4S Designs 5 Pocket Denim Black

The five-pocket jean is the most settled garment in the world and there is almost nothing useful left to do to its construction, which is why the interesting decisions have moved to the cloth and the color. This is one hundred percent cotton denim, made in Italy, cut to the standard five-pocket pattern with no argument about it: two front pockets, the coin pocket inside the right one, two patch pockets behind. The whole point of leaving the pattern alone is that the pattern is right. What changes is the color, and cotton denim takes color in a specific way that no other cloth does, because the warp is dyed and the weft is not, so a denim color is never flat: it is a colored face over a paler ground, and it lightens where it wears because the dye sits on the outside of the yarn rather than through it. That is why a denim in an unexpected color is a different proposition from a twill in the same color. It will fade into something, rather than simply fading.

Why we selected it

We took this pattern in two colors and did not change anything else about it, which is the honest version of what happened. A well-cut Italian five-pocket is worth having twice if the two are genuinely different to wear, and these are.

The five-pocket is where this house is at its most restrained, and it is a useful counterweight to everything else it makes.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton denim. Made in Italy. Traditional five-pocket construction, mid rise, straight through the leg. Color: Black.

Fit notes

Sized 30, 31, 32, and 34 on the waist scale. Mid rise and straight is the most forgiving combination there is: it sits below the natural waist without sitting on the hip, and a straight leg falls from the knee rather than tapering, so it goes over a boot as easily as it goes over a shoe. Cotton denim relaxes across the first few wearings and comes back with washing.

Styling

A black jean is the flattest possible ground, which is what makes it useful here: it will take the Work Shirt – Tweed, the Wide Camp Shirt, or the Dolaman Cardigan/Coat without competing with any of them. With the Lined Buttondown Shirt/Jacket for the plainest version.

Care

Wash it inside out, cool, and rarely. Black denim loses more color in the first few washes than any other shade and it loses it fastest in hot water and a full drum. Dry away from direct heat. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The 5 Pocket Denim – Rose is the same jean in a pale pink, cotton denim at the same five-pocket construction. Everything we carry from 4S Designs is listed together.