Five Plus One is our weekly series of buyer’s guides. We pick a specific category and dig up five great options along with one that’s a little outside the norm.
Today, belt loops are considered a de facto element of the blue jean, but it hasn’t always been that way. Early jeans utilized cinched backs and suspender buttons to ensure a snug fit, so today we’re looking at some of the bested cinched options still available.
While I can’t imagine them making a comeback and replacing belt loops anytime soon, cinch backs are definitely an attractive and time-honored detail that’s great if you’re looking to mix things up.
1) Burgus Plus: Natural Indigo Selvedge Jeans – 1928 Cinch-Back Model – 928-XX
If you’re interested in a pair of cinched jeans that still maintains a more modern style, then Burgus Plus‘ 928-XX might be just the ticket. It features a cinch but also belt loops, and the slubby natural indigo-dyed selvedge denim fabric ensures the fabric snob in you wants not. These jeans have top-notch Japanese construction, custom hardware, and great materials — all while maintaining a palatable price.
Available for $220 from Hinoya.
2) Companion Denim Tom 01N ‘The Legacy’
Jump on the wide-leg pant train with the Companion Denim Tom 01N ‘The Legacy’ jeans.
Companion’s Legacy jeans are a nod to denim of yesteryear: pre-1950s cuts that were wider, with a back-cinch. Made with 14 oz. sanforized Japanese selvedge denim, they’re absolutely packed with vintage denim details like; contrasting stitching in dual tan and yellow, chainstitched waistband, hidden rivet reinforcement, and a leather waist patch. There’s also Companion’s almond-shaped back pocket arcuates, chambray lining on the back pockets, and all-important back-cinch with YKK hardware.
Each pair is cut, sewn, and finished by no more than 2 people in Companion’s workshop in Sabadell just outside of Barcelona.
Like this? Read these:
Available for $252 at Companion Denim
3) Kapital: Monkey Cisco
Kapital is not a brand known for subtlety, and their Monkey Cisco jeans are no different. Available in a wide range of very different fabrics, these jeans all have one thing in common: a cinched back. While all the different models are great, the No. 1.2.3 is something special, flaunting a sashiko fabric featuring three different indigos. Don’t get me wrong, you’re gonna stand out wearing these, but if you’re gonna stand out, you might as well go all the way out with a pair of cinch-backs.
Available for $440-679 from Blue in Green.
4) Orgueil: Tailor Jeans
While jeans have never been a refined garment, it’s hard to deny that Orgueil‘sTailor Jeans are doing their darnedest to change that. With their cinched back, curved back pockets, curved fly, and raised coin pocket, there’s a lot going on with these jeans from Studio D’Artisan’s eloquent sub-label, but it all comes together to form an incredibly cohesive pair. Finished with natural nut buttons and a deerskin patch, these jeans could find a place in any denim head’s closet.
Available for $225 from Hinoya.
5) Levi’s Vintage Clothing: 1890 XX501
Levi’s has revolutionized the jean industry time and time again, but it’s great to see them going back to their roots with their 1890 XX501 offered through the Levi’s Vintage Clothing label. Based on a pair of jeans from the late 19th century, these jeans are classic rugged workwear from the peak of gold mining. The denim itself weighs in at just 9 oz. per square yard, and is constructed into a pre-historic denim silhouette with a cinched back, suspender buttons, and a single back pocket.
Available for €460 from Cultizm.
Plus One – TBC: Good Luck Wide Straight Jeans
TBC‘s Good Luck Wide Straight are another pair inspired by jeans from the late 1800s but with a ton of flair all their own. With an ornately curved back pocket, cinch back, an elongated yoke, suspender straps, and stitching embellishments, these jeans stand out no matter how you look at them. They’re constructed from 9 oz. sanforized selvedge denim woven in Japan from 100% Indian cotton, forming a design and production footprint that trots from East to West in a considered and historical way.
Hajime Inoue’s popular label is all about details, and there’s some incredible stuff here like folded selvedge outseams, dart stitch reinforcements on the front pockets, and a woven TCB ‘Good Luck’ cloth waist patch.
Available for $281 from Redcast Heritage.
