Wellcultured - Well Cultured is a men’s online magazine with advice and reviews on fashion, dating, finances, health, music, movies and many other topics, as well as a robust message board and the Well Cultured Guide, a freely editable community wiki.

A lot of my friends tell me I should wear skinny jeans. I don’t wanna cram into them. What do you think?

Skinny jeans are for skinny people.

The great misconception most people have about skinny jeans is that they are for people to “cram into”- that’s a ridiculous assumption, especially for men. Jean leg fits are best considered no different than a waist measurement: the best think you can do is find a pair of jeans that fits you closely without constriction, not finding a super-baggy pair or a pair that require spandex.

That being said, comparison shop. Do not buy skinny jeans just because they are skinny: try a bunch of different pairs on and see how they fit your body and your legs. Ideally, jeans should be tight enough to not be significantly baggy, but loose enough to allow comfort sitting, walking, or even running. Avoid “carrot cut” (extremely tapered) jeans like the plague- the difference between the big thighs and the thin ankles is disgusting.

So basically, wear what fits. That may be skinny jeans, super-skinny jeans, straight legged jeans, slim-straight jeans, or whatever. Never “cram” yourself into a pair of pants.

What top tier brands should I buy? Are there any that are safe bets? Are there any that I should save up for?

Short answer: There are none, no, and no.

Long answer: Brand should only matter to you in so much as quality and style is concerned. Outside of the aforementioned, brand matters very little.

One very sad misconception in the fashion industry is that, to be fashionable, you have to drop a lot of cash on big name brands. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While some name brands are of high quality (Brooks Brothers, Dior Homme, etc), other “top tier” brands (Ed Hardy, Rock & Republic) are just… bad. These seem to operate as pseudo-Veblen Goods- despite their relative unfashionable styling, it is their price that dictates their popularity in the fashion world. Of course, as you can probably imagine, this means that a lot of “fashionable” people wear these brands without even realizing how dumb they look.

To hell with brand. If the quality and style are good, feel free to buy any brand, regardless of the popularity.

If you haven’t noticed from the incessant use of the phrases “now more than ever” and “affordable” in commercials and on the news, we here in the US (and, along with us, many Western companies) are in a recession that some might call an outright depression. This has, of course, hit the fashion industry pretty hard- and it’s also made affording any sort of fashion incredibly hard. In a world like this, it’s very hard to really find a way to find and afford good fashion- so, I’m going to explain how to do it.

Finding Affordable Clothing

Surprisingly, very few companies have had SERIOUS issues with the recession we’re currently in- that is to say, no-one’s really “gone under”, for lack of a better term. What has happened, however, is that many brands are beginning to scale back their more experimental clothing to rather rely on the tried and true- something that, while somewhat depressing in one sense, is also a boon in the other. Clothiers like J.Crew are now beginning to increasingly focus on key pieces like good quality denim, and even the infamously ridiculous Armani Exchange appears to be noticeably becoming more conservative with their new Fall clothing. It’s a fun world, but in some ways, a difficult one.

The first issue is merely finding affordable clothing. Resist the urge to go to Wal*Mart and buy all of your clothing there- while it seems tempting to go to the cheapest place imaginable to buy clothing, it rarely works out well for you in the long run. Rather, the ideal goal is to simply try to find clothing that costs exactly what it is worth- what we might consider our ideal 1:1 ratio- or clothing you can get on a discount.

The key to finding clothing with that “ideal 1:1 ratio” of cost/worth is to simply investigate brands. While designer does not equal quality, the inverse does not apply- non-designer does not instantly mean cheap quality bargain. Rather, look for labels that do what they do well and sell the stuff for reasonable prices. For example, the brand True Religion (a very very high end jeans brand) may seem like they do their jeans well, but with a staggering $300 price tag, they do not become worth their weight. However, despite the rather hefty ~$90 price tag on a pair of J.Crew jeans, these become much more reasonable, pending you get a nice pair- for example, a nice pair of slim fitting dark wash J.Crew jeans will last for years. Though it may seem a little hard to put down $50-$75 on a polo from Ralph Lauren or Lacoste, both companies make clothing that lasts for years- making the price tag much more acceptable.

