New Jeans Claim To Soothe Skin, Fight Cellulite
By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When it comes to jeans, we've seen plenty of fads -- from carpenter to baggy, to ripped and paint-splattered. Now one company is trying to sell women on something other than the cut.
They're called Denim Spa jeans.
"Kind of like when you put lotion on your feet and then you put a pair of socks on," says Drexel Historic Costume Collection curator Clare Sauro. "It's insulating the moisture against your skin."
Sauro says the Wranglers are infused with moisturizer.
"There's apparently a version ["Smooth Legs"] that has extra skin-tightening properties," she says, "so that would work for your cellulite."
While they claim to tone your thighs, they're hip, with a skinny cut. Instead of dark or stonewash, they come in Aloe Vera and Olive Extract. But what are they like to wear?
"If they feel cooler," Sauro says, "then that's going to feel a little damp."
Lizzie Jagger, modeling these jeans in the Wrangler commercial, says they make her legs feel "silkier." But Sauro says no matter the bait...
"If they don't look good on you, you're not going to buy them."
And while Wrangler might be associated more with function than fashion, Sauro says the brand is trying to change that perception with these jeans:
"Kudos to them because the buzz for this product is very high," she says. "I don't know how successful it will be, but certainly the press images are exciting, they look great, and we're all talking about them. So, if nothing else, it's a step in a fashion-forward direction."
Vogue says the moisturizing ingredients last a couple weeks, but a spray is available to "recharge" the jeans for dozens more wears.
Wrangler's parent company, VF Corporation, didn't return our calls for comment, so it's unclear whether the Denim Spa line will be available in the United States. Launch price is the equivalent of $136 at the UK retailer asos.com.
Sauro is co-author, along with her Drexel colleague Joseph Hancock, of 'Jeans,' an upcoming book from Berg Publishers.
