The Pen Slim - Rilo 10.5oz Selvedge

Let me say one of the hardest part about buying jeans is the fit and look are so subjective. As a guy in his 40’s, I’ve been through it all…whitewashed jeans with tight-rolls in the 80’s as a kid, baggy boot cut jeans as a teenage, a skinny pants era during the 2000’s.

As a (somewhat) respectable adult man at this point - I was looking for something just timeless and versatile. I have never spent a third of this price on jeans before so needless to say, despite the great reviews, there was a big “gulp” when I hit “purchase”.

I’ll start buy saying I don’t even think “jeans” are fitting here. These pants are “denim”. It sounds…less casual and more fitting. The quality and the fit is just what I wanted. You can feel the thickness of the material right away, but it doesn’t have “thick” qualities like being rigid or hot. It feels soft yet durable. And that’s before I’ve even been able to live in them for a bit. The Rilo was is just what I wanted…dark and more neutral than blue without being black or totally monochrome. It’s a wash that gives texture and character but these are jeans you can still wear with a sport coat and dress up.

The pen slim fit is just great. And I’m picky with pants and jeans in particular. I’m 6’ tall but mostly legs and lean. So I’m usually looking for a 20/30 waist and at least a 34 inseam. Even then, a lot of jeans don’t give me the length I want. I like my jeans to break on my shoes or boots a bit, not ride up showing 2” of sock. This denim has a plenty of length so you can have it break on your shoes or, if you want to be a bit more formal, you can hem the ends up and they’ve got that nice little trim at the seam to make it look good.

I hate skinny jeans and how hard they are to get on and how skinny they make legs look. I also hate baggy jeans and the shapeless, loose mess they are around your butt and thighs. The pen slim fit is perfect. Just a bit of taper towards the bottom but enough room at the bottom to break neatly over a boot if you want. Fitted but comfortable at the thighs and they definitely make your butt look good and not saggy (per my gf).

All in all - I put my faith in the reviews and details and justified the price with the immense amount of wear they are gonna get - and a week in I already feel like it was totally worth it and just have to consider getting another pair in a different color/wash!

Best feel & fitting jeans

So let me first begin by saying that I love these jeans. The fit, the quality, the look, are all on point, and I would LOVE to continue buying them, but the customer service experience I have had really gives me pause.

Here’s the story:

I recently ordered eight pairs (four different styles in two sizes each) to try on and see what fit and size worked best for me. After settling on two pairs that I really liked, I went to return the remaining six pairs of jeans only to find that there is a significant restocking fee (30%) for returns of six or more items. While I think that’s a pretty steep restocking fee ($400+ in my case!), I was the one who failed to read the return policy before purchasing so it was completely my fault. However, I sent an email using the customer service link on the site asking for mercy. 48+ hours go by, and still no response so I send another email and still, no response. Finally, after nearly a week of waiting to hear back from someone, I decided reach out to their Instagram account asking for help and thankfully, they promised to connect me to someone in the customer service department. After waiting another 24+ hours I finally get a response, with instructions for how to return the jeans and avoid the 30% restocking fee. I was grateful for their understanding, and so I box up the jeans and send them back. In my mind, the case is closed and I am looking forward to a full refund.

Fast forward a few days later. I receive an email from a customer service rep informing me that one of the pairs of jeans is no longer eligible for return as they have been altered! At this point I’m in shock. What?! Apparently, according to the customer service rep, they have been hemmed and are being sent back to me with no refund. So now I am being stuck with a pair of jeans that are too big for me. I replied instantly to the email informing the rep that I did not alter the jeans (I am 6’5” and so I don’t ever have a problem with jeans being too short, in fact, quite the opposite!) but that I also understand that there’s really no way for me to prove that I didn’t, so I asked if there was some way to resolve this?

Again, no response. Nothing. No reply to my questions, just silence.

The jeans arrived at my house today, and it does indeed appear that they had been slightly hemmed. I suspect that they had already been altered when I got them and that the Kato team had failed to pick up on it, leaving me to pay the bill. I can understand that my word isn’t worth much to them when they have the “evidence” but to just be completely ignored is, in my mind, bad form.

Again, love the jeans, but the customer service experience, at least for me, was not good.

Absolutely great fit from the get go. Enough stretch to be comfy without feeling like a pair of tights. Highly recommend.

The fit was perfect and the washed look made for a relished new addition. After wearing a couple of times, it fees like an heirloom that I've had for a long time. It's the perfect combination of fit and feel. Kudos Kato!