WRANGLER: IT’S A LONG WAY FROM THE PRAIRIE
THE COWBOYS’ FAVORITE IS TURNING UP ON THE STREETS OF SOHO.
Byline: Nicole Phelps
NEW YORK — Wrangler is corralling a whole new customer: trendy urbanites.
The brand, with its reputation as the most western-style jeans, has long been favored by cowboys and rodeo fans. But young women here and in Los Angeles are lassoing men’s boot-cut styles faster than you can fall off a bucking bronco.
Steven Alan, owner of the Steven Alan Boutique in SoHo, here, is making the most of it.
“I felt that denim was going to be strong this year. And when I anticipate a trend, I go to the source,” he said. “When I think about denim, the first thing that comes to mind is Wrangler.”
Kaye Wyrick, merchandise manager for Wrangler women’s western wear explained, “For several years, we’ve noticed that the boot-cut jeans have been selling in pockets around the country, like New York and Los Angeles. It’s part of the Seventies thing. Our men’s shirts have been part of the trend, too, because they still have that old western styling.”
Mervin Bendewald, owner of Whiskey Dust, here, agreed.
“Wrangler is a preferred jean because the cut is different,” he said. “In Levi’s, there’s no indication of western wear. They’ve gone mainstream. Wrangler has retained its western flavor.”
Bob Levy, owner of Dave’s, here, says Wranglers are “a super pair of jeans” that appeal to “jeans purists.” He’s been consistently selling out of men’s Wranglers in waist sizes 28 to 30 inches because women are buying them. His customers are “very particular,” he said.
“They want the stuff they grew up in,” Levy added.
Levy, who grew up in what he calls “hard denim,” not the soft, stonewashed fabric popular today, said Wrangler jeans “are as close to the original as possible.”
Wrangler just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its boot-cut jeans. To mark the milestone, the company hung the original ads in its corporate offices. Wyrick said the ads are just as valid today as they were a half-century ago.
It’s the retro cool that urban cowgirls are suddenly crazy about, as well as Wrangler’s fit, Wyrick said.
“At first, the jeans almost feel rigid, but with wear, they hug the body and elongate the leg.
Wrangler does make boot-cut jeans for women, Wyrick said.
“In fact, our women’s division evolved because we knew that women were buying the men’s jeans,” she said. “The women’s leg opening is 16 3/4 inches, while the men’s is 16 inches. And the men’s jean is cut fuller in the seat and leg.”
Still, the women’s division isn’t doing anything special to address young urban women’s preference for the brand’s men’s jeans.
“For now,” Wyrick said, “we’re just enjoying the trend.”