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As the Strategist’s denim correspondent, I look at jeans a lot. Take it from me: If you wait long enough, you can get almost any pair you want on sale. To help you find the best discounted pairs out there, I flipped through my mental Rolodex of the jeans we’ve written about on the Strategist before, then sifted through the internet’s sales bins. Here, you’ll find Levi’s that top many of our Best in Class lists and the Madewell pair a stylist has recommended to more than 150 clients. After hunting down our tried-and-true pairs, I also found some seemingly worth-it wild cards from names like Citizens of Humanity and B Sides that I’ve oft heard recommended and that rarely go on sale. I’ll be updating this guide regularly, so keep checking back for more. And if you’re a big deal freak, sign up for our daily Strategist Sales Alert while you’re at it.
Straight leg
The jeans we’ve written the most about, Levi’s Wedgies, are at an almost Prime Day price.
A 501 (the original true-blue jean) you don’t have to search a thrift bin to find.
If you want a 501 that’s even closer to the original, these are woven on a old-fashioned loom and have selvedge stitches on the cuff.
“If there’s one thing Abercrombie does well, it’s jeans,” says the Plus Bus co-owner Marcy Guevara-Prete, adding that the company has gotten well versed in “how to accentuate curves.”
Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo’s “ultimate denim dream” is to look like Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon inThelma & Louise, and Everlane’s butt-hugging Cheekys get her pretty darn close to speeding in a Thunderbird.
Because the Elisabeths are made with A.P.C.’s non-stretch denim, they’re going to take some breaking in. But it’ll be worth it — you’ll have a pair you won’t want to take off.
The jeans a stylist has recommended to more than 150 clients are almost entirely sold out in every wash — but not this one, surprisingly.
For your formal Canadian tuxedo.
Technically speaking, you’re getting two jeans at the price of one.
Slim and loose
Because of how comfortable these mid-rise jeans are, most of my high-waisted jeans feel almost uncomfortable now.
J.Crew’s stretch scale includes the 1984 rigid, 1996 semi-stretch, and the 2003 super-stretch — this is the stretchiest (made with 2 percent Lycra).
Another stylist once told me the stovepipe is the equivalent of all jeans having a baby together — the thought hasn’t left me since!
Join us in the Gapiverse, where jeans are often half off (and there’s an additional coupon at checkout).
The Brandons are the Carhartt-iest of Carhartt jeans.
If you missed it: Wrangler and Staud collaborated on a collection late last year. It’s all finally marked down now. This pair comes in the most washes and sizes still available.
There’s a nice painterly quality to the flocking.
Wide leg
A new addition to Everlane’s sale is this not-too-wide pair of wide legs.
Or there’s this sweepingly wide pair of wide legs just added to Madewell’s sale.
If you already have the Harlow Pants (they were a Cyber Monday best seller with Strategist readers), you need the Harlow Jeans.
Those unsure about a low rise should try a low slung first.
Save yourself the trouble that comes from an undone cuff.
You almost never see tastefully done patchwork like this unless it’s on an old quilt.
I went wide-eyed seeing these Lurex threads (it’s the magpie in me).
Take it from someone who’s short: The seaming will be leg-lengthening.
Barrel leg
Admittedly, the Lassos from B Sides are a very barrel-y barrel leg. But they’re the best-fitting jeans Strategist writer Lauren Ro has, flattering through her short torso and wide hips.
This is the best deal ever on the jeans from “These Jeans Made Me Gay” fame. (They’re $261 at Ssense and $209 at Saks, for comparison’s sake.)
If you’re not sold on the Horseshoe, there’s the Dahlia.
Bootcut and flare
Maybe Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show has you rethinking bootcuts. (Thankfully, these are around ten times cheaper than his $1,200 Celine Marcos.)
“I was in high school the last time flared jeans roared into the Zeitgeist. Maybe you were too,” says Wall Street Journal art editor Alexandra Citrin-Safadi. “If so, know that this pair is sharper (and, blessedly, higher cut) than our shredded Mudd bell-bottoms from 2003.”
To be worn with everything from ratty band tees to a tied-up button-down.
This version of Madewell’s Kick Out Crop comes with a traditional button fly instead of a zipper.
The Kick Out is also available in a full-length inseam for the ankle-shy.
Don’t worry, you won’t actually have a pinched waist in Agolde’s Pinch Waist jeans. They’re cut fuller through the thighs.
Skinny
… And a skinny jean seemingly stolen from Alexa Chung’s closet (at least when she was dating Alex Turner).
Levi’s skinniest skinny jeans come with a lot of stretch, and writer Diana McCorry says these keep their shape when you stand up.
Old Navy’s Rockstars are what one Rolling Stone writer wears to the office.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
