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Oct 8 - Wide Leg Raw Denim Jeans – A Buyer’s Guide - Devium
David Shuck
October 08, 2024
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Wide Leg Raw Denim Jeans – A Buyer’s Guide
All of the true wide-leg jeans on the raw selvedge denim market, from makers like ONI, Samurai, Naked & Famous, and many more.
James Smith
After about a decade of slim and slim-tapered jeans ruling the selvedge roost, straight and wide-leg raw selvedge denim jeans are becoming more and more popular again, and hem openings seem to be getting wider across the board.
Seeing as we’re coming out of a leg-width recession of sorts, not every raw denim brand makes a true wide-straight leg jean. Sure, some brands label their widest cut as ‘wide’, but in reality, it’s just a straight-leg jean that’s wider than their other offerings. With this in mind, we thought we’d put together a list of the truly wide-straight raw selvedge denim jeans out there, so you can get the width you’re looking for.
Whether you’re used to wearing wider jeans and want a list of top-notch wide-leg options out there, or you’re looking to switch up your style and get hip to some wide boys – this guide is for you. We’ve put together a list of most of the truly wide raw selvedge denim jeans on the market, each adhering to the Heddels philosophy of well-made goods that you will want to wear forever.
If there’s a pair of wide-leg raw selvedge denim jeans you think should be on this list, let us and the community know in the comments. We’ll keep this list updated with pairs we believe belong in the guide.
Possibly the most widely stocked wide-leg raw denim jean is the Full Count 0105. The Japanese label actually edited the 0105 fit in recent years to make it wider, higher in the rise, and all-round ‘looser’, hence the name. Somehow, though, Full Count has achieved a loose ‘n’ wide silhouette that’s still clean as hell. Some masterful styling by London’s Clutch Cafe can be seen above, but let’s be honest, the 0105 New Loose Straight would look good with anything.
I’ve had the pleasure of trying these on and can confirm they’re absolutely top-drawer, but the denim is raw and unsanforized, meaning it will shrink a size or two on the first soak/wash. Full Count’s denim is also known for stretching back out a fair bit after washing, too, so be sure to reach out to your denim vendor of choice for sizing advice on these. Get the size right and you’ll be living in ’em.
Available for $330 from Clutch Cafe
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Wider offerings by cult Japanese label, ONI, are typically released with a model number in the 200s, i.e. 202, 222, or 200. Over the past few years, ONI has really focussed on slimmer jean silhouettes with heavier tapers, so it’s great to see the brand putting out wider, more traditional fits. This does mean that people are snapping them up, though.
ONI Denim ONI-222 “Low Tension” 15oz Super Wide Straight Jeans (pictured above) – $215 at Redcast Heritage.
ONI Denim ONI-200 “Low Tension” 15oz Wide Straight Jeans – $215 at Redcast Heritage.
ONI Denim 200-KBE “Indigo Beige” 14oz Wide Straight Jeans – $243 at Redcast Heritage.
If a truly wide-leg fit with a traditional high rise is what you’re after, look no further than Dawson Denim‘s Wide Leg Jean. Seen here in Dawson’s exclusive Japanese hank-dyed selvedge denim, this is one of the widest jeans on the market, crafted by hand on the south coast of England. At the time of writing, this silhouette is also available in double-black selvedge denim, 13.5 oz. brown weft selvedge denim, and 14 oz. plant-dyed raw selvedge denim.
This full-legged fiasco comes complete with suspender buttons around the waistband (optional), a cinch back, rivet reinforcements on all pockets, and branded hardware throughout.
Available at Dawson Denim for $388
Gold is Toyo Enterprise‘s outlet for forward-thinking garments with a vintage feel, a motive that is evident in the brand’s GL42472A wide-leg jeans.
