Seun Lim, Blue Jean Baby Queen
By Georgia Bistolaridis

We women love our denim, but at the same time, we know that the search for the perfect pair of blue jeans is typically eternal. We have our favorites, those that accentuate our curves, narrow our curves, and lengthen our legs or those that just have a smashing style and rinse. Yet, often we find at least one flaw apart from our reason for buying these precious staples.

A perfect pair of jeans is hard to come by, so let’s be honest: is it a surprise that the only woman to successfully launch a denim line in the United States did it with an exceptional amount of pride and perfection? And who better to associate with perfect jeans than a woman herself?

Seun Lim, founder of James Jeans is made talented, then, not only by her prestigious education, which earned her a B.F.A (summa cum lauda) and an M.F.A at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but by the exceptional jeans she herself mastered; jeans that are distinguished by others with their detailed fit and studied washes.

James Jeans are characterized by their high-end, custom fitted and durable denim. We wouldn’t give James enough credit, though, if we were to say only this. The truth is that there are few denim lines which can accomplish all this, while at the same time being customized to fit all our needs. Lim grades each line of her jeans independently and not on computers like other lines do. The darted pockets on these are angled in a way that makes the backside appear smaller while a dark rinse on the inner thigh makes thighs appear smaller and the entire leg is even made to look slimmer by highlighting the denim above the knee rather than below. They’re thus body sculpting on top of fashionable and, frankly, quite hot. Every detail is carefully made to make them flattering.

Officially launched in September 2003, it can then be no wonder that these jeans became an instant sensation when their initial shipment of 1,100 pairs at Barney’s was sold within a week. This speed of sales was so outstanding that James achieved multimillion sales within three months of it being introduced. A celebrity following, which includes fashionistas like Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman and Courtney Cox (and socialites such as Emilia Fanjul Pfeifler, Patricia Herrera, Holly Dunlap (Hollywould shoes) and Plum Sykes), is glorious proof of the power of James Jeans and with all this on Lim’s side; we can only expect the quality of James Jeans to improve. That’s why we’re excited to tell you about her new “Premium” label, one with a breakthrough permanganate potassium washing technique developed by Lim herself. This wash, which creates a faded look, produces a more distinguished, handcrafted look. Whiskers surrounding the zipper area of the jeans are 3-dimensional in this new label and the richer contrast between the shading thus makes the waist appear more slimming. Add the fact that these “Premium” jeans are blended with cashmere and they’re absolutely irresistible.