So what would happen if two of the faces behind some of the biggest, most influentional denim companies of all time got together and made jean babies?  Enter Rich & Skinny with an explosion of color!  That’s sort of their thing….. 

Michael Glasser, genius designer and co-founder of both Seven For All Mankind and  Citizens Of Humanity (still two of my personal favorites) teamed up with Joie Rucker founder and designer of Joie Jeans and former Vice President of design for both Guess and Levi’s launched the brand about 2 years ago.  Feeling somewhat uninspired by the boring sea of blues out there, they wanted to breathe new life into the denim market.  With over 50 years of experience in the denim industry between them, they managed to do just that!  Celebrities are absolutely smitten with this line and have been spotted all over the streets of New York and LA rockin’ them in various styles and colors.  The “recently spotted” list reads like a who’s who: Katie Holmes, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Duff, Cameron Diaz, Blake Lively, Jessica Alba, and Beyonce just to name-drop a few…

Rucker and Glasser are focused on the highest quality materials and workmenship, making every pair right here in the USA.  One of the best things about these jeans has got to be the silk lined waist band!  This may seem like a small detail, but for someone with very sensitive skin who is always irritated by those pesky tags along the inner waist line, this is huge!!   It’s just another one of those unique details that makes this brand stand out from the crowd. 

Wondering how they came up with the name?  After hours of brainstorming, Joie finally asked herself, “How does someone want to feel when they pull on their favorite pair of jeans?”  Her answer?  Rich and skinny.  

Says Joie, “We want to make people feel good. We want people to put on a smile when they put on our jeans.”

The line retails from around $145 to $218.  Don’t worry though, you don’t have to be rich or skinny to snag yourself a pair of these amazingly comfy and uber stylish jeans.  They’ve got plenty of cuts, finishes and fits for nearly every body type.  Recent additions have expanded their line to include three different Men’s jeans (James is coveting the Chill style in Ace Vintage), and two red hot Boyfriend style women’s jeans.

In a final nod to the innovative nature of the Rich and Skinny brand: they have one of the best websites we’ve ever seen.  The Flash-based site explores the Lifestyles of the Rich and Skinny, a fully interactive California house populated by a tawdry family, their Russian slut maid, the Latin Poolboy and a french poodle named Chester.  Click on different rooms within the house to see what happens inside or click the pictures of each person to watch a very well produced webisode about that character’s story.  

This isn’t some corny lonelygirl15 horsecrap, this is about as entertaining as marketing can get.  (Insider tip: There are some hilarious snippets to watch, and one of the rooms even has a PG-13 rated Kardashian/Hilton-style videotape hidden somewhere inside.) 

Once you’re done reading the character blogs and have explored all the rooms, click the “shop” link and you’re brought to the fully interactive jeans showroom.  Each style is individually modeled in full-motion video so you can get a solid look at the pants in action from front to B-A-double-C-K.

We hope other brands can learn from these two and remember to keep fashion fun.  It’s obvious that they’re building something they intend to last, people just trying to make a buck don’t put this much effort into it.  

www.richandskinnyjeans.com