• Wall Street Journal, Monday, July 6, 2009 10:37 AM

Jeans with tapered legs and narrow-peg ankles for men seemed destined to be a season's fashion when they first appeared in stores a few years ago but sales of men's skinny jeans are going strong, and mass brands Gap and Levi Strauss are getting in on the action, Ray A. Smith reports.

"Over the past several months, our men's skinny jeans styles have been among our most requested and top-selling jeans," says a Levi spokeswoman. Denim brands, retailers and men's fashion magazines have relentlessly promoted skinny jeans, but they admittedly present challenges in terms of comfort and practicality.

Levi Strauss is adding room in the seat and thigh in its newest release. True Religion adds what it calls a "four-way stretch" spandex material to jeans selling for between $172 and $398 (but it's not advertising the fact). And Gap's new "Authentic" jeans contain three-quarters of an inch more fabric in the thigh and 1½-inches more in the knee than its previous skinny jeans.

The story also links to an entertaining slideshow history of jeans.

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »