If you're shopping for that perfect pair of jeans, stop by Lawless Denim the next time you're in Phoenix. The new shopping destination, located at the CityScape center in downtown, is a high-end denim boutique that also pulls double-duty as a one-of-a-kind jean manufacturing shop.
One side of the store is a traditional retail space where you can pick up ready-made jeans, leather goods, fashion accessories (including locally made bow ties) and Wolverine boots.
The other side is a full-fledged manufacturing shop, where in-house designers create made-to-order jeans. Rows of vintage sewing machines are on display, but they aren't just there for decoration.
The shop's design team works on the machines to create custom-fit jeans using selvedge denim. Selvedge is a type of high-quality denim made in small batches on pre-World War II shuttle looms. Lawless Denim currently sources its selvedge denim from American and Japanese mills.
Lawless Denim is a new downtown Phoenix shop that specializes in made-to-order jeans. — Photo courtesy of Lawless Denim
So, how does the process of creating custom jeans work? The first step is meeting with the store designer, who will help you pick the material and fit that's most flattering to your body type. The shop carries 25 different kinds of denim that you can choose from.
Then, pick out your favorite style. Popular fits include high-rise, boot cut and boyfriend. You also get to choose your own thread colors and select a button finish.
A custom pair of jeans costs about $245, and it takes about four days to two weeks for the shop to put the finishing touches on your jeans. If you prefer a pair that's ready to wear, Lawless Denim also has a selection of jeans that you can have tailored for the best fit. Most ready-made jeans range from $85 to $180.
Lawless Denim, which is the first and only denim manufacturer in the state of Arizona, hopes that its old-fashioned approach to jean manufacturing will appeal to all kinds of shoppers. To help promote the shop, Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails - its CityScape neighbor - has created a cocktail in its honor. The Lawless cocktail features bourbon, "truck stop" bitters and wormwood liqueur, in a tobacco-smoked glass.
As if that weren't impressive enough, the shop has big plans for 2014. Lawless Denim plans on introducing shuttle looms into its production process to produce duck canvas, chambray and its own selvedge denim, which would make it the only major manufacturer of selvedge denim west of the Mississippi River. Not bad for a small boutique in downtown Phoenix.
