After The Gold Rush.(Merrit Elliott and Emily Current's new denim line Current/Elliott)

Byline: editor: Sally Singer JANE HERMAN

Two Los Angeles stylists do easy lifestyle jeans rich with history.

See, look, we did the work for you," says an enthusiastic Merrit Elliott, who with Emily Current has launched Current/Elliott, the most refreshing denim line to come out of L.A.'s jean scene in a long, long time. "We found the cutest stuff and made it flattering and comfortable, with a little stretch, that looks just like vintage. Like you went to the flea market in Paris or Topanga Canyon and found them in a pile for $2," Elliott continues. "Like someone else had them for 20 years already, and you've been wearing them for five."

Except that Current/Elliott jeans are made from new sweater-soft Japanese denim (only the Night and striped Hickory fabrics they use are American-made), cut after altered Levi's and Lee originals, and washed to look similarly weathered and worn in. "We had to address the fact that vintage is stiff and doesn't fit," explains Current. "So with a seventies elephant bell-bottom we've taken in the thigh and dropped and tightened the waist ...