APC
Originally Published September 29, 2008 on New2NYC.org
Everything seems to start out as a simple little idea. Then, before you know it, it’s turns into some big deal with lots of flash and bang. Take New York City for example. A few hundred years ago, it was nothing but a little farming community lead by a guy with a wooden leg. Today, it is the greatest city in the world, with the best museums, theaters, dining and entertainment to be found anywhere. How about a simple thing like blue jeans? Initially, they were simply sturdy trousers worn by prospectors during the California Gold rush. These days, blue jeans are a cornerstone of American Fashion and come in all shapes and sizes.
Leave it to the French to take a simple thing like the blue jean and make it haute couture. The Soho boutique A.P.C. (www.apc.fr) did just that. With its creaky wood floors and excellent customer services you can expect to find boutique styles (and prices) for men, women and children, including shoes, bags and t-shirts. However, it’s their denim that draws the masses to their door.
If you’re anything like the vast majority of blue jean shoppers, you have no idea what style looks best on you. You hear words like relaxed, straight, loose, boot cut– it’s like a combination lock, but you’re not sure what the right sequence is. How do you show off you’re best assets and hide the muffin top? Leave it to the sales team at A.P.C. They have been known to spend upwards of an hour with customers while they try on pair after pair looking for that elusive perfect fit. And they do mean perfect fit: at A.P.C it’s not a matter of whether the jeans are high or low-rise, these jeans find the ideal place on everyone’s waist – you’ll think it’s magic.
If you’re a woman and you never find jeans that you like, then the thing you’ll enjoy about the jeans at A.P.C. is the fit. Unlike the majority of woman’s jeans out there, which are made with Lycra, the women’s jeans at A.P.C. are made of the same premium rigid cotton that many of the finest men’s jeans (including A.P.C.’s) are made from.
The jeans are raw and unwashed before you buy them, so don’t expect to find the “worn in” look here. Instead, you’ll find a rich indigo color pair that may seem rather stiff to you when you first try them on. This is done on purpose because each pair of jeans is designed to mold to your specific body type over time.
They are very serious about their jeans at A.P.C. So serious in fact that they provide several cleaning care recipes to follow: the Extremist Recipe, the Semi-Extremist Recipe, the Machine Wash and the Saltwater Recipe. Each is designed to keep your jeans in wearable condition for upwards of 10 years! To give you a idea of what the extremist recipe is, it entails wearing the jeans until they are as dirty as you can stand it, then dry cleaning them. After that, you’ll let them get as dirty as possible again before soaking them for about an hour in water using a special dark laundry detergent, rinsing them, then rolling them in a terry cloth towel,until finally hanging them up to dry…there is no kidding around here, this serious stuff!
A.P.C. is located at 131 Mercer Street in Soho. Call the store at (212) 966-0069 for hours of operation.