For those of you looking to put your H&M and Zara skinnies in storage, brands like A.P.C. and Acne are a great starting point. These intro level designer brands make clean, slim-fitting jeans that hold up to everyday wear better than their aesthetically similar fast-fashion counterparts and will continue to serve as a clean palette for which to build the rest of your outfit upon.

Known for their rugged appeal, generous fit and domestic manufacturing, Americana-style denim is just as relevant today as it was during it's peak in the late aughts. These jeans looks particularly good with boots and last longer than many of their denim counterparts.

Similar to Americana styles, but with an even higher attention to detail and intricacies, Japanese takes on classic workwear denim are often some of the most coveted jeans in the market thanks to a level of handcrafted obsession rarely seen anywhere else.

While avant garde fashion is in and of itself a hard style category to break into, a solid starting point are the interesting, often black jeans favored by designers like Rick Owens and Julius. Sometimes waxed, sometimes heavily stacked, avant garde denim is virtually impossible to replicate, so buying the real thing is always your best bet.

Playing off of the hottest trends in denim (i.e. extra skinny cuts, distressing, biker details), high-end jeans are both extremely of the moment and not for the faint of wallet. Typically European in nature, from labels like Saint Laurent Paris and Balmain, these jeans can elevate outfits at any pricepoint or perfectly compliment other extreme luxury pieces.