Still, there is nothing wrong with buying cheaper brands if you can verify the quality. Despite my hatred for the brand as a whole, Old Navy and the Gap are good places to find the absolute basics like t-shirts and undershirts- they may not be name brand, but they function (and hold up) largely the same. Similarly, there is no major sin in going to Target and purchasing some cheap Converse shoes- given their decent construction and rather cheap price, there’s nothing wrong with “going cheap” with them. The key here is to check quality, regardless of the price.

Still, things can be too expensive, which is why this next idea is especially pertinent nowadays: Hit thrift stores and eBay. While it seems silly to buy secondhand clothing, a surprising number of fashionable people do it. As the economy continues to suffer, spoiled women and man-children begin to have to sell off their overpriced clothing- and you can take advantage of their stupidity. On eBay especially, brand names are plentiful- and so long as the seller is legitimate, you can get some absolutely stellar buys for very cheap. So long as you know the brand well enough to know the fit, or get to try your purchase on, there’s no shame in purchasing used.

Knowing when and how to Buy

Another key skill in this economy is merely knowing when and how to buy.

First off, know when sales and discounts apply, and take advantage of them. At the end of any given season, stores try to get rid of their old stock to add new stock- obviously, this is a good time to swoop in and buy these relatively new fashions for very cheap. Similarly, some stores heavily discount their clothing based on random days, holidays, or just general preferences- try to learn what you can about the sales around you. For example, the back-to-school season is often slightly more expensive than immediately after, as a lot of retailers heavily stock up for the (presumed) impending rush of mothers buying their children clothing. Once this rush ends, even adult sizes are sometimes lowered.

Second off, don’t be afraid to use coupons. I’m quite serious here- remember, fashion is about the clothing itself, not paying full price. Check various websites and, if you have the time, use a trashy e-mail and sign up for a bunch of mailing lists. Join Gilt Groupe and similar discounting websites and have them send sale information to you- some sites will send coupons, others sales, but it all works out well.

Knowing What to Buy

This is a bit more theoretical, but quite honestly, arguably the most important: buy long lasting, versatile items.

It may seem tempting to buy into the latest fly-by-night fad- but it doesn’t do well for your wallet. Articles of clothing like skinny jeans and strange colored cardigans may be in at the moment in some circles, but their popularity will eventually fade into obscurity- but basic bluejeans, a good suit, and a nice crisp white shirt will not. Frankly, even if you have a limitless wallet, there’s no point in buying silly trends at this point. A good rule of thumb is to buy things that you genuinely know you’d be able to wear 10 years down the road- while that’s a big number, it keeps you focused on buying only things that really will work now and in the future.

This rule, in its fullest extent, can even affect the way you buy colors: don’t buy a neon green when a black will be much more versatile in the long run. This may seem “boring”, but this really enables you to optimize your wardrobe in a way many people are unable to do: instead of having 300 items of limited use, you can constrain yourself to 30 items of versatility- and you can spend more on them.

In Closing…

In closing, in somewhat of an ironic sense despite the topic of this article, don’t be paranoid of the economy.

There have been a lot of television commercials, news articles, and other media sources making many people in the US (and, again, other countries) very arbitrarily nervous about money for largely no reason. This isn’t entirely terrible (it helps people re-evaluate their financial choices), but it has bad consequences: it leads many people to pointlessly buy clothes that are cheap and of poor quality, really not looking into the true economy of fashion.

By all means, feel free to shop. Feel free to find clothing you like. Still, as you do so, keep worth in your head, and really, avoid being cheap with your money or extravagant with your choices- there’s a happy middle ground.

First off we have A.P.C. (Atelier Production Creative), a French Company who specializes in minimalist style and modern cuts. Now for sizing, you should size down 1-3 sizes since all of the A.P.C. cuts are vanity sized.
Style: New Standard. Cut: Slimming, but less tapered. Sizing: 1-3 Sizes Down.
Style: New Cure. Cut: Slimming and tapered. Sizing: 1-2 Sizes Down.
Style: Petit Standard. Cut: Super skinny (seriously skinny). Sizing: 1-2 Sizes Down.
Where to buy Online ¬– APC.fr, Tobi, Yoox and Context Clothing.
Brick and Mortar¬ – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around  $150 US.

