Jeans (I couldn't think of something clever.)

If you’ve shopped for a pair of jeans lately you’ve noticed that the options are limitless.  Every men’s clothing store now carries a myriad of sizes, fits, and washes.  The last time I checked there was something like seven billion options when all most guys need is one great pair of jeans.  Finding that one great pair these days is on par with finding the right house to buy - you have to go through a lot of duds before finding the one with the right mix of comfort and style that leaves you with some money in your wallet.  However, when buying jeans to wear to work, some focused effort will narrow down your options, and make the purchase of this staple item an enjoyable experience.

Jeans for work should be subtle.  A dark wash works best and is the most versatile.  You can pair dark jeans with leather shoes, a collared shirt and a jacket or come across more relaxed and pair them with boots and a sweater.  Save the jeans with embellishments - painted rivets, stitching in bright colors, large logos, etc. for weekend wear.  On second thought, don’t ever buy jeans with any of the aforementioned embellishments.

You should also put in the effort to make sure the jeans you wear to work fit you well like the pants to your suits.  Play it safe here.  Skip the low rise jeans, the skinny jeans and the baggy jeans and go with a straight or slightly relaxed fit.  If you want a little flair, get a boot cut jean (pun intended).  Your jeans should sit at your waist and hit the top of your shoe so remember that the jeans will shrink a bit when you are trying them on. 

Now, I recognize that not all of us are built like the guys that model jeans so wearing a pair fresh out of the store may not work.  Tall guys may need to order jeans online to get the right length and short guys may have to get jeans hemmed.  All of us have some challenges with fit be it an expanding waistline, large thighs or yes, even a big behind.  If you’re dealing with any of those you can still get a good pair of jeans.  Just get a size larger than you would normally and take them to your tailor.

Finally, to narrow down your choices, ignore any pair of jeans over $100.  There are plenty of good choices under $100 and if you really like them buy two pair and rotate them.

Dark Wash Straight Fit Jeans from GAP - $60