J Brand Jeans

How long should a pair of jeans last?

The other weekend, I moved awkwardly and ended up with a rip in the crotch of my jeans. While the rip started alongside a seam, it quickly veered off into the actual jean material and left a nice two-inch gash for me to sew up.

If these had been, say, $40 jeans from Old Navy or if I had somehow caught them on something sharp and ripped them that way, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But these weren’t cheap jeans (more on that in a minute) and there was no “third-party” involvement in the rip.


They also lived a pretty good life, for a pair of jeans. At most, they were worn once a week, they were always washed in cold water and had never met the dryer. I figured that with that kind of treatment, and with the price I paid for them, I’d get at least two years out of them. Instead, they barely made it to a year-and-a-half (I clearly remember when I bought them because they were replacing a pair that had been wrecked when a dog attacked me).

And what did I pay for them? I believe it was around $200. They are J Brand jeans in the Love Story style. They were my first, and now my last, pair of that particular brand.

They were quite comfortable but now I’m wondering if maybe that comfortable fabric is why they ripped. Maybe next time I need to get a pair of jeans made out of tougher stuff.

But honestly, I don't think expecting to get two years out of a $200 pair of jeans is crazy. I mean, I have $20 tops from H&M that are older than that and are completely rip-free. What's with these jeans being so fragile?

As I mentioned above, I did sew up the rip but I was just examining it again and a second rip has now appeared. I guess I now have a $200 pair of cleaning jeans.

Would I buy this again: No.
Should you buy it: If you look good in these jeans and have the cash, go for it. Just don’t get too attached to them.