Twenty-one-year-old Drexel fashion student Elissa DeFranceschi thrifts vintage denim, then paints the jackets, jeans and overalls she finds with delicate faces, crawling flowers, pastel shapes, and Expressionism-inspired scenes. Read More »
Each pair of jeans here has a little something special. Asbury Park Clothing Company’s options have Springsteen-rocker flair (Alice Cooper’s a fan); Williamsburg Garment Company’s raw versions are exclusive to this shop; and the ones from DU/ER are stretchy and breathable — bike commuters, take note. Read More »
124 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-238-0825 | Website
Helmed by a Commonwealth Proper veteran, this Fishtown-based made-to-order denim line (mainly online, but now with a showroom inside men’s shop Franklin & Poe) boasts the same attention to detail—custom fabric, thread and hardware—as your favorite three-piece suit. Read More »
These experts have been quietly rescuing sad, worn-out denim for nearly two decades now, patching holes, reinforcing weaknesses and adjusting hems on whatever pair of jeans you can’t live without this very moment. (Though the better-kept secret might be that they also do bras and bathing suits!) Read More »
Multiple locations Website
Jean-hunting can be a fraught endeavor. To up our odds of walking out of a store happy, we head right to TSH, which has a bountiful selection of both designers (Mother, Current/Elliott, Frame) and styles (skinny, boyfriend, flare), plus a helpful staff to guide us through them all. Read More »
153 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-925-5455 | Website
The jeans that come from this small Kensington company are of the thickest Japanese and American selvage denim, with hand-hammered rivets, custom stitching, house-embossed leather patches, and cuts that can be tailored to you. Make an appointment to visit the studio; you'll never go back to Levi's again. Read More »
150 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Studio 301, Philadelphia, PA | 267-908-4694 | Website
Sidle up to the bar yes, an actual bar and take in what lies before you: a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall matrix of drool-worthy designer denim from Hudson, Diesel, True Religion and more. Try on as many styles as youd like, but default to the staff their specialty is eyeing you up and down (in the nicest way possible, of course) and finding the perfect fit. Read More »
53 West State Street, Doylestown, PA | 215-348-8250 | Website
What we want when we set out to buy jeans is a store that carries a bajillion brands and a staff that will tell us, for real, which of them do and do not look so hot on our butts. Check and check. Read More »
47 Saint Georges Road, Ardmore, PA | 610-649-3419 | Website
Where they can make even the squarest of pegs fit into the roundest of holes. Read More »
233-237 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-923-9681
To look at this place, crammed floor-to-ceiling with tie-dye tunics and acid-wash jeggings and to look at her, a size-zero twinkie with perfect hair and makeup you wouldn't suspect First Impressions of having exactly the pair of Current/Elliott, Vince or Joe's everyone wants right now, or Fantacone of being able to fit them exactly to your not-size-zero body. But it does, and she can. Believe us: The first pair she picks will be the one you buy. Read More »
470 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill, PA | 610-828-6775