How much did you pay for those jeans?

Some aspects of the fashion industry continue to do well. Women’s jeans sales in the United States rose 4.6 percent to $8.03 billion and sales of men’s jeans stayed steady at $5.32 billion, according to the NPD Group.

“I think what we’re beginning to see is that denim has  life of its own,” Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst, told WWD. “I don’t want to say recession-proof, but it was able to sustain whatever growth it had.”

Now for the surprising part.  The average price women paid for jeans declined 1.6 percent o $23.44 from $23.83 last year, according to NPD.

Here are the Top 10 women’s jeans brands by sales for 2009

1. Levi’s

2. Riders/Blu by Lee

3. Lee

4. Gloria Vanderbilt

5. Calvin Klein

6. Lucky Brand

7. Seven For All Mankind

8. Levi Strauss Signature

9. Liz Claiborne

10. Wrangler

That doesn’t mean women are turning away from premium denim. According to a report by NPD in April, sales of women’s jeans priced more othan $100 were up 16 percent in 2008 compared with 2007.  Some of those brands started feeling the pinch the first quarter of this year as sales declined.  You can expect mark downs to continue, so if you’re in the market for a new pair of jeans, shop now.

Top 10 men’s jeans brands by sales, 2009

1. Levi’s

2. Wrangler

3. levi Strauss Signature

4. Lee

5. South Pole

6. Calvin Klein

7. Polo/Ralph Luaren

8. Rustler

9. Rocawear

10. Riders/Blue by Lee