civilianaire

[blm14]

Anyone seen these in person? The brand was founded by the guys that started lucky (yeah yeah, don't write it off yet).

Their stuff is made in america, they focus on workwear, and the jeans are made of japanese selvage denim:

http://shop.civilianaire.com/collections/men-denim/products/regular-rinsed-grey

Anyone have a pair? Thoughts? Reactions?

[grooveholmes]

Hate the name; just sounds pretentious to me. I was surprised to find that they had several of their own stores until I read that the founders of Lucky Brand and Jean Shop were behind it. They seem to be made well. I can't imagine the quality to be less than any of the Jean Shop stuff.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I think we already have a thread here? Aren't these the jeans 'made by Americans for Americans'?

[grooveholmes]

Haha. I forgot about that line. The Glenn Beck line-- "1791".

[blm14]

Did a forum search for civilianaire and nothing came up. Apologies if there is already a thread...

[Mike On Autopilot]

They've got a shop on Abbott Kinney across from the Stronghold (which was revived by the guys behind Von Dutch...) in LA. It's relatively small but their denim feels pretty nice. The only real aspect that makes them stand out is their raw denim is offered in a few different colors like olive and burgundy. And they have a ladies' line. Maybe it's just me but I feel like the quality is at Naked & Famous levels but twice the price.

[Somar]

I thought they had 5/6 different models of denim for men, now there is only one... sold out?

[poly800rock]

there is also a store mid city. and american rag has them. it's ok stuff, the light blue color stands out to me, but it's a sea of "premium" denim these days

[Planetarium]

I checked out the Venice store across from Stronghold and I'd agree that it falls into the "premium" denim influx and will probably not be around for many years which obviously isn't a problem when you're bankrolled by Lucky. I'd say that being across from Stronghold is also a disadvantage due to their superior quality and denimhead appeal, though I will admit that Stronghold suffers from somewhat arbitrary pricing, inconsistent sizing, and a less knowledgable staff.

At least it isn't another drop in the bucket of brands using the exact same Cone denim with slightly altered cuts.

[adventuretime]

I'm guessing they are rinsed?

[Planetarium]

What I saw was all sanforized.

[adventuretime]

Well what I meant mostly was are they raw and will the color fade even for the various colored denims, because they are pretty neat!

[GSVS5]

I read an articles a business magazine about the two founders leaving Liz Claiborne as everything got " squirrelly" after they sold out the Lucky Brand to Claiborne.

[GSVS5]

Seems there is little interest?The Lucky #17 or 2000 Vintage are some of the best fitting jeans i ever owned,I was expecting something great from these guys.I have to agree that the name stinks.When they created Lucky they had a gimmick and were riding on the coat tails of Replay as far as image and marketing went.

Unfortunately Civilianair does nothing to excite or inspire,which is surprising considering the experience and history of these guys.

[konadog]

the jeans are really nice and fit pretty great. some terrific colors like light blue, red, brown. now their shirting is like the Lucky Brand stuff, i definitely can't recommend.

[stayhandsome]

I read an articles a business magazine about the two founders leaving Liz Claiborne as everything got " squirrelly" after they sold out the Lucky Brand to Claiborne.

they consulted liz who purchased lucky for 10 years which was a part of the deal..

[stayhandsome]

The denim ranges from 11 oz to 16 oz with most fits coming in 13.5..

 

Japanese denim constructed in Los Angeles. 

 

Former founders of Bongo and Lucky brand who innovated colored denim in the 90's and have been applying it to gold selvedge denim. Immaculate Indigo jeans are also available in rigid or rinsed the light blue and baby blue colors are hard to find 50's stylings.

 

Some details include reinforcement under the back pocket stitching so your wallet will take longer to wear through, oversized zipper so you do not have to remove your gloves to take a wiz and they also produce amazing tops and jackets.

 

What you see on the website is only a taste of what they produce. Check out the Melrose store!

 

Free shipping when you order through the stores as well.

[youngofthesoonest]

i used to work in a store that carried them. sizing is really off. runs super large in the waist. the details of them are pretty interesting with the different colored threads, selvedge, etc. fit is decent if you find the right size…as far as i saw, it was all raw denim.

 

their shirts are no bueno in my opinion. pretty bland, again weirdly sized, and overpriced. 

[babydials]

They have a store in NYC too. Before it openned I got a grey pair on sale at another store for around $50. As they are grey and I can't wear jeans to work I cannot comment about fade and wear. I can say that I like them quite a lot (sometimes blue and unwashed is not the way to go - sorry for the blasphemy) and I appreciate that they do free chain stitch hemming.

[babydials]

Actually saw someone in a very nicely broken in pair this weekend. He was very happy with them. His only dislike was that they do not do button fly jeans.

[stayhandsome]

I agree with the button fly.. When Levis first changed that up with zippers a cowboy wrote Mr. Strauss about "feeling like he was taking a wiz into an alligators jaws"..

 

They fade in really nicely from what I've seen. I got their 11oz so I'm not really expecting much fade wise but have seen some really nicely faded in light blues and 13 oz indigo. Their shirting has gotten better but yeah the Made in America prices put some ppl off. The sizing is consistent but if you normally wear a large get a medium cause they are cut for Americans.

[stayhandsome]

They are also on Gilt right now but mostly sold thro!

[ipooprainbow]

I have the Indigo Super Slim, and the fit fits me great!, but I prefer button-fly, which they don't carry. 

 

I like their light blue color, it's pleasing to look at.

[ColonelAngus]

I came across Civilianaire via Instagram and just couldn't get into their stuff. the selvedge fabrics looked nice but a couple of things that ruined it completely for me were the zip fly and excessive branding. If you're going to try and charge a premium for your jeans they should have a button-fly and you absolutely shouldn't try and embelish them with unnecessary branding. Let the construction and quality of the denim speak for themselves.