For a while there, the best raw denim jeans seems destined to remain a footnote in menswear—or is it #menswear?—history. See, if you’ve shopped for jeans recently, you’ve probably encountered some terrific washes. Light washes, medium washes, uneven washes, washes with whiskers, washes with trompe-l’oeil prints, you name it. You’re not imagining it: since they height of the raw denim craze in the 2010s, we’ve entered something of a washed denim golden era, an equal and opposite reaction GQ clocked as early as January of 2023.
More recently, though, you might’ve also noticed that jeans have been getting a little bit darker again, and that the raw, deep-blue denim of decades past has made a triumphant return, just in time to keep your legs warm this winter. (For those of you who say selvedge never left, you’re right—plenty of people stuck by it during the down years, but die-hard loyalist are never the most accurate bellwether of mainstream ubiquity.)
When it comes to the brands doing ’em justice, the old guard is still crushing it, but we’ve also been delighted to see new names sidle into the arena, bringing roomier silhouettes and unexpected references along with them. So to help you sort the wheat from the chaff, we went deep on the absolute best raw denim jeans on the market right now, from the mass-market standbys to the true-blue Japanese grails. Take it from a gang of menswear nerds with an unhealthy amount of experience breaking in denim of all shapes and sizes—start wearing them today, and you’ll enjoy sick fades by spring.
The Best Raw Denim Jeans, According to GQ
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Best Raw Jeans Overall: Levi’s 501 Original Fit Selvedge Jeans
Half the fun of owning a pair of raw denim is what happens to that raw denim over time. And while some smaller brands work with fabrics that can yield amazing results, they can also be a bit unpredictable. 501s, on the other hand, are tried and true, with 150 years of consistently great fades and fit-dialing R&D backing up a pedigree that will probably never be matched.
Best Budget Raw Jeans: Uniqlo Selvedge Straight Jeans
We won’t bury the lede: Uniqlo’s original selvedge bargain is still $50, which remains the most reasonable price any of us has ever seen for raw slacks. The only thing that’s changed, really, is that $50 is even more impressive now, especially when you consider what you’re getting: a straight leg pair of jeans made with 100% cotton selvedge denim, primed to wear in beautifully, complete with metal hardware and, somehow, inflation-proof.
Best Upgrade Raw Jeans: Buck Mason Selvedge Full-Saddle Jeans
Buck Mason might not be known for its jeans, but the brand absolutely has a right to be. For instance, these Full-Saddle jeans are made with a 14 oz. Japanese shuttle-loomed, unsanforized selvedge denim, rinsed to eliminate a bit of shrink, which will wear nicely year-round. They’re also cut with a higher rise and a straight leg that when paired with the texture of the denim gives them a decidedly vintage feel. Simply put: If you still think of Buck Mason as a t-shirt brand, you’re missing out on some of the best wardrobe workhorses in the biz.
Best Raw Jeans for Menswear Guys: 3sixteen RS-100x Relaxed Straight Fit Jeans
3sixteen has been on an absolute tear the last few years—just go check out their boots, or the shearling bomber that sold out in about three seconds—but regardless of how wide they cast their net, the denim stays the decider. We’re partial to the RS-100x relaxed straight fit, which is made with the same proprietary 100x raw indigo selvedge denim the brand has been using for the last 15 years, and has a nice roomy leg, an easy break-in period, and one of the best indigo hues you’ll find anywhere in the world. (These sell out with vexing regularity, but they also restock fairly consistently.)
Best Raw Jeans for Denimheads: Iron Heart 634s-18 Vintage Denim Jeans
These aren’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking to cannonball into the deep end of raw denim, behold your diving board. They’re cut straight (sense a theme?), with hidden rivets, and they’re made in Japan from a “vintage style” 18 oz. indigo-dyed denim, but one that’s woven a little looser so as to breathe better than other 18 oz. fabrics. (And when you’ve fully given yourself over to the raw denim lifestyle by June, you’ll be grateful for that airflow.)
Best Raw Jeans for This Particular Writer: OrSlow 101 Super Dad Straight-Leg Jeans
The only pair on this list that isn’t made with selvedge denim AND has been rinsed, these get the pass because they just so happen to be some of the best-fitting jeans I’ve ever owned. Not too baggy, not remotely slim, a perfectly-weighted fabric for year-round wear and expertly-made in Japan by some of the best currently doing it, which is why I spent a year impatiently waiting for them to make this style in a raw or rinsed iteration. I’m not sure I’ve ever hit “Add to Cart” so quickly in my life, and they’re somehow better than I had hoped.
More Raw Denim Jeans We Love
Kapital Slim-Fit Crochet-Trimmed Jeans
Fullcount 0105SSW 11.5 oz. Wide Straight Jeans
Wrangler Rigid Cowboy Cut Original Fit Jeans
Warehouse Lot 1001xx(1000xx) 1947 Model Denim Jeans
Left Field NYC Smokestack 11.5 oz. Jelt Denim Jeans
What to Look for in a Great Pair of Raw Denim Jeans
Ideally, we’re looking for 100% cotton jeans with a decent weight—at a minimum, 11-ounce fabric, though a heavyweight 13-14 ounce is nice, too. Preferably, you’re also getting the selvedge cut of that fabric—meaning the jeans have their own, tightly-finished edges that won’t fray—although that part isn’t required. And this list is all-cotton for two reasons: the fabric lasts longer and ages better. Finally, the richest-looking fabrics tend to use indigo dyes, which produce incredible fades, but can also bleed onto surfaces (leather couch owners, beware).
You also won’t find many skinny jeans in this guide, but that doesn’t mean that the brands we included don’t make a slimmer cut with the same attention to detail or high-quality materials. In fact, just about every one does, if something looks a little too loose (or tight) for your liking.
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)
