It’s been two days since Madewell rolled out its spiffy duds for dudes, and the early reviews are promising.
Launched as a women’s-only line in 2004 by parent company J.Crew, Madewell has long enjoyed a cult following among female shoppers for its figure-flattering denim in a range of styles and sizes. Now guys can experience the jean-ius for themselves, with three denim fits in 21 varieties.
“These are truly the best jeans I’ve ever owned,” a guy in Brooklyn raves in a five-star review of the straight jeans in True Blue ($128). “As an athletic guy with muscular legs I run into the problem with most jeans that they either fit me in the waist or fit me in the legs, never both. These jeans have the perfect amount of stretch allowing them to fit tight enough around my waist while stretching to conform to the size of my thighs.”
“These are better than I could have hoped for. I thought I was going to need to order multiple sizes but it was spot on my normal size. The fit is great and feel comfortable for a full day of wear,” a shopper identifying himself as Tim from Hoboken gushes of the selvedge slim jeans ($158). “Thank you Madewell for doing this for all the Madewell Men.”
Even the criticism was constructive. “These jeans give a great modern look w/o being too skinny for a professional environment,” writes another customer of the slim jeans in Dark Blue Wash ($128). “The wash is really intense which dresses them up a bit. Fair warning, wear dark shirts the first few times you wear the jeans, the indigo can rub off some.”
The collection also includes tees, sweatshirts and jackets.
Madewell president Libby Wadle likely isn’t surprised by the reviews.“These are classic-meets-modern pieces that fit exactly the way our Madewell guy would want them to,” she said in a statement just after the collection launched.
Madewell has not detailed plans for bringing the wares to its brick-and-mortar boutiques. Sept. 14 through 16, shoppers in the tristate area can swing by the Madewell men’s pop-up shop at Crest Hardware in Williamsburg.