Nudie Jeans Co: A Swedish Company that provides a variety of styles and cuts.
Sizing for Nudies are a uniform 1-2 sizes down for stretching for all styles.
Style: High Kai. Cut: Super skinny and a higher waist.
Style: Slim Jim. Cut: Strait and can be Slim, Tight, or Strait.
Style: Thin Finn. Cut: Super Slim.
Style: Grim Tim. Cut: Super Skinny.
Where to buy Online ¬– NudieJeans.com, Tobi, Revolve Clothing, Context Clothing, and Yoox.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $200 US

Cheap Monday: A Swedish company who offers affordable jeans that look great and fit great too. As the name implies, this brand offers skinny jeans at an affordable price. These jeans will stretch quite a bit, but the material will go back to the original size easily too. Sizing is uniformly 1 size down.
Almost all Styles are skinny with tapered legs.
Where to buy Online ¬– Urban Outfitters, Yoox, Revolve Clothing, Karmaloop.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $60 US.

Levis: American denim giant formed in 1853 with a diverse line of jeans and styles and is famous for using copper rivets to reinforce points of strain on the jeans. Sizing is 1-2 sizes down uniformly.
Style: 511 Cut: Slimming and slightly tapered.
Style: 510. Cut: Super skinny
Where to buy Online ¬– Urban Outfitters, Levis.com.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $50 US.

Helmut Lang: Austrian clothing brand that is famous for their minimalist design and quality fabrics. Styles vary from season to season, but the Fit is skinny and tapered.
Sizing is uniformly 1-3 sizes down.
Where to buy Online ¬– Revolve Clothing, Nordstrom.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $100 US plus, depending on season.

April 77: French clothing label that focuses on styles inspired by underground music and unisex cuts.
Style: Joey. Cut: Skinny and tapered. Sizing: 1-2 sizes down.
Where to buy Online ¬– Revolve Clothing, April77.fr, Yoox.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $150 US.

Blank Denim: This is a women’s’ brand, but if you are skinny enough like me, you can easily wear these jeans in the unisex Cuts and Styles they offer. Sizing is uniformly 1-2 sizes down.
Where to buy Online ¬– Karmaloop, Tobi.
Brick and Mortar – Various Designer Stores Worldwide.
Price Range: Around $60 US.

For more information on denim check out www.denimology.co.uk and the superfuture.com fourm.

If you’ve made a trip to the mall recently, then you have probably seen guys wearing “skinny Jeans”. Now, let me say that this particular fit can be fashionable, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, skinny jeans are not for everyone, as the name implies, this particular fit is for skinny guys. Secondly, do not get a “boot cut” as this is better left for “strait leg” fit. Another detail to avoid is loud colours; if you want to be stylish, go for a nice indigo or sulphur black wash. Next, try them on if possible, different brands run different sizes and shrink or stretch differently too. Avoid getting a pair that is too tight, or you may end up with a pair that shrinks to an unbearable fit. If trying on a pair of jeans is not your thing, then wrap the waist of the jeans around your neck and if the two ends touch it should fit. Also, make sure you get the proper length, you want a little bit of play (about 2-4 inches) so you can achieve stacking which makes a stylish accentuation. Now that we’re covered the basics, here are some brands that make fashionable skinny jeans.

Nudie Jeans Co: A Swedish company specializing in raw and selvage denim which is made with the best Japanese, Italian, Turkish and U.S. denim fabrics. Nudie Jeans has a fantastic line of denim with a great look and fit.

Cheap Monday: Another Swedish company who offers affordable jeans that looks great and fit great too. An average pair of Cheap Mondays usually retail around $65 not going much higher than that and most styles extremely fitted so there are many choices.

Dry Bones: A Japanese denim company that is heavily 40’s and 50’s rock inspired with its timeless denim line. Dry Bones has flown under the radar for quite some time as this company is almost 20 years old, but with great looking and fitting jeans it’s hard to ignore such a great line.

Helmut Lang: Austrian clothing brand that is famous for their minimalist design and quality fabrics. Helmut Lang is a great label and has great denim.

Skinny jeans can be fashionable, but you got to know what to look for. Follow this guide and you too can pull off The Skinny Jean.