Sweet As Wine, Complex As Denim
Premium denim is like a fine wine or a microbrew beer, according to the advocates of the luxury jeans. Each premium denim has its own point of view and nuance, but how does one explain that to consumers?
A popular answer is the denim bar, a retail concept that mixes the architecture of the saloon with the expansive knowledge of the wine critic.
Pioneering boutiques Ron Herman and American Rag CIE have opened denim bars, staffed by jeans experts. Entrepreneur Laura Fairchild would testify that the concept has worked for her.
She opened the L.A. Fairchild Denim Bar one year ago in Cardiff By The Sea, an affluent town 25 miles north of downtown San Diego. The store is responsible for more than 55 percent of the revenue from her two stores. In addition to the denim bar, Fairchild owns the women’s shop L.A. Fairchild Boutique.
“There’s so much to know about denim,” said Fairchild. “There are so many different rises, inseams and washes.” Her boutique offers 40 denim labels, with 80 styles for men and 160 styles for women.
Recently, the most popular brand was the skinny straight-leg jean for women by 1921, based in Winnipeg, Canada. It retails for $161 at Fairchild’s boutique. The retailer said that the jean works on most body types and also is popular because of the gold whip stitching on the back pocket.
Fairchild said she hopes to eventually open another denim bar. In the meantime, expect to see a lot more denim bars in the near future, according to Jeff Shafer, owner of Los Angeles–based denim label Agave. “It’s a new format for premium denim,” he said. “It’s the alternative, cool way of merchandising a store.” —Andrew Asch
