Test Drive: Earnest Sewn “Harlan” Cigarette Jeans
by Barb on August 23, 2009
Buying clothes is something that I find incredibly difficult; a lot of things don’t seem to fit me well. My shoulders are broad, which makes me go up a size but that leads to me getting a shirt that doesn’t taper or flatter me well. I’m short, so I have to be careful about which jeans I buy so that when I hem them, the wash doesn’t look awkward. When I opted to search for a solid black skinny jean, how could I possibly go wrong with this wardrobe staple?
Last month, I grabbed a pair of BCBG skinny jeans for 60€ and thought they fit great when I tried them on in the changeroom. But when I got around to wearing them for a whole day, I found that they stretched. All right, I get that denim is bound to stretch, but it felt as though I had brought the wrong pair home with me! The stretch led the jeans to feeling like a size larger than what I had bought. Definitely not going back to BCBG for another pair of jeans (why I went for jeans in the first place, I’m not quite sure), but I sure do love their tops and skirts.
A big surprise greeted me when I came back to Toronto last week: Aritzia was actually having a decent sale. Let me tell you, this store seldom has sales and when it does, items usually have savings of $5 to $10 dollars. But this time around, there were some great deals to be had. One of which was a jet black pair of Earnest Sewn “Harlan” cigarette jeans for $60 CDN (retail $210).
I know of Earnest Sewn jeans brand, but never really heard them talked about the way I’ve heard people talk about 7 for All Mankind, Rock and Republic, or J Brand (I can’t even fit my calves through their skinny jeans). Really, for $60 CDN, I figured I’d give the pair a try. And hey, it’s one of the few things that I see that aren’t made in China (this pair is made in the USA)!
The Earnest Sewn signature screen printed waistband
Each pair of Earnest Sewn jeans comes with a handkerchief that shows off the great things about the jeans, such as the “Earnest Sewn story” on the inside of the jeans, signature polished copper button, and signature screen printed waistband size indicator. I’ve never seen so much detail put on the inside of a piece of clothing, aside from JUZD tees. The screens are easy and fun to read, and are well placed on the reverse side.
Now, the test drive. I finally had a day to wear these jeans after a cold front swept across the east coast this past week. The jeans are so underrated; they’re incredibly comfortable and stretch nicely. The pair gives enough so that it conforms to your body and makes it yours. The denim’s a little heavier than I would have liked for the summer weather, but it’s not so thick that I would be sweating in this weather with them on. It makes for a great year-round pair of pants.
With that said, I certainly would buy another pair of Earnest Sewns, even at its steep retail price.
About Earnest Sewn
A New York label founded by former Paper, Denim & Cloth designer Scott Morrison. Wanting to avoid the “assembly line production” concept, some of the operations are left to specialists, the wash process uses a hand technique so that no two jeans are the same, and each pair is hand stamped by Morrison after each completed step. This attention to detail definitely earns the company’s its name with its earnest approach to its product.
Related posts:
Interested in connecting with this NYU communications student? Check out Barb's favorite social networks!
Oh I know what you mean about having a tough time shopping. I have broad hips so sometimes I have to go up a size when buying jeans or pants and then they don’t fit around the leg. I’ve been looking for a nice pair of black jeans so I’ll give these a try. =)
[Reply]
by Emily on August 23, 2009 at 10:45 pm. #
Good writeup
I have so many problems buying jeans. Usually i have to buy jeans to fit my hips but they don’t fit around the waist so I have a ton of belts that I rotate among my pants. Took a look online and the Harlan jeans look good – going shopping tomorrow, so maybe i’ll check those out.
[Reply]
by Wei on August 24, 2009 at 10:21 am. #
Earnest Sewn, despite the propaganda on their website, are now manufacturing at least some of their range in China. I bought a pair around the time of this post August 2009 and they were made in USA (something I was happy about). Bought another pair in December and they were made in China (something I’m not happy about). I’m in Australia and try to avoid buying “premium” products that are made in China, it’s just the brand trying to rip consumers off. If I’m paying more than $100 for a pair of jeans I want them made in the country of design! I paid the same amount for both pairs of ES jeans, and the same for a Nobody pair which is made here in Australia using Jap denim. So I wonder who’s pocketing all the extra $?
My wife is in fashion and while I agree that China manufacturing is sometimes a necessary evil I see better quality stuff come out of India which, last time I checked, was the worlds largest democracy… and China is what? A country which loves for freedom non?
If I was American I’d be sorely disappointed in a brand that markets itself as Americana classic and then offshores to China. Thanks Earnest Sewn.
[Reply]
Barb Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I did not know that, and that is definitely a disappointment. Did you notice a difference in quality too? I often to find that to be a problem when it’s outsourced.
[Reply]
by FuchiK on January 8, 2010 at 7:08 pm. #
Hi there, sorry to be such a “late” poster but I have just bought my virgin pair (three, actually) of ESs today and so I’m reading all the reviews I can find… I know, you’re supposed to read the reviews BEFORE you buy, right? Well, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. This being the case when you shop Overstock.com – the deals don’t wait til you read the reviews… if you wait too long, your sizes might just be all sold out.
Having said that, so far, I have found I’d say 95 percent positive vs. 5 percent negative reviews of this brand. Must say it is very encouraging; people are generally very happy with everything the ES jeans offer – the fit, the wash(es), quality of denim AND the comfort. So many jeans out there will give you the “look” while cutting off your circulation in the process. Also, many jeans seem to be made exclusively for the ultra-skinny stick figure-like people (and I’m not one of them) and, like you, I can’t fit my calves through their skinnies either. Having wider hips is also not helping…
Well, my dear people, today I scored three different styles of ES jeans on Overstock, and the price worked out to be about 40 dollars (Canadian) per pair, AND they are my size! They are authentic but there is no mention where they were made (US vs China). They are definitely selling fast but, if you hurry, the selection is more than decent and the prices probably the best I’ve seen around.
xoxox
jedikitty
[Reply]
Barb Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Thanks for your reply. I checked out Overstock, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any of the styles I liked in my size.
Are there any other brands that you would recommend?
[Reply]
by jedikitty on January 24, 2010 at 1:31 am. #
Yes, the selection has thinned rather fast; my guess, and from what I observed thus far, Overstock carries some of the things some of the time. I agree, some styles were either available in “not my size” or not available at all (they might have been but sold out fast). It’s pretty much that if you don’t check daily, you’ll might miss some terrific deals on items that would cost you at least twice that much elsewhere but… Overstock is a very popular place. I personally scored some great things there – one of a kind Novica jewelry, The Sak purses, SFAMs, Madden slouch boots, bedding, memory foam beds for my spoiled dogs, etc.
There are other places I signed up for in hopes of finding good deals on jeans (mostly) but all I got was a massive amount of spam shortly after so, in all honesty, I would not recommend any of those other places to you or anyone else. Oh, and no good deals ever came out of them either…
Other brand I love and wear daily – SFAM; mostly just bootcuts and a couple of Gingers but my new favorite is the Convertible Skinny in Port Lyons, MFG SKU U6143640S on their website. They list it for $245 but I got it on eBay for $120 from Seller “dailydenim”. This seller frequently has great brands for 1/2 price or less and I bought several items from them and like dealing with them. Another pair of sellers I’d check the listings of would be “judynjacob” and “bhexpress” – both solid sellers, never any issues with them either, great to deal with.
Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions
joanna
[Reply]
by jedikitty on January 27, 2010 at 8:54 am. #