Williamsburg Garment Co. Grand Street – Denim Review

Having recently emerged onto the raw denim market, Williamsburg Garment Company has set themselves up well to produce top-quality raw denim available for purchase at relatively inexpensive prices.

The company utilizes a cash-only-to-trade model which allows them to sell garments at a fraction of the industry-standard mark up. This is known as a cash-and-carry business model, which allows Williamsburg to do without costly expenses that typically drive up prices of the trade.

Eschewing the typical branding of many denim brands for a unique coin pocket and a logo cleverly inlaid into the waistband, Williamsburg aims to be recognizable moreso for their premium quality than anything else.

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Inlaid Williamsburg logo

As designer Maurice Malone puts it:

“When the consumer picks up our jeans and then looks at a jean price at $200 or more, we want them to find (that) our style is probably better made with a great fit at half the price, while not being decorated with outer brandings, logos and labels.”

We were lucky enough to receive a couple different pairs, with this review focussing on the Grand Street model.

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Grand Street

The Grand Street jean is cut from a 13 oz., unsanforized 100% cotton raw denim. The cotton is sewn in a 3×1 right-hand twill which is slightly hairy and features an uneven weave. The denim used is not selvedge, but a well-sewn overlock stitch keeps the edge from fraying.

The cut of the jean, itself, is the slimmest of Williamsburg’s cuts, described by the brand as slim and narrow.

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Selvage warp ends

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Slightly uneven, hairy denim

The pocket bags of the jean are made of a sturdy tan canvas, sewn with the same orange threads as the rest of the jean. They’re double stitched to ensure long-lasting wear and keep with the brand’s mission of providing quality construction.

The stitching of the jeans varies between a couple of different styles. In some key areas, two different threads are used, one orange and one gold. This ends up being a triple stitch, as a single orange stitch is combined with two gold ones, though, interestingly, only the gold is visible from the outside.

Other areas are treated to a single orange stitch which is invisible from the outside. The cuffs are chain-stitched to provide roping.

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Varied threads

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Chain-stitched Hem

It is a curious choice that the stitching inside and outside the jeans look so different, as the contrast is certainly glaring. For example, on the belt loops, the outer of the loop is sewn with a golden thread, whereas if one turns the loop over, it is clear that the entirety of the underside is stitched with only orange.

Though we’d prefer to see a single colour of stitching used, our dismay is marginal.

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Belt loops

The hardware of the jean maintains the relatively branding-free philosophy of Williamsburg. The top button of the fly is plain, save for the Williamsburg WA logo.

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Top button

The rivets on the coin pocket are entirely unbranded, and the pocket rivets are unbranded with only small text around the bottom denoting the producing company in Brooklyn, NY.

The fly zipper is from Japanese provider YKK, one of the most common providers of zippers worldwide. At the bottom of the fly, the crotch is reinforced with stitching instead of a rivet.

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Stitched fly

The unique coin pocket is an extra pouch around the side of the front pocket, as well as the secondary coin pocket within the coin pocket which, itself, is within the regular pocket (its like coin pocket inception!)

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Pockets upon pockets within pockets…

It’s an interesting feature, though, honestly it all feels a bit cluttered. It’s an interesting feature to pronounce the jeans as Williamsburg, and if you want to try carrying different cash denominations in different pockets, it may actually prove handy.

There are no rivets on the back pockets, with Williamsburg opting instead for bar-tacked corners.

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Bar tacked pockets

The jean is, on the whole, a sensible option for someone making their way into the raw denim market. As a quality jean in a low price point, the Grand Street doesn’t disappoint. If you want to pick up a pair for yourself, they’re available on Williamsburg Garment Co.’s webstore.