Featuring all the trappings of a pair of mid-century selvedge denim jeans like a five-pocket construction, chain stitching, rivet reinforcements — and a wide-legged silhouette based on late 1940s Levi’s 501s — the GL42472A is built from a truly unique fabric. This 11.5 oz. selvedge denim is woven on vintage shuttle looms from a blend of Suvin cotton yarns and yarns woven from waste cotton that comes from the Suvin spinning process. This leaves the fabric with the uneven bumpiness of the unrefined cotton yarns, but with the smoothness that comes from luxury Suvin cotton.
Made in Japan and available for $280 from Sun House.
If you’re a denim fan who likes to take it back to the beginning, you can’t go much further back than TCB‘s l Good Luck Wide Straight Jeans, modelled after non-Levi’s denim dating back to the 1880s.
Made in Japan from 9 oz unsanforized Indian cotton, this special 2×1 fabric comes in a steely blue shade that provides the perfect backdrop for a host of historical details. These jeans tick all the boxes when it comes to early pairs from its single back pocket and buckle back cinch to the suspender buttons and wide, utilitarian cut. The pockets are ornate with their swooping shape and dart stitching. The darts were not just a fashion play but a functional one. During this time Levi’s held the patent for rivets so competitors had to get creative when it came to reinforced stress points on their jeans.
If you want a wide leg jean with a story, look no further.
Available at Redcast Heritage for $289.
Swedish imprint Indigofera offers a true wide leg jean through its Kirk silhouette.
Made in Portugal using propietary 13 oz. Japanese raw selvedge denim woven exclusively for Indigofera, the Kirk has a full-legged fit from the top block through to the hem, with minimal tapering. Each pair comes with a handsome branded waist patch, rivet reinforcements, rugged 9 oz. twill pocket bags. and tonal ‘stealth’ arcuates that will become more visible as the denim fades with wear and washing
Available for $239 from TENDREL USA.
The Flat Head doesn’t make wide-leg jeans. Well, at least that’s what we thought until we saw the FN-D111 in all its drapey glory. With a roomy seat and hem opening of between 9″ and 10″across the available sizes, the The Flat Head’s FN-D111 is the brand’s first foray into a truly wide leg jean for a long while.
This edition of the FN-D111 is made from from 14.5 oz. raw selvedge denim woven on vintage shuttle looms from 100% Zimbabwean cotton — a fiber known for its holy trinity of strength, softness, and texture. The twill weave on this Japanese fabric is woven with a pronounced downward weave. With wear and washing, it will develop the revered raindrop-esque “Doshaburi” (which translates to downpour) fade.
Each pair is crafted in Japan with the kind of the considered details we know and love from The Flat Head – hidden arcuates that will reveal as the denim fades, rust-resistant iron buttons and copper-plated rivets, reinforced button-holes, selvedge coin pocket, and a custom vegetable-tanned deerskin waist patch
Available at Redcast Heritage for ~$303 and Cultizm for ~$340.
The Samurai S2000 is the brand’s loosest jean, replacing the previous S3000 model at the top of Mount Wide-Leg. Despite this, it’s slimmer than a lot of other models in this guide, with the hem width on a pair of 32s measuring in at roughly 8.6″ – a measurement typically seen on regular straight-leg jeans.
What the S2000 lacks in true width, it makes up for in a unique fabric unlike any other jean out there. Samurai deployed 15 oz. raw selvedge denim, woven from 100% Texas cotton that’s been sun into slub yarns. This is a recipe Samurai has been using for well over 15 years and it’s a good one to say the least, resulting in a rough-textured, slubby denim with loads of visual appeal before the fading has even begun.
Each pair is made in Japan and comes with painted arcuates (referencing WWII cotton rationing), a branded goatskin waist patch, silver iron buttons, and a silver selvedge ID that represents the Katan used by the Samurai.
Available for ~$300 from Cultizm.
Belafonte was founded in Japan in 2012 by Noboru Tanaka. As a Japanese label focused on recreating traditional menswear from the 1930s to 1950s, its only natural that they have a wide-leg jean in their lineup.
