The popularity of $300 designer jeans has faded. Now, a pair costs $200 and maybe less, thanks to the recession. As a result, the fabric of the premium denim industry – so big in Los Angeles – is changing.

Some companies have gone out of business, and the survivors have cut prices and simplified styles. In a surprise development, several have opened or expanded their stores as big retailers cut their stock of high-price jeans.

“Over $200 has become a tougher sale,” said Michael Geller, chief executive of Culver City high-end jeans maker Paige Premium Denim. “We have discovered the sweet spot in pricing, and that’s from $150 to $180.”

During boom times, premium denim companies created a market for $300, $400 and even $500 jeans by distressing them, coloring them with different washes for an antique look and even adorning them with Swarovski crystals. Customers, wanting to wear the same ultracool jeans as 20-something starlets and celebutantes, shelled out big cash for brand names from such companies as True Religion Apparel Inc., AG by Adriano Goldschmied and Diesel.

But industry insiders said only a few big-dollar jeans are selling today.

“We are not selling a lot over $300,” said Michael Ball, founder and chief executive of Rock & Republic Enterprises Inc. “But those will probably always have a customer.”

And for the most part, the 20 or so premium denim makers headquartered in Los Angeles, including public companies True Religion, Joe’s Jeans Inc. and People’s Liberation Inc., have adjusted to the downturn by lowering prices and offering more styles at less expensive prices.

Some that were once well-known in L.A.’s premium denim industry are now memories. Blue Cult, Paper Denim & Cloth and Earl Jean – all once popular with such celebs as Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Simpson – have gone out of business. The only remnants: out-of-fashion styles selling for as little as $19.99 on discount Web sites such as Overstock.com.

Although the entry price point for designer denim has shifted down, the denim market overall remains in overdrive. Annual sales of all women’s jeans through August of this year were up 5 percent from last year to $8.2 billion, according to Port Washington, N.Y., market research firm NPD Group Inc.

In fact, industry insiders said the denim market has been something of a bright spot in what’s otherwise been a dismal retail environment because jeans remain a must-have in any woman’s wardrobe.

And the hot look of the moment: simple styles and basic washes that denim companies say are less expensive to manufacture. For example, many jean makers are finding success with the so-called “jegging,” an extremely skinny jean that’s made of lightweight fabric and looks like leggings.

“Denim is a staple,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association. “It’s like buying a new T-shirt.”