by Amy Weitman

Created on: December 08, 2008   Last Updated: February 12, 2012

In the war of the premium denim market if you have Jerome Dahon as your commander and chief then you are guaranteed victory. Certainly, this is the case in the debate between Citizens of Humanity and Chip and Pepper. Ask anyone who makes their living in the garment industry and they will tell you the same. Citizens of Humanity easily win the battle of style, experience and quality. Furthermore, by comparing the experience of the owners of these two companies, you as a consumer will have a clearer perspective of why, personalities aside, Citizens is the leader in quality premium denim.

Everyone in the fashion industry knows Jerome Dahon. He has been a denim purist for many years beginning with in the early 1980s when he designed for Guess jeans. In the early 1990s Dahon worked for Lucky Brand jeans and brought the company to new heights. After that venture, Dahon joined with Peter Koral and Michael Glaser to start a jean company that I am sure everyone has heard of called Seven, which recently sold for 775 million dollars. After a dispute with Koral, Dahon took his more than twenty years of experience to start Citizens of Humanity. Not surprisingly, it too became a major success. Dahon's pedigree in the industry is second to none. Everyone regards him in the business as a master innovator of stretch denim and the "perfect fit."

Chip and Pepper Foster, twin brothers from Canada, have less experience with denim. These two adorable guys started their rise to fame with a Canadian cartoon show. They are loved throughout the industry but their business is struggling and their actual denim experience is limited. They arrived in LA in the early 1980s and designed some of the neon 80's street fashions that you'll hate to admit that you once wore. In the 1990s they were ahead of their times and started Golf Punk, a line of fashion forward clothes which reflected the changing face of golf. They started their denim company only six years ago and are still learning and gaining experience. Having personally met Chip and Pepper, it is hard to say anything negative about them. Honestly, they are two of the nicest guys that you'll every meet. But in keeping this debate professional and real Citizens of Humanity jeans are a superior product.

Finally, if materials (meaning the actual denim fabric, pocketing and other details) are another factor in determining the best jean then again Citizens is the clear winner. Like Chip and Pepper, Citizens makes all of their jeans cut and sewn, in Los Angeles. The tangible difference however, is that Citizens imports the highest possible quality denim from Italy, Japan and throughout Europe to create a truly premium product. Chip and Pepper prefer to use US made denim which although is still good quality is lacking in style and innovation.

In final analysis, quality and fit speak. If you look at the rear end views of the hottest celebrities and socialites today then you will see that they favor Citizens of Humanity over Chip and Pepper. This translates into greater sales and distribution. In the race of the behinds Citizens comes out ahead.

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