WHERE TO BUY JEANS... À LA MONTRÉAL

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If you are anything like me, the thought of shopping for new blue jeans is about appealing as licking a flagpole in the Montréal winter.

This retail resistance changed last week when I had a soul-shaking-denim-fashion-epiphany at a Blue Jean shop in my neighborhood.

Here’s how you can have your own transcendental experience…

“Jeans Jeans Jeans,” a hidden Mile End basement boutique, had been recommended by a couple of my peeps, so when my friend Pascal mentioned he needed a couple of pairs of new jeans, I suggested we check it out.

I went in fully anticipating my role as “the jean wingman,” offering up my opinion on length, color and, of course, how successfully the denim pants caress the tush – after all, isn’t finding the perfect pair of jeans really all about what they highlight? But five minutes into the mission I was in the change room with seven options for myself.

My experience was facilitated by Leroy, one of the many store employees fluent in the language of denim. I explained that I was looking for slender jeans that would not make me look too much like an angsty emo teenager, while expressing some of the difficulties I’ve had in the past (my petit arse getting lost in an oversized cotton void).  I settled on some Fidelity jeans that, if I do say so myself, have the potential to elicit some second glances.

Before leaving, I met Borys, the owner of Jeans Jeans Jeans. He has been in business for 35 years – which, in the fashion industry, is nothing to scoff at.  He’s seen the garment industry evolve, and states that his longevity is rooted in a strong commitment to customer service.  “We don’t sell jeans, we make customers,” Borys says.

So spare yourself the trauma of another blue jean shopping failure; make a point to stop here while you’re in Montréal. Just don’t expect glamour. Jeans Jeans Jeans is an unpretentious basement warehouse. You’ll get good prices and great prices.

Jeans Jeans Jeans

5575 Casgrain Av. (Corner St. Viateur)

514-279-3303

Brands: Levis, Nudie, Diesel, Fidelity, Rare, Edwins and much more.

Prices vary depending on designer and current sales.

Insider Tip: Jeans Jeans Jeans is only a couple blocks away from Le Cagibi, one of Mile End’s most fab cafés. Check out the converted cigarette dispenser in the back, that now sells arty trinkets.

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