Bro, I used to be into following designer denim trends. Never could buy much though because who wants to pay over 100 bucks a pair for denim all the time?
If you are dead set on brand name denim but want a deal, hit up Marshalls or other bargain stores. I know someone who scored a nice pair of 7s there once. You can also check out fashion type blogs or forums like hypebeast, styleforum, or superfuture. Those are good places to talk fashion and get advice.
Youd be surprised how much men can get into talking about clothes. Youd be surprised how much guys care about looking good. Some of these cats have closets full of nice shoes, and not just collections of sneakers. I mean all kinds of shoes and boots.
Back to jeans...some of these guys really love their raw denim. Some wont wet wash them for weeks at a type. And even when they do a wet wash, many do a bath tub wash with castile soap then hang dry. Washing machines and detergent can be more harsh on jeans. Plus for the money some of these dudes spend (over 200 a pair) it makes sense they are careful washing.
Many clean their jeans themselves without water in order to preserve the indigo. Plus once you finally wash em, the jeans have awesome honeycomb patterns behind the knees...as well as custom fades where your keys and wallets usually go. I think that sh!t looks good with a fresh white tee and some nice Clarks on your feet.
And there's a shrink-to-fit crew too. These dudes will sit in a hot tub in their new jeans so they shrink the right fit to their body. Fit and look is that important to some of these cats.
Anyways, I never had a lot of cash to throw at denim, so I mainly stuck to Levi's and Cheap Monday. My favorite pair of jeans ever were a pair of Levi's 511 blue jeans. I wore those things OUT. They were my main pair at least 3 days out of the week for like almost 2 years before the crotch wore out. And I did everything in those jeans. Best 45 bucks I ever spent.
So Id say if youre on a budget, go for a slim fit Levi's and look at their shrink-to-fit style too. Raw Levi's denim can be a very good buy. If you must go for higher end, check out the earlier mentioned forums and youll be directed towards the good stuff. I highly recommend Samurai selvage denim jeans, made in Japan. They are pricey though.