If you’re looking for some sort of balanced, vanilla review of SWRVE’s regular cut cycling jean, look elsewhere. Good luck, though; there’s a reason that everyone writing reviews about these jeans sounds like they’re on SWRVE’s payroll. Simply put, they’re an excellent product.
Always cautious, I decided to buy the regular cut jeans instead of the skinnies. I’d never bought anything from SWRVE before, and the definition of “skinny” varies widely from designer to designer. Since buying my pair, I’ve heard from several different people that the skinny jeans are more like “regular person skinny” than “hipster skinny.” That is to say, they don’t appear to be painted on. The regular cut is currently the most generous jean I own, a looser fit than Levi’s 511 jeans, and definitely a world away from the 510. I would point the more slender among you toward the skinnier version, but if you’re more Mark Cavendish than Andy Schleck, the regular cut provides plenty of room for your powerful pistons/wintertime burrito baggage. Both versions have high-rise backs, which will undoubtedly improve your relationship with the drivers behind you, and the front is cut nice and low to keep the waist comfy for those cyclists who are still human shaped.
Aside from the articulated knees, gusseted crotch, and quality construction, my favorite part of these jeans is the dark wash. They definitely have the look of high quality denim, dark enough to look black in low lighting. Also worth noting is the consistency of the wash over the entirety of the jean; while I’ve had several pairs of Levi’s that had runs or weird fades, the SWRVE denim is absolutely uniform. It gives you the feeling that they really love the things they make.
I really cannot say enough good things about the knees and the gusseted crotch on these jeans. Fantastic. I feel like my clothing is working with me when I’m on my bicycle; there’s no sense in fighting your jeans while you’re dodging traffic downtown. It might be an overstatement to say that these jeans actually make my commute safer, but it does eliminate at least one painful distraction.
The jeans also come fully equipped with reflective material on the inside of the leg and what I think is a pen pocket. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about these things, but they aren’t hurting anyone. It’s still a good-looking pair of jeans, and, even if the pen pocket never actually carries a pen, it might serve as a conversation starter one day.
As a point of reference, I’m living car-lite in Raleigh, North Carolina, and my weekly commute + errands generally puts me at 50-60 miles of transportation-driven cycling each week. While I can’t comment on the jeans’ durability just yet, everything else about them screams “quality.” In short, I’m not worried.
Like this:
Tags: Andy Schleck, clothing, commute, cycling, Denim, jeans, Mark Cavendish, review, swrve
Sounds almost good enough to make me want to cycle. And you didn’t even mention the belt loops!
At the end of the day, cycling is mostly just about looking cool anyway. That and sustainability. And personal health. And, of course, sticking it to the proverbial man.