They're finally here. The Slim Slack. It's been a year long process in the making, learning everything we can about denim design and production from start to finish. We went through several rounds of testing, first on our employees and then had you, the customer, kindly test them out and give us your invaluable insight and feedback in the Slim Slack study. There was some squabbling over which colors to dye them (Forest! Fluorescent Yellow! Mustard!). Major tweaking and adjustments made to get the fit and feel we were looking for. Some hurdles with getting our hands on the fabric of the best quality and definitely (excuse-the-pun) slacking on our part getting everything just right.

Thanks to everyone for being so patient and keeping up with us (and in check). All that work and time paid off and now we're proud to roll out our first official Unisex Slim Slack in our online store. Currently, they're on the US Online Store only (sorry, international friends, we're getting there) and available in three colors: White, Navy/White, and Almost Black. And more to come.

We know that we've been lame about the Slim Slacks. We're having problems getting denim in the quality and quantity that we need, and we apologize for the delays. Some good news however; we have just finished another limited run of them in some unusual colors. They'll be available in Rust, Slate, Bright Purple, and Almost Black. In addition to the online store, we'll be shipping them to the following retail locations:

Keep your eyes peeled, they will be going out over the next few days.

The Slim Slacks are officially SOLD OUT, and in some cases, oversold. We are removing them from the online store. BUT, if you didnt get your pair of fluorescent yellows, you may still have a super slim chance. We're going to search the 7 floors of the AA factory high and low for stragglers that may have been misplaced, extra samples used for photo shoots, and anything else that resembles an overdyed Slim Slack and repost them with the exact quantities tomorrow.

The Dark Peacocks and the Almost Blacks are flying out the door, but the Fluorescent Yellows...not so much. Where are all you people who voted for Fluorescent Yellow in the poll and then whined when it didn't win? And I quote:

"Fluorescent yellow sounds so...exciting."
"flouro yellow would be so amazing..."
"fluorescent yellow[!!]"
"Fluorescent Yellow"
"omg. what happened to fluorescent yellow??!?"

This is your one and only chance to get Fluorescent Yellow slim slacks -- these will NOT be in the final run. So hop to it!

Now available: Bright Purple! We've also added a few sizes to the mix, so if you weren't able to find your fav color in your size, you may want to check again.

These are going super fast, kids, so get yours now.

Boys and girls!

As promised, the special little batch of the Unisex Slim Slacks are up in the online store. Right now, they're available in 4 fab colors: Almost Black, Dark Peacock (which Spence and I are drooling over), Fluorescent Yellow, and Poppy.

Remember, these are an online exclusive and a limited time, one-time- only deal. Once they're gone, that's it!

(If you were one of the lucky ones who snagged a pre-production pair with the Slim Slack Survey, the discount doesn't apply here as these aren't the final product..which is coming soon.)

Get 'em while you can!!

Remember a few posts back when we decided that we were going to go back to the piece dyeing method (where we dye the fabric, then sew the garment) vs. garment dyeing (where we dye the already sewn garment)? Confusing, I know. We decided to not go with garment dyeing because the dye bath lent a sort of soft, vintagey feel to the Slim Slacks that we liked, but didn't feel completely kosher about. We want you to buy our stuff brand crispy new, and wash and wear it in. Not that the garment dyed slacks are all whiskered and mud-butted up, but they are softer and more broken in than the real forthcoming Slim Slack.

In the meantime of all this back and forth, a little batch of PFD (prepared for dying) Slim Slacks were made up, and we weren't entirely sure what to do with them. Even though PFD isn't the way we're gonna go for good, we're certainly not ones to waste.

So this is what we've decided. We're taking these PFD jeans and throwing them in a one-time-only color dye bath just for you. We'll be using some of the runners up from the last color vote you made and throwing in a few of our own crazy dream jean colors.

