim, which makes it a good weight for year-round wear. The price is just $99, but like with all of their products, there’s a long lead time for delivery. Gustin keeps a pre-order window open until they collect enough orders, at which point, they go into production and then ship orders. The current pre-order window is set for delivery sometime in February or March next year. That’s a bit of a wait, but it also means you don’t have to lay out $350 to experiment with a new cut.
