Speaking to those who know a thing or two about a thing or two on the question of quality denim. Or in this case, me talking to myself about my own pants

Will is a Liverpool-based writer. For the last three years and counting, he has served as Editor in Chief of men’s fashion and lifestyle magazine, The Essential Journal. Ten years spent behind the bar also means that Will is just handy slinging a drink as he is turning a phrase. And while he winces at the term ‘academic’, he does in fact hold a Ph.D. in experimental short fiction. Get him drunk enough and he’s likely to tell you all about it. Be careful though: he has a tendency to refer to himself in the third person while he’s at it. He’s also just as likely to copy and paste his own bio rather than write himself a proper into. Anyway, here goes:

On Fit

“Relaxed tapers all day. I have some truly ludicrous corporeal proportions that usually force me to choose between a decent fit in either the thigh or waist. Rarely am I afforded the luxury of both. Don’t even get me started on my calves. They’re almost as wide as my thighs. I don’t taper. I’m stubborn like that. For better or worse I’m purpose-built for standing my ground.

“I tend to either cuff or hem my jeans to a flush, no-break finish. Stacking - and with that, wider, looser fits in general - give me flashbacks of my misspent youth spent in mosh pits with the seat of my pants sagging from ass to knee. It’s just not for me anymore. Those days are behind me.”

On Fabric

“Mid-weight Indigo is my daily go-to. 14oz or so. Nothing gimmicky, you understand, but something rich, rigid, and built to go some distance. Even the best of denim isn't worth a damn for the first year or so of wear - so it’s worth picking up something constructed with the long haul in mind.

“I love natural, ecru denim too. There’s a charm to the dust and grit that a good pair of white jeans accrues. White denim lets me play make-believe, thinking myself some salt-of-the-earth, dust-bowl mechanic when in actual fact I can’t so much as drive. But what is personal style if not the overstated projection of your ideal self?

“Fabric will always, always ride shotgun to fit, though. All the slub, nep, twill, and texture in the world don’t amount to a hill of beans if you can’t sit down in your jeans without cutting off the circulation to your feet. I’ve been that guy; my toes still haven’t recovered.”

On Favourites

“I currently only have two pairs of jeans in regular rotation: a pair of FOX 001s from Osaka’s Studio D’Artisan, and a pair of E8 slim tapers from London’s Blackhorse Lane Ateliers. They’ve both been to hell and back and have the scars to prove it.

“The SDAs have seen some particularly heinous treatment over the years. I really mean this: I straight up tore them in half chasing after my dog one time. They’ve seen two tours at Pitti - they would have seen a third too, if the world hadn’t fallen apart over the last year or so. They’ve been fixed up so many times I don’t think they have a single original stitch left in ‘em. True Frankenjeans.

“The BLAs is among the most over-spec’d denim I’ve ever worn; nothing comes close to their construction. That single-piece fly is so strong it’s actually busting through the crotch. I’m not even angry, I’m impressed.

“I also have a semi-retired pair of Edwin ED-55s that I've worn behind the bar for 3 years or so. They’re wonderfully gloriously, beguilingly fucked. They’re also the perfect proof that a good pair of jeans needn’t cost you the deposit on a house.”

On What to Wear them With

“I think it was Fitzgerald that once wrote that ‘a plain white tee, a good leather jacket, and some beat-to-shit denim is the only truly unfuckwithable rig out’. He didn’t say that? Oh. I knew there was a reason I preferred Hemingway. Seriously though, jeans are the single most democratic garment in your wardrobe; wear them with anything and everything.

“Preferred accoutrements include my Schott NYC Perfecto and Rogue Territory ISC Work Shirt (both copped from Snake Oil Provisions); Flat Head and Iron Heart Flannels (from Rivet & Hide), and a myriad of thrifted, gifted, or otherwise dishonestly-procured jackets from over the years.”

On Whether or Not to Wash

“Listen, denim is a roadmap of your day-to-day life. They tell tales of every slip, trip, misstep, and mishap. They’re a faded and frayed testament to how you’ve lived your life. If you want said testament to speak (and smell) of a life unwashed then that’s on you, brother. Wash your jeans and don’t be cute about it. Throw them in the wash if you like. I do. As a matter of fact, my jeans are in the wash right now. That’s right; I’ve written this whole thing in my underpants. They have little Christmas trees on them. I hope that didn’t ruin anything for you.”