These will be sold exclusively online and will never, ever be produced again. This is the garment that you can show to your kids and say "Yeah, I remember back in '06 when American Apparel was a new company and they accidentally made these crazy purple jeans and I was totally one of the first and only people who got a pair! Now, they are yours, young son. Wear them wisely." Or something like that.

This special version of the Slim Slacks will be coming to the web store real soon, like in a few days. We'll post again when they're up so you can be the first to get the chance to grab a pair. Stay tuuuuned!

As you know, this is our first jean, which is a really big deal for a company that manufactures everything in house. Remember - we don't just call up China and say "Hey, send us 10,000 pairs of your tightest jeans cause that's what's trendy right now!" We're basically starting an entirely new business. We have to actually learn about the jean-making process from the ground up, and design something that we think will be sustainable.

There are about 80 people directly involved in the manufacturing process, from design to fabric planning and from cutting and sewing to marketing. We've gotta make a jean that I can like, that you can like, and that won't pop in and out of style in a few months, which would kill our production process. Don't forget, it's taken us almost a year of planning, training and experimenting to get this far! So many of us have taken fashion for granted, but manufacturing new items is far from an overnight endeavor.

I know, I know. That doesn't change the fact that you still want your skinny-to-the-ankles, sprayed-on legging jeans. I know they're hot. I'm wearing a pair from H&M right now. However, I am here to say that The Slim Slack is just not that product. Look at it this way. This is our 501. It's unisex. The rise is not low, but not ultra high either. The zipper is sturdy. The sewing is spot on. We're paying attention to the details of manufacturing, making sure we're putting out a good product that you will be able to wear this season, and three seasons from now. And if you want to get into trends, into innovativeness, we are the first ones (this time around!) to do jeans in every color except denim blue.

So, if you want tight tight tight, low low low jeans right right right now, they're out there in abundance from $30 to $200. No hard feelings if you don't get them from us.

BUT BUT BUT - Once we lock it down, once we're making the best basic jean we can make, watch out! We can take this jean thing as far as we took T-shirts. Hello, high-waisted!

In between design and color suggestions for the Slim Slack, we've heard a few people grumble about the $74 price tag. We've taken this feedback to heart and we're lowering the price to $68.

Anyone who bought a pair at $74 is encouraged to take their original receipt to any American Apparel store to get a refund for the difference.

And for those of you yet to get your pair - keep an eye out to make sure you're getting the correct, lower price at the register.

The best part is, since we're enlarging the pockets of the slacks, you'll have a place to comfortably keep that extra six bucks.

Mustard Yellow! Forest! Navy!

Making our complete color set: Red, Royal, Silver, Asphalt, Creme, Dark Brown, Black, Mustard Yellow, Forest, and Navy.

Though voting is officially over, you can still fantasize about what other colors you'd like to see in the future. (I'm personally still pulling for hot pink.)

There's only one day left to get in your votes for our three final Slim Slack colors. All votes must be received by this Friday, October 27 at 6pm PST.

So far, Mustard Yellow, Forest, and Navy are enjoying a substantial lead.

We've taken a look at your survey feedback and found a few recurring comments:

"The pockets could be a little deeper."

"The pockets are a little small."

"You need to make them longer!"

"I think it would be great if they were all two to three inches longer."

Well, we hear you, and we agree. In response, we're lengthening the pants to an all-around 34 inseam, deepening the front pockets, and enlarging the back pockets to fit bigger wallets.

We've also heard from a lot of people who would like us to offer different lengths but, unfortunately, we just don't have the capacity to do that right now. We'll be looking into that in the future.

Keep that feedback coming our way.

Well, we've decided to go back to the piece dyeing method we mentioned in our second post. Turns out garment dyeing was not, actually, a better way to dye. At least not for this venture; we didn't like the faux vintage-y look we were getting.

We're also busy trying to decide on our initial color roll out. While we'd love to make a pair in each color you've suggested, we're limited to 10 for the first run.

