Lee Jeans

Founded in 1889 as the Lee Mercantile Company in the small Kansas town of Salina, Lee quickly got into the dungaree business and by the early 1920s, the brand had introduced some new innovations to denim—most notably the zipper fly. The 101 style was the pair that debuted that fateful fly and over the years, the jean has evolved slightly but stayed true to its simplicity. This archival design for a trim, tapered version of the 101 was based on a fit created for a rodeo champ in the 1940s. Crafted with the menswear team at J.Crew, this pair is cut from 12 ¾-oz. left-hand twill (a softer denim that wears in easily) and is finished with vintage details like thread X bar-tacks on the spade-shaped back pockets and low-profile metal rivets on the front pockets. The result is a pair of jeans that's firmly grounded in the qualities of the past with a fit and feel ideal for today.