If there is one article of clothing that captures the spirit of America it is the blue jean. “Born” on May 20, 1873 by Levi Strauss and his business partner, Jacob Davis, the initial rendition of the blue jean was conceptualized to provide the working man with a sturdy pair of pants that would not fall apart when put to work. Surprisingly it was not so much the denim (it appears that denim was already in circulation) as the rivets that were placed at critical stress points that launched this American icon into a perpetually changing, casual, fashion statement.
In fact it was a man by the name of Calvin Klein who developed a blue jean with a fancy design on the pocket that inspired one of our founding members to get a serious job at the age of 14 because in our house if you wanted anything other than your 3rd cousin’s hand me downs or what the local department store could provide you were earning that money yourself.
There are possibly hundreds of blue jean companies…there are also as many styles and colors that have circulated (and re-circulated-believe me the skinny jean has been here before, acid wash anyone?)…needless to say we could do an entire blog just on jeans.
The good news is that there are number of brands that are made in the USA over a wide distribution of price points.
Buyer be aware with several of these companies the jeans are made in the US, however, often times the other articles of clothing (even clothes that look like jeans but don’t really have a lot of denim in them) are “imported“ which, I believe, is the term companies use when retail comes from less glamorous places (from a fashion standpoint) as opposed to Italy or France.
Also, it can be unclear if the materials are made in the USA so as you browse please check the details, we will try to update and figure this out for you. Most of the time, the companies are completely forth right with where their materials are sourced from, however, the phrase “manufacture in the USA of imported materials” is often used!! We encourage our readers to email the companies themselves if they have questions about the origin of the materials they use.
A word about selvage denim a type of denim made on old looms, known for its superior knit and self-edge that will not unravel….the last American company to make this type of denim closed its doors in 2017 (Cone Mills White Oak). Some of the companies listed below are having to source this type of denim from overseas…we have listed the source when we are able to figure it out. Some companies appear to have some stock that enables them to continue to make 100% USA jeans it is unclear what they will do when this supply runs out.
Jeans, Jeans, and More Jeans from the USA
| Name | Men, Women, kids | Location | Website | Price point | MATERIALS |
| Dearborn Denim | M and W | Chicago, IL | https://dearborndenim.us | $60-70 | 100% USA |
| Texas Jeans | M | Texas | http://www.texasjeans.com | $20-30 | 100% USA |
| Buddy’s Jeans | M | Mississippi | https://www.buddysjeans.com | $50 | 100% USA |
| Williamsburg Garment Co. | M and W | Brooklyn, NY | https://williamsburggarment.com | $149-400 | 100% USA |
| Bullet Blues | M and W | California | https://bulletbluesca.com | $170+ | 100% USA |
| Bluer Denim | M, W coming? | California | http://www.bluerdenim.com | $170+ | 100% USA |
| Gamine | W | Tiverton, RI | http://www.gamineworkwear.com | $150 | 100% USA |
| LC King | M and W (skirts) | Bristol, TN | https://lcking.com | $89-150 | 100% USA |
| Diamond Gusset Jean Co | M and W | Tenessesee | https://www.gusset.com | $70-135 | USA some denim in Mexico |
| Todd Shelton | Men | East Rutherford, NJ | https://toddshelton.com | $275 | Sewn in NJ, denim Japan |
| Bravestar Selvage | Men | Los Angeles, CA | https://bravestarselvage.com | $88-98 | USA and Japan |
| Round House | Men, boys | Shawnee, OK | https://www.round-house.com | $50-80 | 100% USA |
| Left Field NY | Men | NYC, NY | https://leftfieldnyc.com | $120-300 | USA |
| Freenote | Men | San Juan Capistrano, CA | https://freenotecloth.com | $250 | USA Sewn, denim Japan |