How much are vintage Wrangler jeans worth?

Wrangler jeans are the western pair with a W stitched on the back pocket, not Levi’s arcuate and not Lee’s lazy S. The cloth is broken twill: the diagonal of the weave reverses so the leg does not twist the way a continuous twill can. You see that break on the inside of the cuff. A current Wrangler can be broken twill too. The weave gets you to this page. The ticket and the patch do the dating. The denim-dating note in the journal is the three-brand sort. This page is the Wrangler object, its model number, and the ways it fails.

The cowboy cut people mean is often tagged 13MWZ, a button-fly jean with a leather patch. Other numbers are other cuts, including zip-fly pairs that are not that model. Blue Bell on an older patch or ticket is the company name Wrangler used. It is a reason to read the whole label, not a year by itself. A big modern leather patch on a stretch jean is current product with a current retail price. Compare used with that before you pay a vintage number for a recent label. This page will not quote a waist size. Measure, and search sold listings of the model you can read.

What to look for

The W

Stitched on the back pocket, a letter, not a double arch. Photograph both pockets. A worn-off W means you use the patch and the ticket. Do not redraw the stitch in the title. A printed W that is ink, not thread, is not this mark. Check the inside of the pocket for the thread.

Broken twill

Turn the hem. The twill line reverses direction instead of running one way, which is the usual 501 diagonal. If you cannot see the break, do not claim the cloth. A faded outside can hide it. The inside of the cuff is the place to look.

Patch, ticket, button

Leather patch at the waist on the cowboy cut, a care or size ticket, and a metal button stamped with a W. Write down 13MWZ only if it is printed. Blue Bell, if it is on the patch, gets photographed whole. A paper ticket that says a different model from the story you wanted is the model.

Fly and hem

13MWZ is a button fly. A zipper is a different Wrangler. Say which. The hem on many pairs is chain-stitched. A cut-off hem with the chain gone is altered. A blown crotch and a split outseam are the condition. Photograph them before the fade.

What moves the price

Model

13MWZ comps against 13MWZ. A regular fit, a later fashion Wrangler, and a work pant with a different number do not borrow the cowboy-cut price. If the ticket is missing, sell it as Wrangler jeans, model unidentified, and expect a weaker comp. The W alone is the brand.

Label era

Blue Bell wording, an older leather patch, and a recent woven label are different searches. The dating article is how the ticket fits next to Levi’s and Lee. Here you use that reading and then stay on the Wrangler comps. Do not average a Blue Bell pair with a new stretch pair.

Size and wear

Flat waist, rise, thigh, and inseam, in inches. The printed size on a western jean lies after washing. A hole in the seat ends the “clean cowboy cut” sentence. Repairs belong in the first line. A contest patch sewn on later is a patch, not a prize you can prove.

Alterations

A chopped leg, a taken-in waist, and a replaced button fly are altered. Collectors of the cowboy cut want the hem and the patch. Wearers may not. Name the buyer you are talking to. Do not call a raw hem original because the W is still there.

Where to sell

eBay

Wrangler, the model number, button fly or zip, waist measured, and the fault. Photos of the W, the broken twill, the patch, and the crotch. A title that says vintage Wrangler and nothing else attracts the wrong argument.

Poshmark and Depop

A wearable size with the patch readable. Read the current fee. Western-cut jeans that are a hard size still sell to the person who is that size, and to almost nobody else. Put the measurements in the listing, not only the tag.

Wear them

A common recent Wrangler in your size, under the price of new, is a successful thrift. Not every W is a 13MWZ, and not every 13MWZ is inventory. The 501 guide is the other pocket. Do not list this pair there.

What a photo can settle

Both back pockets, the W in thread, the inside of the cuff for the twill break, the leather patch, the ticket with the model number, the button fly or the zipper, and the crotch. Worth can read Wrangler from a clear patch. It cannot see broken twill in a photo of the outside fade, and it cannot turn a zip-fly pair into a 13MWZ because the W is famous.

Questions

Are all Wrangler jeans 13MWZ?

No. 13MWZ is the cowboy cut, a button-fly model. Other numbers are other fits, including zip-fly jeans. Read the ticket. The W on the pocket is the brand. The number is the pair.

What is Blue Bell on the patch?

Blue Bell is the company name on older Wrangler labels. It is a reason to read the whole patch and ticket, not a year you assign from the two words alone. Use it with the care label and the model. The denim-dating note is the habit. This page is the jean.

Does broken twill mean the jeans are old?

It means the denim was woven so the diagonal reverses, which is Wrangler’s cloth, including pairs they still make. Age comes from the patch and the ticket. A new broken-twill jean is new. Do not pay an old-jean price for a current label.