Should we salvage selvedge? Or is it time you swapped the denim for a proper pair of trousers? Two of the MR PORTER team duke it out.

In our last style debate, we addressed the contentious issue of socklessness, and whether one can ever go sock free outside the confines of one’s home. Today, we’re arguing about jeans. (We don’t get out much, no.) In one corner, we have our buying manager Mr Sam Lobban – a self-confessed denim head eager to highlight the many qualities of this classic staple. Facing him is our staff writer Mr Ashley Clarke, who, quite remarkably does not own a pair of jeans (and isn’t afraid to admit it).

Mr Sam Lobban, Buying Manager, MR PORTER

When called to the defence of jeans, I was somewhat bemused; if one were to need an argument for, then presumably this meant someone out there would be arguing against jeans. A fool’s errand, surely...

Is there a man in the world that does not own a pair of jeans? They’re dependable, immune to the undulations of trends (a good-fitting slim pair of jeans are at least; I cannot also make a case for spray-on four per cent stretch “denim” nor those wide enough to fit another human in within my allotted wordcount) and if treated well they will last you a considerable amount of time.

Another question to pose: is there another item of menswear that could be deemed more iconically masculine? Think of the great menswear style icons – Mr James Dean, Mr Paul Newman, even Mr George Michael –  and images of Levi’s-clad, white-T-shirt-wearing bastions of style are conjured up. Or think of any of the great rock ’n’ rollers – Messrs Keith Richards, Axl Rose, Bruce Springsteen or Kurt Cobain – and slim-fit ripped and used denim jeans worn with leather jackets and plaid shirts spring to mind.

To me, it is this stylistic versatility of denim jeans that makes them so ubiquitous in any men’s style conversation. If you’re into tradition, then there’s the short shuttle loom selvedge (either American or Japanese) jeans from the likes of Fabric-Brand, Levi’s Vintage (Levi’s of course being the originator of modern denim, being the first to make a riveted five-pocket jean) or OrSlow, and then at the other extreme there’s the super interesting and heavily worked rock ’n’ roll style of AMIRI and Fear of God. In between all of that, A.P.C. built its entire brand on one jean back in 1987 and Acne Studios hasn’t done too bad a job of building an incredible contemporary brand out of a foundation in jeans, either. I rest my case.

Mr Ashley Clarke, Staff Writer, MR PORTER Daily

I have a confession to make: I do not own a pair of jeans. I am the very man that Mr Lobban questioned the existence of, but I am real. It’s almost embarrassing to write down, because telling someone you don’t own jeans is the kind of thing that elicits a bewildered grimace, as if you’ve just admitted to them that you like to eat slugs from the garden, or that you never watch television, only YouTube vloggers. There’s also something that seems holier-than-thou about taking this position, as though by not owning jeans I wish to elevate myself from the landscape of denim-wearing multitudes, but the pedestrian truth is that I didn’t even notice I no longer owned them until someone said (rather accusingly), “you never wear jeans!”

And it’s true – I don’t. It didn’t happen overnight, but at some point over the past two years, every pair of jeans I’ve owned has been replaced by a superior pair of trousers, and although I’m sure there are a few pairs of fertility-endangering drainpipes stuffed in the bottom of a drawer somewhere at my mum’s house (I used to listen to a lot of Panic! At the Disco), they are little more than a ghost of emo’s past.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that jeans are versatile, dependable, and all those other things that good clothes should be. Selvedge denim in particular is tough and longwearing, and won’t get ruined if you leave it scrunched up on the bedroom floor, but I’d rather pull on a pair of woven drawstring trousers or some side-striped sweatpants – there’s just something sharper about them. Plus, with the sheer variety of trouser styles (wide-legged, chinos, pleated, etc) and fabrics (twill, gabardine, seersucker, corduroy, poplin, wool, etc) available from brands such as Incotex, Craig Green and our in-house brand, Mr P., denim jeans are no longer an essential part of a man’s sartorial repertoire. This doesn’t mean I’ve ruled out jeans forever or have any real quarrel with them, but I can’t say I miss them. With so much else on offer, why would I?