Fall jeans range from vintage to 'garage dirty'

DSN Retailing Today, August 8, 2005

Distressed denim is still the hot item when it comes to jeans for the fall. Whether it's in the form of 575 Denim jeans for $198 or Old Navy jeans for $29.50, the idea is the same--make it look worn.

Michelle Clark, manager of fabric and trends for the male division at Lee Jeans, said Lee is finding the biggest trend to be the "vintage story."

"Consumers want that authentic, beautifully worn and loved type of garment that looks like they had it for years, found it in an attic or found it in a vintage store," Clark said. "It's honestly affecting every area of development."

Clark said Lee is focusing on authentic "destruction" washes, a treatment she describes as giving a worn look without extreme destruction. Lee uses khaki-, green- and gray-casted tints with mixes of darker blue washes to provide a worn coloring.

"We find the most volume type of washes are ones that have hand touches to them--nicking on pocket tops, hand sanding on rises, crinkling on the back of the knee and on the pockets," she said. "This is the season about creating authenticity and creating wear and tear that looks genuine."

This year, Lee incorporated the road wash and the garage wash to its line. Both washes are designed to give the illusion of dirt added to the jeans by means of working on a vehicle.

"If you were working on your car and you wiped your hands on your pants, it would leave dirt," she said. "That's where we put it."

Jeans in the women's and juniors' categories are also heavily featuring the distressed look, but are being dressed up with fancy stitching and embellishments like Target's Mossimo Vintage-wash bootcut jeans with gold stitching. Goody's is also dressing up denim with Duck Head Jeans for $12.99 that come embellished with embroidery and rhinestones down the side of each leg.

The look is a reflection of higher-end offerings like JLO by Jennifer Lopez's Diamond Jean, MSRP $49, that features a zipper and front pockets flanked with rhinestones. And, Abercrombie & Fitch ties both looks together with the Madison Low Rise Embellished Flare that features destruction such as grinding and abrasion and embellishment with rhinestones adorning the back pockets. The jeans retail for $98.

No matter the price bracket, the key to maintaining denim sales this season is offering a variety of washes, fits and styles.