Uniqlo vs H&M: is the pricier jean worth it?
The H&M Loose Fit Jeans (men's) runs $35; the Uniqlo Selvedge Regular Fit Jeans (men's) is $60 — about 1.7× the price ($25 more). Here's the side-by-side, and what that gap actually buys.
| H&M | Uniqlo | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $35 | $60 |
| Material | Cotton blend, ~11oz, usually with 1–2% elastane; fabric weight varies between production runs. | 13.5oz selvedge denim woven by Kaihara Mills, Japan. Sanforized (pre-shrunk). |
| Fit | Loose through thigh and calf, mid-rise. Sizing is inconsistent drop-to-drop — try in store if you can. Generous through the seat. | Regular straight, mid-rise. True to size; sits between slim and relaxed. As rigid cotton it gives almost no stretch with wear, so buy the waist you actually want. |
| Quality | Fast-fashion build. Knees and seat thin first; light hardware; the colour fades quickly regardless of care. | Honest where it counts and economical where it doesn't — flat-felled seams and solid stitching, but lighter-gauge hardware that some owners eventually replace. |
| Best for | Trend-driven outfits and throwaway rotation pairs; testing a baggy shape before buying something better made. | Anyone curious about selvedge who doesn't want to spend $200 to find out whether it's for them. |
| Care | Cold wash inside-out and line dry — the dryer visibly degrades the thin fabric within a couple of months. | Wash inside-out cold and infrequently; hang dry. Wearers chasing sharper fades go months between washes. |
This is less a fair fight than a fork in the road: H&M's $35 Loose Fit is a trend-shaped fast-fashion jean, while Uniqlo's $60 Selvedge Regular Fit is 13.5oz Kaihara Mills denim in a straight cut. The $25 gap buys a genuinely different tier of fabric — but also a completely different silhouette, so the fit you want decides as much as the money.
- The case for H&M
- The H&M is $25 cheaper, has the baggy through-thigh-and-calf shape Uniqlo's regular straight can't give you, and its 1–2% elastane makes it the more forgiving wear from day one.
- The case for Uniqlo
- The Uniqlo brings sanforized 13.5oz Japanese selvedge, flat-felled seams, and true-to-size fit — reviewers describe it as $60 for fabric that costs four times that elsewhere.
The bottom lineIs the pricier one worth it?
If you want the loose, baggy silhouette, buy the H&M and accept its terms: thinning knees and seat, fast fading, and sizing that shifts between drops — it's a disposable trend pair and priced like one. If you want jeans to actually keep, the Uniqlo is one of the clearest upgrades on this site: $25 more buys Kaihara selvedge and honest construction, with only lighter hardware as the economy. The catch is that rigid cotton gives almost no stretch and the cut sits between slim and relaxed, so it won't replicate the H&M's shape. Different jobs — pick by silhouette first, and only treat this as a price decision if a regular straight fit suits you.
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