With Brands You Won’t Find Elsewhere In Town And A Legit Passion For Jeans, Deep Ellum Denim Is Just The Right Fit In The Dallas Retail Scene.
I know this is going to sound like a petty problem, but being a denim-loving dude in Dallas is surprisingly tough.
For one thing, very few places that carry high-quality brands beyond Levi’s. And, even if you find a store with the good stuff, it’s a bit of crap shoot that the staff there will be knowledgeable about the brands it carries and the ways they fit.
It can all add up to a waste of time — enough, even, to make a guy want to take his bucks to an online store. But with the intricacies of raw denim (fabrics shrinking after washes, just for starters) that can often end up a guessing game.
So what’s a Dallas denim head to do? Not much, historically. But a new company called Deep Ellum Denim hopes to change all that.
Started by Bennie Reed and Jeff Kauffman, the store aims to fill a gap sorely needed in Dallas’ high-quality denim space by providing not only a wide selection of brands usually reserved to niche online stores, but also by giving a unique retail experience where the search of the perfect pair of jeans stops being such a headache.
Walking into their store at 2803 Taylor Street, it’s clear that this pair knows how to curate stock. What their spot lacks in square footage and volume, they more than make up for in quality, stocking brands from the low-key Unbranded and the eccentric Naked & Famous to the coveted Momotaro and Japan Blue brands you’re not likely to find elsewhere in town.
Speaking to the two friends, it’s easy to see why they got into this business. Their enthusiasm when talking about the unique features of each brand they carry — from the manufacturing to the color of the stitching — is just infectious as hell. Honestly, I could’ve spent an entire afternoon just talking about the denim process with them, from cotton it’s made out of and on to final product.
Seasoned denim heads, Reed and Kauffman aren’t just passionate about their craft, but honest about it. Like any good Texans, they know that wearing jeans in the summer heat can be brutal here — but they’ve even got that angle figured out, which is why they only stock jeans that weigh 13 ounces or lighter. And to ensure that the jeans they sell you actually, y’know, fit, they work hand in hand with their Deep Ellum neighbor, Petit Atelier co-founder and tailor Michael Crigger, to get just the proper hem on their offerings.
It’s a jean-shopping experience unlike any other you’ll find in Dallas.
And thank goodness for that. It’s been a long time coming, really.
Cover photo via Deep Ellum Denim’s Facebook page.