The 1890 is a rugged raw selvedge denim jean with a full-legged silhouette and some crazy details. First off — your eyes aren’t deceiving you — those look to be selvedge inseams. I’ll admit, I don’t have lots of information about these jeans and that’s a detail that needs answers – but Belafonte is a pretty niche label and these jeans currently aren’t available outside of Japan. There also seems to be some deliberately unfinished edges as well as the selvedge overload, and some classy heritage details like suspender buttons, crotch rivet, and a cinch back adjuster.
Available for $278 at Belafonte.
We were put onto the Kerbside & Co. Lot 75E back in 2022, and to put it bluntly, they’re absolute bangers. This silhouette has the same amount of width and grandeur as the Dawson Denim Wide-Legs, but with a slightly lower rise and no cinch back. They’re a more bread-and-butter wide-leg jean, seen here in neppy 14 oz. Japanese raw selvedge denim with a blue selvedge ID.
Made in Southeast Asia, the Lot 75E is finished with Scovill USA rivets and buttons, and a buttery soft Nappa leather waist patch.
Available for $306 from Kerbside & Co.
Big John is an unsung hero of the Japanese denim scene that’s been around for over 35 years, so it comes as no surprise they have a solid wide-leg fit in their roster. The Lot.XX001 is a raw selvedge jean with a wide-straight fit that is on the slimmer wide of the wide-leg spectrum but still provides a powerful silhouette.
Seen here in 15.7 oz. raw selvedge denim woven from five different types of cotton for a soft hand, the Lot.XX001 is finished with classic five-pocket detailing and a custom waist patch.
Available for $260 from Hinoya.
Tender Co. is more known for its shirting and other apparel — dyed with all manner of plants and natural material — but they actually make one of the wider jean cuts on the market. Seen here in a rinsed edition of Tender’s selvedge ‘Unborn Denim’, the 132 fit is a standard wide leg fit with room throughout the leg, and a really unique detail in form of straight-cut pocket openings that will curve into a more traditional shape with wear and washing.
Available from Lost & Found for $450.
Kojima Genes is one of those brands that hasn’t quite taken off in the West. I’m not quite sure why – it’s an artisinal brand coming straight out of what most people consider the denim capital of the world – Kojima. Regardless, they put out a fantastic wide-leg jean in the RNB-102 Super Wide.
Cut from 15 oz. raw selvedge denim woven in Kojima, these are just a straight-up classic selvedge denim jean in a traditional wide-leg fit that’s complemented by its array of vintage-Levi’s-style details like hidden rivets, rear pocket form, and chainstitch construction. Pure Japanamericana from an underrated label.
Available for ¥17,600JYP (~$90) from Jeans Plaza (Rakuten).
You may know Naked & Famous for its novelty raw denim products like scratch ‘n’ sniff selvedge and glow-in-the-dark jeans, but it turns out they make a staple wide-leg cut that could be a complete essential in your wardrobe – the Strong Guy.
I’ve saved these until last because I’m honestly pretty astounded at how great these look, and they’ve reminded me that N&F are a denim brand that can compete with the best of ’em when it comes to bread-and-butter selvedge. Don’t get me wrong, I knew the Strong Guy existed, but I hadn’t quite tuned in properly until now.
Constructed in Canada from a range of Naked & Famous fabrics ranging from the tame-but-charming Left Hand Twill seen above to double-black denim and stretch selvedge, the Strong Guy is a tough silhouette that isn’t afraid to have those hems swingin’. It’s not as roomy in the seat as many of the others on this list, which leads to a wide-but-clean fit that can be dressed up or down. Any misconceptions you may have about pairing wide jeans with sneakers can be put to bed by Tate + Yoko’s styling pictured above.
Each pair is built with chain stitch construction and finished with flat-felled inseams, a full-grain leather waist patch, and silver metallic hardware.
Available for $165 from Tate + Yoko
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