1. Raleigh is about the old and the new.
Founders Victor Lytvinenko and Sarah Yarborough built their own factory in North Carolina and filled it with old school manufacturing machines — including a Union Special (the first machine ever made specifically for hemming denim jeans), and a three thread Reece buttonhole machine from the 1940s — which means that each pair has the construction value of those jeans your Grandpa wore for 30 years, but the modern detailing and fit you’d expect from a boutique brand today.
2. The fabrics come from an American icon.
The denim comes from Cone Mills (the famed American mill) in Greensboro North Carolina, but Raleigh’s fabrics are exclusively designed for them so no other company has ‘em. Raleigh’s signature denim is a little darker and blacker in its raw state, and breaks in to a greener cast.
3. They’re hand-crafted.
Each pair of jeans is individually numbered and signed by Victor, Sarah, or one of their 13 jeansmiths — Raleigh’s highly skilled denim experts who are well versed in every stage of the production process. Everything is done by hand, on vintage machines — the old school way — meaning a much higher quality jean can be produced than in the larger industrial factories.
4. The brand has a sense of humor.
Take a closer look at the inside pocket — it features an x-ray print of your hip joint that lines up perfectly with your bones when you’re wearing the jeans.
5. You can’t put a price on experience.
Raleigh’s pattern maker Christel Elsberg was one of Levi’s top pattern makers in the 1960s. She comes to work every day at 8:30, and leaves at 12 noon on the dot. Oh, and Christel’s going to be 80 years old in a couple of weeks.
6. The cool kids love ‘em.
The brand has a number of celebrity fans, including J. Cole, who wears Raleigh jeans on the cover of his first album, The National, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and even Harry Potter himself, Mister Daniel Radcliffe.