Latest Purchase Review: A.P.C. Raw Denim New Standard for Men

Anyone who has read my blog will know about my long standing passion for raw denim jeans. Therefore I have decided to write about my latest purchase, the A.P.C. New Standard Jeans for men.

My favorite place to buy raw denim is here 

A.P.C. is a minimalist French fashion brand owned by designer Jean Touitou. Before the opening of their Dover Street store in London, their clothes could be bought from outlets such as Urban Outfitter and Liberty. Being a massive fan of raw denim, I first noticed the A.P.C. jeans in Urban Outfitters a few years back. I actually tried them on and liked the cut, but because I had literally just purchased a pair of Red Ear raw denim jeans, I had to pass on them – there is only so much breaking in a man can do at once!

About a month ago, after my girlfriend requisitioned a pair of my jeans for her own, my wardrobe had an opening for a new pair. As I am a creature of habit, when looking for new jeans, I first look to the Red Ear range by Paul Smith. However I have not seen them do any styles of raw denim that I like for a while now so have been forced to look further afield. My previous purchase was a pair of UK made Natural Selection, which unfortunately I washed too soon due to impatience. Although I like them, I do not love them and have felt compelled to try something else.

Check out the latest A.P.C. denim collection at Liberties

This is where A.P.C. step in. I remembered having tried them on a few years back so when I saw they had their new store on Dover Street, I thought I’d check them out again. At £110, they are very reasonably priced and whilst searching online for reviews, I read that they got good fades and relatively quickly. The selvedge denim is medium weight and is made in China (so any Japanese purists will have to move on). Don’t let this put you off, the fabric quality and construction is as good as any of the more expensive brands.

The noticeable difference with the A.P.C. New Standard Jeans is the lack of any embellishments or branding.  There is no leather or cloth patch, no tabs off the back pockets, no fancy stitching or extra belt loops, in fact other than the branded patch on the inside of the waist, the jeans are anonymous. I like this a lot. I will add that I am not a fan of jeans that over do any part of their styling. Pet hates are jeans with seams moved from the side, sticky out pockets, pockets with button or poppered down flaps, fake creases, fake fades, any trying too hard to look fatigued or anything too over branded (unless you want to pay me), to name just a few.

Moving swiftly on…

One thing I noticed while trying them on was the tighter than normal fitting of the jeans. They are saniforized, which means they have been pre-shrunk so in theory you can go straight for a well fitting pair. However, my usual size, 34″ were very tight and I would have got nervous when it came to the first wash as I always experience a large degree of shrinkage. So I opted for the slightly roomier 35″. The jeans are a pretty straight cut with space around the calf area and fairly snug around the waist and bum. However this has stretched out a lot since purchase, but not excessively, so I am glad I went for the 35″.

Anyway, one month on, here is how they are looking with moderate wear and a bit of cycling to boot:

So far, so good. You can see slight fades and whiskers forming with some good creases. The waxyness is also starting to leave them. I like the way things are going. My only concern at this point is that the inside leg of the jeans appear to be slightly longer than I am used to. I usually go for turn ups until the jeans crease up and shorten naturally, but I think I will either always have to have turn ups with these jeans or have them shortened, which for me is a big no no as unless it is done properly as it looks like your mum’s been at your wardrobe…

My favorite place to buy raw denim is here 

I just want to add that I tried on a great pair of Rag & Bone raw denim jeans last week, they were amazing but unfortunately to get my size in the style I like, which happens to be their staple (RB15 Slim Straight), I’d have to order from the U.S. store.