I got these as a gift from my Amazon wish list (yay, someone used it!)... Anyhow, I knew from reading the reviews that these jeans were not the typical Carhartt workwear, but when I got them on I was even more surprised. The denim is quite soft. The color is very dark with a definite worn in look around and slightly above the knee area.  These jeans fit spot-on accurate, if a bit long on the inseam. Also, I've had these for a while now and have washed them more than a dozen times, and they haven't shrunk (compared to other Carhartt pants I've had in the past that become floods after a year).  All in all, these are nice jeans. I highly recommend them.