Tom Hanks' character in Sleepless in Seattle, Sam Baldwin, said it best, "So, how's my butt?" And well, it was cute. He was wearing good jeans and when Meg Ryan finally saw the booty that came with the man, she wasn't disappointed.
Still, while butt cuteness is of vast importance, other factors such as style, fit, wash, price and comfort of jeans should be considered, too.
To make it easier, I went to three very different stores around town and divided the world of men's jeans into three categories: designer, urban wear and American chain store.
Urban Wear
5twenty7, 214 E. College Ave.
"Once you mention urbanwear, Rocawear comes to mind," said Devin Oliver (junior-theater), of from 5twenty7. Rocawear's popularity is, of course, fueled by the high regard of well-known founder, rap legend and hip hop mogul Jay-Z. Rocawear is known for its eclectic styles of jeans and leads the pack of urbanwear jeans, Oliver said.
P. Diddy's Sean John label follows, though these jeans are more traditional and less recognizable then some of the other brands.
"Rocawear has more variety in style, color, texture," Oliver said.
Though neither Sean John nor Rocawear are as easily recognizable as Akademiks or Girbaud jeans. Akademiks are perhaps the most innovative, with wild stitching, patterns and big, bold labels. Pointing out a couple of cross-hatched stitched jeans, Oliver brought up how the Akademiks team always seems to put a little something different into their lines.
"Each season they have a different color or trend [with the jeans]," Oliver said. "There's always a lot going on, something more to it than any other jeans."
Lastly, Oliver mentioned Marithe & Francois Girbaud Jeans -- more commonly referred to as Girbaud. Pulling out a pair with slanted, well-below-normal placement pockets, Oliver noted the exceptionally baggy brand of jeans with trademark horizontal stripes (that can be bought with accompanying matching polos) are known for always doing something a little askew with their designs.
Designer Trendy
Industrie, 151 S. Allen St.
Men's clothing store Industrie brings in the largest variety of designer jeans available in State College. Employee Rebecca Funk (junior-science and accounting) showed me some of the sexiest men's jeans. First off, style-wise, jeans have become a lot snugger than in past years.
"A lot of guys right now want straight-through leg while some want boot-cut or flare. They're all tighter fit, though. It's not cool to have baggy jeans anymore," she said.
Brand-wise, depending on your cash flow, Funk said you want to go with one of four brands: Mavi, Division E, 7 For All Mankind, or Energie. The former two are if you want to drop less than $100 and the latter two are if you have the money to spend well over that much.
All-American chain store
Abercrombie & Fitch,
134 S. Allen St.
Abercrombie Manager Josh Stine (senior-psychology) said the store's best-selling men's jeans, by far, are the Saranac jeans -- both the boot-cut and destroyed styles.
"Destroyed jeans [meaning ripped] are still definitely selling. We see more of our customers purchasing the destroyed versus the non-ripped pairs," Stine said.
Though the trend has faded in more urban, high-fashion areas like Los Angeles or New York, it is showing little signs of slowing down here.
"The ripped jeans are more of a college-town thing; it's a lot more casual," he said.
As for nicer jeans, A&F offers its premium denim Ezra Fitch line which is tighter and more form-fitting than any other jean style.
