4M6C3582.CR2: 5D Mk.III, EF 85mm 1:1.8 @ 1/15, f/2.0, 3200 ISO, no flash
Amazon’s crazy black Friday sale had me discover that now only do they sell Levi’s 501 jeans, and they also sell odd-numbered waist sizes, but they were also on sale! I bought a pair for $39.95. I wanted just one pair so I could wash it and make sure it actually fits. And it did fit! I tried to order more to discover they were all out of my size. I kept checking back and I found one pair for sale a week later. It arrived and I discovered it was dark denim, which isn’t what I wanted, but for $39.95, I kept it anyway. Surely the sale would be over at the end of the week after Black Friday, right? Right! But I couldn’t help myself. I kept checking and a few days later, I saw the stonewash jeans in the size I wanted on sale for $34.95. I was only planning on ordering one more pair, but at an even lower price, I thought I’d better get two. It’s not like they go bad, right?
When they arrived, I opened the box to make sure they were the right size and colour. Happily, they were just what I wanted. I put the box down, and not five minutes later, the cat had to check things out and she seems to have appropriated the box (with my jeans still in it!) for her new bed. Kitties are the craziest people.
Yes, I was surprised that Amazon.ca sells Levi’s jeans, and even more surprised that they sell them in my beloved 33″ waist! Before I saw them for sale on Amazon, I didn’t know they were even offered in odd-number sizes.
But sadly, Levi’s are no longer my preferred jean. A number of years ago I got ahold of two pairs of Lucky jeans and they are fantastic. They’re lighter, thinner, softer, and longer lasting than Levi’s. These jeans are also available in odd-numbered sizes and it was with them that I discovered that a 33″ waist is a much better fit than either 32″ or 34″. The problem is the Lucky Brand jeans are more expensive. I got them in Montréal and I’d be happy to pay the nearly $100 per pair for more, but going to Montréal is no longer a viable option for me.
One can purchase directly from Lucky Brand via mail-order, but they are all shipped from the U.S. so I’d have to deal with taxes and possibly import duties, both charged at the border, as well as the exchange. You may not know it, but the exchange rate has recently gone nuts. I’d know the price Lucky Brand charges in U.S. dollars, but the Canadian price, the tax, and the duty would all be a mystery until it’s too late to change my mind. No thanks.
I checked and there is a Lucky Brand store in Toronto, but they do not stock anything longer than a 34″ inseam, which is 2″ too short for me. Happily I called the store before I went to Toronto. The young lady told me that I could come in to the store, try a 34″ length pair to make sure the waist size is right, then they’d order the proper length for me. Great! Then she added, “…and they’ll ship it directly to your address!” She clearly thought this was a good thing, but I confirmed that this would basically be the same as ordering direct, with the advantage of being able to try the various waist sizes in advance. Unfortunately, I wasn’t about to take a risk and possibly end up paying $130-$150 for one pair of jeans! Yes, Amazon.ca also offers Lucky Brand jeans, but there is not a single pair available in my size. Some have a 33″ waist, other have a 36″ inseam, but none have both.
So although they’re no Lucky Brand, I paid an average of $42.35, including taxes, for each of the four pairs of Levi’s 501s I bought. That’s a far better match for my current budget!