The first seven are confirmed (Red, Royal, Silver, Asphalt, Creme, Dark Brown, and Black) but we can't decide on the last three.

Help us choose by leaving a comment with your top three picks from these choices: Purple, Mustard Yellow, Mauve, Fluorescent Yellow, Evergreen, Forest, Navy.

(Note: Official voting ended Friday, October 27 at 6pm PST but you're still welcome to leave your two cents.)

The much-anticipated pre-production slacks have now reached their final destinations. And the stores are...

Amsterdam - Noordermarkt
Berlin - Berlin
Chicago - Wicker Park
Frankfurt - Frankfurt
London - Carnaby
London - Portobello
London - Shoreditch
Los Angeles - Echo Park
Los Angeles - Santa Monica
Montreal - St-Laurent
New York - Chelsea
New York - Noho
New York - Williamsburg
Paris - Beaurepaire
Paris - Marche St-Honore
Philadelphia - Walnut Street
San Francisco - Haight Ashbury
Seoul - Myungdong
Zurich - Zurich

When you get yours, don't forget to save your tag so you can fill out our survey and get 25% off your next pair (or pairs) of slim slacks.

If you don't live in any of these cities -- not to fear! The final slacks will be coming to your local store in the next few months.

Here's some more pics from the Echo Park store, of Patricia trying on the pre-production Slim Slack for the first time.

So here's a couple of pics of the pre-production Slim Slacks arriving in the Echo Park store. These three pairs aren't going on sale yet, but the store, our very first, is marking it's third anniversary Thursday with a fashion show, and we couldn't put one on without including our new denim treats. If you are in L.A., swing by Echo Park tomorrow. We're having free gifts and a Pinata. Everyone loves a Pinata!

I took a few pictures of AA employees Dora (the smiley blonde), Hugh (the other smiley blonde), and Kelley (the extra smiley brunette) wearing their new favorite pants. Here's a teaser, but if you want to see more angles of the, uh, Slim Slacks, check out the slideshow on the American Apparel main page or the Gallery, where they're exposed in their full glory.

In case you're wondering, Dora is wearing a new sample of our fatty striped tee (coming soon) with asphalt Slim Slacks, size 27. Hugh is wearing our Melange Jersey Tank, an Interlock Cardigan, which is in stores and should be online soon, with silver Slim Slacks, size 31, and Kelley is in a 2x1 Rib U-Neck Tank and red Slim Slacks, size 27.

More exciting news and photos to come! Stay tuned.

While the Slim Slack test pairs are on their way to stores around the world, we wanted to give you a little insight into how we've reached this point in our production.

Since this is our very first jean line, the process to create even a prototype has been full of trial and error.

One of the first things we experimented with was how to dye the fabric. We initially used a method called piece dyeing, which means we dyed the fabric on its own, then cut the pieces and sewed them together using the appropriate color thread.

Next we tried a method called garment dyeing, which is ultimately what we decided to use for all the slacks. Garment dyeing is pretty much what it sounds like -- first, we assemble the jeans, using white cotton thread that will take color, then dye the garment as a whole. This process leaves the jeans much softer.

Garment dyeing also gives us greater flexibility over the colors we can produce because there is no minimum quantity like there is when you pre-dye the fabric. We simply throw a pair in a dye bath and voila, one pair of neon yellow pants for that special someone.

What colors would you love to see? Give us your ideas.

This month we are releasing the test run of our brand-new Slim Slack, the original style from our unisex colored jean line. Seeing that this is our first venture into denim, we've opted to involve some customers in the development.

We're now just about ready to send out this exclusive batch to 20 select stores, in order to ask customers for their feedback before finalizing the design. Those who buy a pair and take the time to write in will get 25% off their first "real" Slim Slack, as well as a chance of winning one of five $100 gift certificates redeemable at any of our stores.

In the next few days we will post which stores the pants will be available at. Check back soon.