This weeks denim review of mine is going to be on A.N.D (which stands for ‘A New Denim Brand’). I introduced you to the brand late last year and interviewed the founder Sean Barron. The concept of A.N.D. was born from Sean’s appreciation of the way jeans wear in naturally. The A.N.D. team researched for over a year, collecting worn-in jeans from denim enthusiasts all over the world and studying the wear patterns. All jeans start with raw denim and while women love the look and colour of raw denim, they don’t like the stiff and uncomfortable feel. The A.N.D. team has developed a trademarked technique that takes raw untreated denim and transforms it into a soft and worn-in fabric without using water, maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the indigo dyed denim. So that’s a little bit about the brand, now onto the review.
I have the Hayden Legging in Pride Dark Street Indigo which is a 96% cotton and 4% elastane blend on 9oz denim. This jean fits into the category of 0 Wears, which I’m sure you can guess means it has the appearance of raw denim and has never been worn. This cut has around an 8.5 inch rise and a 30″ inseam. I took a size 27 in these which is my usual premium denim size and they fit me fine. They are pretty tight though, but they will give out a bit over time. I would say these are a pretty classic super skinny jean with a mid rise. The leg opening is really narrow and they are flattering all the way down. They have a little & sign on the bottom corner of the right back pocket as their trademark and they also have a leather patch on the back with the A.N.D name. A lot of attention to detail has gone into these jeans, I can tell. Even the back pocket placement is really nice. The back pockets are a little bigger/wider than I’m usually used to, but the height is great. They are angled slightly too to go with the curve of you your bum, so I find them to be quite flattering, however sometimes, depending on the angle and due to the stiffer denim, they can make your butt look a little flat. I’m pretty sure that will go after a few wears though! I’m usually always weary of new brands as I never know how they are going to fit me, but I was quite surprised by these.
If I were to compare these jeans to other legging fits from other brands, I would say they were totally different though. I’m very much used to the feeling of super soft denim against my skin now and being comfortable, but the denim on these jeans is very much like raw denim. It’s a lot thinner and it actually has quite a fair amount of stretch to it, however it feels quite stiff and rougher, like denim used to some years ago. They have a more authentic denim feel I suppose you could say, a more natural fabric. With that being said, they are still comfortable due to the stretch, but if you are looking for a super soft legging which is quite silky and gentle on the skin, these are not the ones you should choose. If you like to feel your denim and have it looking and fitting like a more natural jean, then I would definitely recommend these.
Now to the wash of these jeans, or non-wash to be more accurate. I would say these are pretty much exactly like raw denim. I’m very experienced with raw denim in general and breaking in my own pairs, so I know what it looks and feels like and even though this is a much lighter weight denim, the colour and feel is still very much the same. The dark and rich indigo colour is always a classic and it goes with pretty much anything you want to wear. I can never have a bad word to say about this colour denim. I don’t like it so much when dark blue jeans are flat in appearance, but these aren’t as they have a sheen to them which makes them have more depth and strength. I love the way they shine and look silky as you can see from the photos. It’s actually really intriguing knowing that all A.N.D jeans are not washed with water, it’s fascinating how they create their other washes.
You can find out more about A.N.D online at their website, but you can head over to Harrods and Selfridges to buy them for £240. The brand is still relatively new, having only launched for Spring/Summer 2013, so they are still pretty exclusive at the moment. I saw their new SS14 collection in London last week and it’s amazing! I can’t wait to share it with you! Just for reference, a couple of the close up photos in the gallery below show the denim as having a pink/green tint, but that was the lighting at the time. For some reason they ended up with a pink and green reflection on the sheen of the denim.
Jeans courtesy of A.N.D/opinions given are all my own.