Proper selvedge jeans

MS Paint never was my forte.

I’ve had a similar journey to @JB and now mostly have no turnup and get my jeans finished to the length I’d like to wear them. I also found that having turnups created just extra wear/dirt/creases/fades etc
I’d rinse them before wearing and before any alterations.

@JB perfect thanks for taking the time to answer
Likewise @Tenderloin

Surprised people rinse jeans before wearing them!? Totally against the "No wash club" rules. I personally try and wear new selvedge denim for as long as possible before washing + follow the guides below.

https://hiutdenim.co.uk/blogs/story/101833089-the-no-wash-club

https://hiutdenim.co.uk/pages/washing-instructions

Does the feel of raw selvedge change much over time? I have some 21oz raw selvedge I started wearing a little while back and while they feel great in lots of ways, I'm wondering if they get a little softer in time.

Yes, they’ll soften up over time. It’s dependent on the weave to a large extent, heavyweight ONI for example has a very loose weave and softens up almost immediately. Iron Heart is tighter and will take a bit longer but the 21oz pair I have are now extremely soft (until you wash them)

Can confirm the softness of Ironhearts. The pair I picked up on here are sweatpants comfy

Me too!
I wash them instead, regularly.

I usually try to get as long with the raw look as I possibly can, before a wash, but sometimes mix it up and might wash a bit sooner to see how they come out. So I've various pairs in various states of fade.

Is there a way to prevent sick fades?

Like, high contrast fades?
Soak them in vinegar or saltwater initially, this will help stabilize the dye.

Rinsing is not washing. A pair of unwashed, not rinsed and unsanforized jeans has never touched water. You could go for six months of wear without washing them, getting some great fades and then you wash them and they shrink too much and are too small, or the fades get weird and streaky because excess indigo has run. Also, most people need jean alterations before wearing them - especially when a lot of pairs of Japanese jeans come with a 36" leg length.

A warm rinse not only will remove excess dye, preventing it from streaking in the future, but it will also remove any potential shrinkage prior to alterations. This means when you have them hemmed to 29", (in my case) they're gonna stay that way and not loose an inch after washing them, rendering them unwearable. Whether or not a pair of jeans needs to be rinsed prior to wear depends entirely on how they come out of the factory and whether or not they already fit you. Horses for courses. A blanket 'do not wash' rule is stupid.

Exactly. Trying to avoid that early '00s Big Brother contestant vibe.

Thanks, I'll give it a go 👍

Not sure about ongoing care, though I know regularly washing jeans will also minimize contrasting. How you wash them, warm or cold, inside out or otherwise, can’t say - but based on what I saw as a kid, just washing regularly with like colours will likely do the trick.

Sounds sensible, I usually try & get to 6 months without washing, rinsing or getting a new pair of selvedge jeans soaking wet in the rain. I do put them in the freezer & gently spot clean especially if its dog vomit, human feces or cheese stains. By the first wash of the new pair other worn pairs have been washed multiple times so I also have a sort of sequential indigo fade thing going on. 👍

most people need jean alterations before wearing them

Presume you have run some sort of quant research to back this statement up?

Agree a “no wash” blanket rule is not for everyone but I thought this was a common thing when buying selvedge jeans. May very well give the rinse approach a go next time. ✌️

Forgive me if this has been discussed earlier in thread but the ‘six month rule’ is so unhelpful. It was put about most infamously by Nudie.

Vast majority of selvedge denim sold in Japan is rinsed/one-wash. As discussed above it removes the issues of shrinkage caused by unsanforized denim. Sanforizing removes the shrinkage but leaves a flat and often less interesting fabric.

If you want great wear then your jeans need time. Regular washing extends the longevity of denim, minimising stitching blowouts, etc.

Guys, smelly and badly fitting jeans aren’t a vibe

How many average height people do you know with a 36" inseam lol? I don't need research to back up common sense. Why do you think Son of a Stag, Clutch Cafe, The Real McCoy's, Rivet and Son and just about every other serious denim shop I know of have chainstitch machines? Oh yeah - cause most people require hemming and chainstitching.

If you want great wear then your jeans need time. Regular washing extends the longevity of denim, minimising stitching blowouts, etc.

Yeeeeeeeeeeep.

These were washed at least once a month after an initial rinse, hem + chainstitch and then maybe two months of not washing them when wearing them daily? Allow not washing a pair of jeans for six months.

They were originally the length of the jeans on the right.

And that bottle in the top left? Denim specific wash made by Warehouse themselves.

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Glad to see raw denim in general, whether or not to pre-soak, and whether/how to wash is still as baffling as always.

Always loved the idea/comedy aspect of seeing someone do APC’s sea wash suggestion. Has anyone done it or witnessed anyone doing it? Are the sick fadez significantly better than a machine washed pair?

They were originally the length of the jeans on the right.

That's some serious shrinkage.

Yes indeed. I meant to say, this was post hem as well as shrinkage. Iirc they came up about 2.5” from the soak and another 2” from hemming.

Apropos turn-ups. In my skinhead days in the 70's I wore turn-ups on my jeans. I also trained a kestrel (stick with this, it's worth it). Sitting on my gloved fist Kessy would eat small birds I'd shot, flicking inedible bits off to the ground. My mam one day decided to wash my jeans. She found a rotten starling's head in the turn-up of one leg. Maybe check yours? That's it.