GOOD JEAN FOR BAD TIMES i know everyone is cutting back on spending

After a two-year overhaul by creative director Patrick Robinson, Gap relaunched 1969, its "premium" denim line, as a basics offering—a smart move, given that basics are what the brand has always done best. A five-pocket pair was minimally adorned: no logos to mention, silver rivets, with a single blue rivet on the coin pocket as the only branding. The revelation was the material itself, a medium-weight raw denim with a white selvage edge, and the fits, which have been updated with more contemporary shapes. (The pair above is called the Skinny, though it bears noting that Gap skinny and Cheap Monday skinny are two different things entirely.) So how much do they cost? Get this: Less than $60. Somewhere, Jean Touitou is frowning.