Back in the day I wore 501s all through high school and into my early 20s. The past 20 some-odd years I went for more relaxed fitting jeans as the styles changed. But I've been unhappy with my most recent Hilfiger jeans, too binding. Coincidentally I ran into some Levis shorts that had stretch in the fabric - they're awesome, look and feel like normal shorts but they stretch instead of bind, very comfortable.

I learn that Levis started offering versions of their classics with stretch so I decided to revisit the 501, trying the stretch version. They were good but still not enough - I needed a little more room, now prefer a zipper because button flies and belts don't go well together, and the 501s I got didn't have as much stretch as the shorts I'd discovered.

So I went for the 541.  Perfect.  541 is "athletic fit", which means a little more room in the seat and thighs compared to 501.  And it was just right.  Zipper fly instead of button.  Sits at waist (I don't like below waist), straight leg.  And these have better stretch to them, more similar to the shorts.  And that really makes a difference.

I ended up getting a couple pairs in different color variations and these are my new favorite jeans.  They've made me love wearing jeans again.  So glad I can more around without binding while still looking good with a pair of boots (the tapered legs with relaxed fit don't really go well with boots).

I'll be wearing these for a long time.