On a recent quest for new jeans, I came across a very unique Italian jean company called Onvis (not Orvis). The product line at Onvis is refreshingly simple, two pairs of men’s jeans. That’s it. Both are standard 5 pocket straight leg (Think Levis 501) and made of high-end, raw, indigo-dyed, selvage denim.
*Those of you not acquainted with selvage, it is to denim what cashmere is to wool.
Despite being made of high end material and priced in Euro’s, Onvis jeans are offered at an incredible price (about $60 bucks compared to J.Crew or Banana which are easily $100+). Why the great price? For one very cool reason. Onvis considers themselves Italian denim “Passionistas.” Their business plan is to offer raw jeans at an attainable price in hopes that you’ll wear them into your own “wash.” Then, if you think they look great, write about how you made them that way and send them back to Onvis.
For each pair that sells, they’ll pay you 1 Euro, up to 5,000 Euro’s.
If they like your personal style, a limited 5,000 piece run of jeans will be made following your style and sold at premium prices. For each pair that sells, they’ll pay you 1 Euro, up to 5,000 Euro’s. Not bad for getting a pair of good looking, high quality, inexpensive jeans.
Editors Note: I’ve been wearing a pair of these the last couple months and am impressed by the attention to detail. The leather edging on the change pocket, rivet at the bottom of the fly, and tag at the bottom of the hem all add up to a very cool, clean looking pair of jeans. The bonus is that I might make some extra dough off them in the future. Be aware though that the indigo can bleed onto lighter stuff. Try not to wash these until you absolutely must.
