I get the impression that the quality/dressiness hierarchy goes jeans < cheap slacks < nice (dark wash) jeans < nice slacks. That is, you are better dressed in nice jeans than crummy slacks, even if crummy slacks are acceptable at work and nice jeans are not. And nice jeans are “cooler” than slacks. But this may all be colored by my opinion.
I get the impression that the quality/dressiness hierarchy goes jeans < cheap slacks < nice (dark wash) jeans < nice slacks. That is, you are better dressed in nice jeans than crummy slacks, even if crummy slacks are acceptable at work and nice jeans are not. And nice jeans are “cooler” than slacks. But this may all be colored by my opinion.