Earnest Sewn Hefner Bootcut

Every now and then, you’ll find a need to update one aspect of your closet. It’s not a full out purge but an overhaul, taking out what feels dated or going unused, and putting in newer, fresher pieces. My overhauls have spanned from footwear to tops to sweaters and jackets, driven by just a simple sense that I need to shift a part of my collection to better fit my current, and even future, style.

This past month, it’s been my jeans. I took an overview of what I had, picked and pulled out what wasn’t working with my current, and even future, style, and either sold, altered into cut offs or gave away. My Yanuk six pockets, which sat in the bottom of my drawer for the past four months, went to one of my fashionstyleme readers. COH, Hudsons, Seven Dojos? All sold. I hacked my Sevens into cut off shorts to wear with boots and slouchy v-neck sweaters, and added in a pair of oversized TR Joeys, Japan Rags and Meli Melo trousers (yum!) to bring my current collection up to date. I found a pair of J Bush jeans with a cute star detailing on sale, and sold off the few pair of gauchos I acquired from the line, slimming down to just a single pair I know I’ll get a ton of use from this coming season.

It left me with the need of a basic, everyday jean – something that fit well but wasn’t as much of a novelty, with a basic styling and updated wash, nice and neutral for pairing up with blazers and tees. After checking out the likes of Abercrombie, Saltworks, AG, etc, I settled on a pair of Earnest Sewn Hefners, snagged with the fashionstyleme code from SunWalters.com. Indeed, I am happy.

Earnest Sewn’s designing force is designer Scott Morrison, the former head behind red hot Paper, Denim Cloth, and it absolutely shows in the quality, look and feel of these jeans. They’re a rigid style, with a slight boot cut and hip wash – very much like the early styles of PDC I fell in love with and wore the daylights out of years ago when Morrison was still with the company.

The fit on the Hefners is long and lean – this is a jean you’ll want to size true, rather than up, for a snug, sexy fit. I sized up to make it an daytime jean but don’t do it! The line on this style is a tiny bit wide in the hip, lean through the leg, finishing in a slight boot cut, and in order to alter my pair of a flat shoe, I’d break this and render it unflattering. While I can make it work by keeping it at a longer length (which will still be a bit too saggy but ok), I think this is a style you’ll want to fit snug and sexy – best achieved in your true size versus something slouchy.

On the feel, the Hefner’s every bit what I’d expect from a higher end denim line – great material, excellent quality, a bit of a broken-in vibe. It’s a rigid denim, nice and structured with a tiny bit of a scratchy feel outside, while super soft against the inside of the leg. I love the low rise and the hardware – it has a bright copper button versus the usual silver, and subtle stitching. Taller girls will appreciate the 34″ length, though if you’re under 5’4″ beware on alteration – the jean’s slim cut at the calf could make adjusting for really short lengths difficult because it’ll break the line and make you look stumpy (which happened to me with my Yanuk workers, may they rest in peace). You’ll be better keeping this as an evening jean for a heel instead, which in that case it’ll be long and sexy.

As far as wash goes, this jean rocks. It reminds me every bit of the old school days of PDC, circa 1999, with a mild distressing and thankfully, virtually no whiskering, in a cool, darker blue that’ll work well with a wide range on the color wheel (teals, greens, yellows, reds, bronzes, metallics, etc.). This type of coloring is exactly what you want from a basic style – non-commital, so it’ll work with a variety of pieces. I’ve seen the Hefners dressed up or down, paired with a sexy top or basic piece. That’s the type of versatility I want in this type of item in my closet – something simple with good workability.

While my pair is still new, I suspect the Hefner will very much stand the test of time, becoming even better as it ages. Machine wash in cold and line dry would be my recommendation, because it had very minimal stretch in my first wearing, which means it’s not going to accommodate as much should it experience shrinkage. While there are a few good options for basic jeans on the market, I settled on the Hefner and am very happy. This’ll be a jean that gets long term use in my closet. Thumbs up, indeed!

The Specifics:

Material: 100% cotton.

Sizing: Fairly true to size, no stretch.

Care: Cold wash inside out, line dry (as recommended by designer)

Price: $180