The Story of Everyday Classic Jeans

Przedwiośnie (Early Spring) drop marks a return of denim to Poszetka - and as we have just premiered our Everyday Classic Jeans, it seems like the right time to delve deeper into the story of their beginnings and share some nerdy details with you.

Well, as some of you might remember, we had jeans in our offer before - and although they were good, we were not fully satisfied with them. Ultimately, we wanted to do better than good; we wanted to have the best jeans.

What’s best, you might ask - obviously, that’s highly subjective, but we had a clear idea of what best means for us and proceeded to make the vision a reality. I, myself, hopped on the journey, looking for the right suppliers and manufacturers who could help us with that… so let me explain what we had in mind.

The basic recipe has been quite simple:

Made in Poland from Japanese selvedge denim, available in 2 different colors - rinse and mid-wash - in a classic, straight, mid-rise cut.

But each aspect deserves a slightly more in-depth take - it is where things get really interesting.

First, the fabric - we did not want to cut any corners there, so we went straight for what we liked the best. We’ve sourced our mid-weight (12oz) selvedge denim from Kojima district, Okayama prefecture, Japan, a place known for its denim producers and mills that are now among the best in the world… if not strictly the best, since Japanese basically saved the know-how and machines required for old-school, high-quality denim production, mastering the craft*.

It is woven on vintage narrow shuttle looms, slower than their modern projectile counterparts, but arguably better overall - beyond the neatly finished edges (with selvedge, “self-edge”), fabric made using such technology has a tighter, denser weave, albeit with various imperfections that enrich the texture and make up for the great variation with passing time and subsequent washes.

By the way, have a read of Ametora by W. David Marx, if you haven’t - the “How Japan Saved American Style” subtitled book is great in explaining this incredible story. Highly recommended for all menswear fans!

We could have gone for heavier and heftier denim - and possibly, in the future, for another model, we might - but for now, we stick to such weight as we believe it works best for the jeans that are supposed to serve you as an Everyday Classic. Mind you, we designed these to go well with tailoring and casual wear (not proper workwear), so 12oz hits the sweet spot as the fabric is already thick enough to provide a substantial weight for the trousers to drape well and be durable, but yet not stiff and restrictive to begin with.

Obviously, for both colorways, the base fabric is the same - it is just treated differently after a pair of jeans is made to achieve the desired shade of blue.

The darker pair is just rinsed, with no washing - this kind of treatment deals with the shrinkage but doesn’t take off the color. It is the closest you might get to raw denim advantages without having to bear its drawbacks; we could call it the more elegant and less workwear-ish alternative.

The other, mid-wash pair is something for those who are looking for a more casual, worn-in pair of denim and do not have the patience to wait for months (or years even) for their pair to naturally get to that stage. It is enzyme-washed up to the point when it gets noticeably lighter and softer, akin to how the well-worn denim feels.

The huge advantage is that it is still a new, fresh pair of jeans that has only lost the color, not the durability… and although vintage hunting may seem exciting for some, let’s admit that not everyone enjoys wearing used clothes.

Regarding the fit - compared to the previous iteration of Poszetka jeans, we redid it completely, starting from scratch. We wanted it to be comfortable and flattering on different silhouettes, suited both to be worn with sportcoats and casual weekend wear; far from tight slim and skinny cuts of the past years, not too loose and 90s-ish baggy. Eventually, we were looking for a cut that would take both from our smart trousers and the vintage jeans that we took as inspiration.

After tests and trials, we firmly believe we got it right. The rise is just a tad higher than average (but not overly so, let’s call it mid-rise), the fit through the hips and thighs a bit looser. The cut overall could be described as straight, but has the slightest taper below the knee that tidies up the volume before the opening. Still, we have kept the bottom width over 20 cm for all sizes.

Overall, the silhouette is comfortable with plenty of room even for the big-thighed and big-calfed guys - akin to our new model of tailored trousers that we should be dissecting on our blog soon.

The Made-in-Poland aspect should also be mentioned here - we like to keep the production close, sticking to the Silesia/Poland/Europe gradation, moving further away only if we are not able to find proper specialists within the smaller circle.

In the case of denim, we found the right manufacturer in Central Poland, not far away from our HQ in Katowice. Thanks to the proximity, we were able to be there during each stage of preparation, consulting the form, finishing, and washes ourselves… still keeping the final price reasonable. Also, we are just proud to keep the production local!

Lastly, the details. They are very simple - we have skipped the leather patch, decorative pocket stitching, and exposed rivets, going the minimalist way with just the subtle Poszetka Everyday Classic embroidered buttons and gold contrast stitching present. In the end, these jeans are all about the denim they are made of.

So, are we happy with the result? Oh yes, we are - these are definitely the best jeans we’ve ever had. But are these the last ones we’ve ever made? Definitely not - we are sure we will keep on experimenting further, possibly introducing new cuts, colors, and weights.

Meanwhile, these Everyday Classic Jeans, our basic, are here to stay!