LIFESTYLE

One in five of us will happily spend a three-figure sum on our denims. Bath’s queen of jeans, Mimi Noor, tells Anna Britten why.

Denim hasn’t been simple since the Wild West. And even then, we’re willing to bet the wares of certain dustbowl clothing emporia were more ‘hot dang!’ than others. People wore jeans for housepainting and bike-riding until the 1970s when designer denim revolutionaries Calvin Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt convinced women the logo on their back pocket was more important than the loose change inside it. There followed the much-documented 1980s Levis 501 frenzy. Then Gap appeared and it looked like the days of the status jean were over. Until suddenly, in 2001, Britney Spears stepped out in a pair of sexy, bootcut Serfontaine designer jeans and the world went crazy. US label Rock & Republic (and their jeans designer Victoria Beckham) laid out the new credo: jeans should be sexy, hug you and do everything a skirt should. Women listened – and delved into their wallets. A Mintel survey earlier this year revealed a fifth of women would spend over £100 on the perfect pair.

All of which is good news for the motivated Mimi Noor – 24-year-old owner of the high-end denim boutique of the same name, opened in Bath last November, and firm believer in the notion you get what you pay for. “People don’t seem to have a problem spending a lot of money on things they only wear occasionally,” she muses when Venue visits her Milsom Street shop. “My mentality has always been: spend a lot of money on the things you wear all the time.”

Her stock ranges from £90 for a skinny Silver jean to £295 for a pair of J Brand Agnes – they’re leather-coated denim, feel sinful to the touch, and Rihanna loves them. The average pair is about £165. But are these brands really worth the extra cash? “The denim is better quality.” She invites Venue to fondle a pair by bestselling line Not Your Daughter’s Jeans – they are, indeed, as yielding and velvety as a spaniel’s ear. “It’s soft and stretchy but unlike cheaper jeans it doesn’t accentuate lumps and bumps, it hugs them in. The designers spend a long time asking themselves: how are we going to weave? What twill, what cotton/elastic ratio shall we use? How do we cut against the grain so it squeezes you in nicely?”

Most of her jeans are sold to sizes 16-18, she says. “Women that size feel they can’t wear jeans. A lot of what we do is an education. Once people try on a good pair of our jeans they never go back.”

I’m inclined to believe her. After all, would you jack in a £70k job in IT sales (albeit one in Swindon) and upset your mother to set up your first shop – in a niche market, completely independently, paying some of the most eyewateringly expensive commercial rent in the country – if you weren’t utterly convinced you were right? “My parents were traumatized; my friends were excited,” says Mimi. “I poured all my money into it. If it all goes wrong, I’ve got nothing. We’re realistic about how quickly we’re going to make a return. And we will. We never slack off.” Everyone warned her about the January slump but she says things have got better and better since Christmas.

And mum? “She didn’t used to think she could wear jeans. Now she loves the ones I’ve got her into. She’s a massive advocate!”

MIMI NOOR 25 MILSOM ST, BATH, BA1 1DG, TEL: 01225 571518, WEB: WWW.MIMINOOR.COM
 

Copyright Anna Britten 2011

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