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It should come as no shock that the ’90s are back. Grungy TV, an unhealthy obsession with basketball and, perhaps most relevantly, the return of Denzel-esque streetstyle (leather jackets, blazers with jeans, and of course, the band tee) are all telltale signs of the decade’s current prominence. But less perceived is a certain renaissance that’s come along with this decade’s oldhead comedian fascination. So we’d like to take this moment and be the first to welcome back (of all things) men’s mall brand jeans.
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Free those quads, starting at just $40To be clear, we’re not suggesting that the Great American Mall itself is due for a comeback. But there are a few brands, names you surely recognize, from The Gap to Abercrombie and Fitch, who have weathered the great shuttering and revolutionized themselves into the menswear players of today. Some have fully turned to new designs and eighty-sixed unfriendly practices while others have stayed tried and true to proven methods. All of them are making killer men’s denim that we can’t get enough off.
To help you secure the perfect pair you were wearing the exact moment you peaked, we’ve rounded up five men’s mall brand jeans currently having a moment, and we’ve highlighted each — along with some seminal styles — to check out below. Crank the Nirvana, whip out the credit card and get reading.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Leading the mall brand renaissance is Abercrombie and Fitch. Once a bastion of the taut polo, A&F has ditched elitest prep and graduated into an affordable basics brand more akin to a modern retailer like Everlane or Buck Mason, albeit with a trendier selection of cuts and constant sales on goodies from swolos to lightweight jackets. In recent months, the brand has leaned heavily into the ’90s aesthetic, offering a slew of workwear-informed and baggy styles that should pair perfectly with your ratty old Pavement tee. Their lightweight loose jean is an instant warm-weather classic — and a reminder that this summer should be as wild as ’96.
Banana Republic
Is Banana Republic…cool now? We didn’t think we’d ever live to see the day, but indeed, a calculated rebrand (hello, Banana Serif) and shift towards casualwear has seen the retail’s clout skyrocket to pre-recession levels, spurred on by TikTokers who definitely don’t remember the era of skinny dress shirts and skinnier chinos. Their denim is shockingly solid, too — with affordable selvedge options and looser, straight-fitting cuts, we might just find within ourselves to slip into a little BR this summer.
Gap
Gap’s ties to both the OG mall scene and the OG button-fly straight-fit denim are indisputable, and while the first may be gone for good, you can’t kill a classic pair of jeans, baby! The retailer recently reintroduced a slightly tweaked version of their seminal ’90s style, and we can attest that they’re still just as good.
J.Crew
J.Crew’s return to form after a 2010s slump is something incredible to behold: in a few short years, the bread-and-butter mall brand has been converted from a boring prep-dump to a serious sartorial player by a revamped modern menswear ethos and new leadership under Noah founder Brendon Babenzian. The latest spring collection borrows heavily from the rampant ’90s trend, with maximalist cuts and workwear-adjacent pants to feast on. Even better, the jeans stay perpetually on sale; just look, an extra 30% off right this instant!
Levi’s
The malliest of all the mall brands, Levi’s and their many fits were a household name long before the rise of the super shopping center, and have remained one long after its fall. That being said, the brand was still readily available in many a mall, and offers the prerequisite ’90s styles to quality for this list. Levi’s stay straight fit for life.
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