Giving New Life To Old Denim™️
Krop Jeans gives new life to old denim… but just like old denim, there is a lot of love + life behind each piece.
The Heart of Krop
"Every Krop Jeans garment is personally sourced and hand-dyed by me. But the beautiful thing about vintage denim is how well-loved and worn each pair of jeans, overalls, jackets, etc. are before I even add my “Kropifed” touch. I don’t consider the imperfections like marks and stains, holes, distressing, to be imperfections, they show these pieces had a good life and it gives them character.
I then give them a new look to find a new life. Bringing these pieces that my whole heart goes into, to you is my favorite part of the whole business. There’s something incredibly special about seeing a one-of-a-kind Krop Jeans piece find its meant-to-be person."
KC Kropkowski
The Origin
The origin of Krop Jeans comes from a combination of many parts and people in my life. The earliest being a love of fashion for as long as I can remember and helping my mom accessorize her work outfits and pick out my dad’s ties. I’ve always put together “different” outfits (to this day one of my oldest friends won’t let me live down wearing a tie for 6th grade picture day). And so later in high school, when the boyfriend distressed jean trend was in full swing, instead of buying the manufactured distressed jeans in stores, I decided I was going to experiment with distressing my own. I started with a pair of my younger brother’s jeans, perfectly baggy on me due to his sudden growth spurt, and with some bleach and scissors I made my first pair…and then they completely fell apart not long after because I had no idea of the power of bleach (many pairs in these earlier years suffered the same fate).
Art of the Thrift
Luckily around this same time I had started going thrifting with my grandma, Momma-T. She taught me how to search for quality clothing by looking at old labels (finding a union label or “Made in USA” was a jackpot) and the difference in hand-feel of those “vintage” pieces vs. one’s being made today.
I soon became obsessed with “Goodwill Hunting” for old jeans and I still use the same process to source as I did at 16, feeling the denim then looking at the brand label. Not all Levi’s are vintage Levi’s.
Sustainability First
Fast forward through the next decade and the personal discovery process for myself of figuring out where exactly in the fashion world I wanted to be. It was during this time that ‘The True Cost’ came out and I was hit hard by learning about the incredible harm the industry I’ve loved my entire life, does to the planet and to humans. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a change in the fashion industry and not contribute to the devastation. At this time I was also working in a boutique and fell in love with everything about running a store–buying, merchandising, selling, but mostly helping our customers feel their best through how they dress. I would also wear my jeans to work and constantly get compliments or have customers ask when I was going to sell them myself. It was here that I found my purpose and knew I wanted to have my own store one day of sustainable designers and include my own denim brand.
Krop Jeans is Born
I then went back to school at FIT to finish my degree in entrepreneurship and get this sustainable fashion boutique started, but then, the day I was walking around Brooklyn researching for my business plan and pop up space (initially called “The Krop Collective”...everything comes full circle), and dressed in one of my first pairs of Krop Jeans overalls, the number of people who stopped me about my overalls, flipped a switch in my head. I came home and made an instagram posting pictures of the pieces I had made for myself, and “Krop Jeans” was brought to life in spring 2021.
I wouldn’t be doing this without the amazing people in my life, Krop Jeans is dedicated to my family and friends who have always, and continue to, influence, inspire, and support this lil biz of mine.
xo KC Kropkowski
