Introducing selvedge 40 inseam jeans made in the USA
By Maurice Malone Published December 29, 2021
Back in early 2017, we introduced 40-inch inseam jeans as a response to requests for even longer lengths than our 38-inseams. At the time our tall men's styles topped out at 38-inches, which were actually 39 1/2-inch when measured because we like to add about 1 1/2-inches on top of our displayed inseam specs.
Who knew some guys needing long inseams also wanted the option to roll or cuff their hems. Or, for some guys, 38 inseam jeans are simply not long enough?
For more than 20-years I played basketball at least 3-days per week. Playing at a nice gym in NYC where some NBA players stopped in for pick-up games during the off-season, there were times when I'd lucky have guys like Carmello Anthony, Steve Nash, Joakim Noah, or Jay Williams on my team and we wouldn't lose a game all day. Or, I'd be unlucky enough to have a player like Elton Bran on the opposite team running out from the paint to block my 3-point shot. I can keep name-dropping NBA players like Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, and more, but the point I'm trying to get to is I have a healthy respect for tall guys and their problems finding good jeans.
Not talking about any of the guys I mentioned, but until just recently, a lot of players I'd see for decades on television, or out in the streets had no sense of style when it came to denim. Most wore badly fitting jeans, bad washes, and even badly designed high-priced designer label jeans that just didn't work. The first time I saw an NBA player and thought, "this guy gets it," was seeing Lebron James wearing pair of 3x1 jeans. Although they were a bit tight in the tights, they were a nice pair of dark or raw skinny jeans.
I can't remember if I started making jeans with longer inseams before I moved our production to the USA in 2013. I suppose I made a few in our imported stock. But, I do remember the first I learned there was a market for tall men who were not celebrities or NBA players who just wanted well-made selvedge raw jeans in their sizes.
I was working our my warehouse, shipping jeans when it came to me. I was now making jeans in the USA, not dealing with the minimum order quantities of China, and could instruct my pattern maker to draft any size in my styles. The factory and cutter could easily make them alongside my standard sizes in only a quantity of 1-unit if needed.
Production pros, don't laugh if you're reading this. I learned the hard way as I got orders in lots of different waist and inseam lengths. My markers (cutting patterns) were all over the place. The most important thing I learned, was that tall men wanted good jeans too. After that crazy production, I streamlined our offering. Except for our most recent production (the first since Covid-19 began), the limited-edition 14-oz. selvedge shipping January 2022 – jeans with 38 inseams became a mainstay in our production runs. After alterations became a core business operation, 40 inseams became a norm with our ability to easily hem jeans shorter.
Right now, there may not be much stock in long inseams, but more production is planned for 2022. Since our last 2020 factory production, we made it easy for customers seeking inseam lengths in any measurement, short or long, to easily order under the Custom Made-To-Order menu.