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wash your jeans?

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,264
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
Style is a matter of personal preference. It's all subjective.

As I alluded to before, style is a matter of personal preference. It's all subjective. Some will argue that fedoras are only suited for more formal attire, many more will argue that fedoras can be worn with both formal and casual attire. Style conscious or not, color coordinated or not, the people in those pictures were still wearing their fedoras with casual attire. Now that Levi's have grown in popularity to become something of a cultural icon since those times, 505s and 501s are all I wear, and I've been wearing them since I was an elementary school and Jr. High School kid through out the early 1960s and also as a teen and now as an adult through out the 1970s until now. My first fedora was a grey and black Stetson Whippet that my Grandfather gave me in the early 1970s when I was in High School. I wore it then with Levi's, and I'll continue to wear a fedora with my 505s and 501s. As I already stated, if fedoras aren't your thing then you're not like one no matter what it's worn with, and that's your personal preference. For my personal style choice, I think a fedora on top is just as equally suited when worn with Levi's as one is worn with more dressier attire.


You've figured out what you like to wear, and you wear it - simple as that. And that's how it should be done. As far as the casual/formal argument, someone already pointed out that the older generation would wear bib overalls and fedoras. It was a common thing when I was growing up to wear newer bibs and a fedora with either a clean white shirt or a "suit coat" (often an older one, because that's all they had) to church. As a matter of fact a lot of us still do that at our annual church "Heritage Day" picnic. I think where you grew up has a lot to do with your later perceptions of style.
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
those hats are color coordinated with the rest of their outfit, and if you look closely they are not worn with jeans pants, denim jacket maybe but at the most casual they wear khakis for pants, just my take on the pictures, not meant to criticize other people style especially not yours
That's right. I was born in 1951 and don't remember ever seeing an adult wearing jeans, except in photos of farmers. The one exception was my Aunt Gretchen, who was an artist in Greenwich Village.
 

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,906
Location
Shanghai
I'm usually happier in Carhartts (black or that beige-sandstone colour) than I am in jeans, but I probably wear jeans more often. Weirdly, every time I've thrown out my 'last' pair of jeans, I've quickly gone out and bought another pair (although now I buy them used from vintage shops: I am not paying more than 25 quid for jeans [anyway] that look better bashed up when I can buy them pre-bashed).
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,082
Location
London, UK
Moreover, selvedge doesn't have to massively expensive. Gustin's an excellent starting point for some risk-free denim, but I would also recommend Freddies of Pinewood too.

I hear good things about Gustin, though I'm waiting to see them do a cut that;s high and wide enough for my taste. Freddies I had a couple of pairs of some years ago. Great if you can get them on sale - I found them well worth the forty quid I paid - but tbh I wouldn't pay the £100 they now charge when that money would almost buy a much better pair. The Lutec ones are still almost as expensive on Eby as that - again, not worth it, imo - but the Soldier of Fortune ones (whic I am convinced are also the Lutec ones) are great for GBP50.00. I'd buy them again. Rumble59.com have some nice looking selvedge denim on their site, though I have yet to try them.
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,795
Location
Central Ohio
That's right. I was born in 1951 and don't remember ever seeing an adult wearing jeans, except in photos of farmers. The one exception was my Aunt Gretchen, who was an artist in Greenwich Village.
I don't think Levi's really became widely popular outside of Western movies until sometime in the 1950s. From what I remember reading somewhere they were popular out West and in the Midwest but not so much in the Eastern Coastal States until after Marlon Brando's 1953 movie, "The Wild One". That may or may not actually be factual, though. I don't know for sure.
MV5-BMTcz-NDYx-Mj-M4-M15-BMl5-Ban-Bn-Xk-Ft-ZTYw-MTQ0-Nj-M2-V1.jpg
 
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navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,870
Location
East Java
last week I washed one of my jeans today I wash the other, now I'm wearing it wet like a mini breaking in again, I wonder until how many washes the shrinkage would be settling permanently
 

dudewuttheheck

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,422
There's probably a better place to put this, but for now:

The Breaker Of Legs
Interesting. They effectively are NOT the heaviest jeans in the world because the Naked and Famous ones are unsanforized, making them around 36oz post-soak. Also, Naked and Famous is about to come out with something over 40oz I believe.

Either way, I'm glad insane stuff like that exists, but I'm happy with my vintage Levi repros :)

I personally wash my jeans as little as possible, but I did that before I was into raw denim as well. I like my jeans to stay as dark as possible for as long as possible.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,082
Location
London, UK
I'm currently in Beijing for a couple of weeks with woprk. My jeans needed cleaned after travelling here, so I looked at the hotel laundry, and discovered it's only pennies more to have them dry clean them, so I thought just this once, what the hell - let's see how they come back. Should have them this evening.
 

b1lf

One of the Regulars
Messages
172
Location
Long Beach, CA
I hear good things about Gustin, though I'm waiting to see them do a cut that;s high and wide enough for my taste. Freddies I had a couple of pairs of some years ago. Great if you can get them on sale - I found them well worth the forty quid I paid - but tbh I wouldn't pay the £100 they now charge when that money would almost buy a much better pair. The Lutec ones are still almost as expensive on Eby as that - again, not worth it, imo - but the Soldier of Fortune ones (whic I am convinced are also the Lutec ones) are great for GBP50.00. I'd buy them again. Rumble59.com have some nice looking selvedge denim on their site, though I have yet to try them.

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time - quickly scanned the first post and most current page.

Do not purchase Gustin denim. Gustin anything really. I purchased about $1,500 worth of their clothes that ended up being returned or sold on Grailed after I finally 'woke up and smelled the coffee.'

Inconsistent fits (from the same cut and size), a bunch of flagrant errors (a Type III denim jacket showing up with contrast stitching when I ordered tonal), shipping DELAYS AND DELAYS AND DELAYS, and overall: a lackluster product with construction details that are subpar. They are cheap for a reason.


I'm currently in Beijing for a couple of weeks with woprk. My jeans needed cleaned after travelling here, so I looked at the hotel laundry, and discovered it's only pennies more to have them dry clean them, so I thought just this once, what the hell - let's see how they come back. Should have them this evening.

Oh boy......................... do NOT dry clean raw denim.



last week I washed one of my jeans today I wash the other, now I'm wearing it wet like a mini breaking in again, I wonder until how many washes the shrinkage would be settling permanently

TLDR - what's your washing process? What type of jeans do you have? Are they sanforized or unsanforized?
 

b1lf

One of the Regulars
Messages
172
Location
Long Beach, CA
In short, I have owned a TON of denim products over the last 10 years. Everyone has their own preferences, which is completely fine.




Simple and easy, this is what I do:
  • Fill up a bathtub with cold water.
  • Add Railcar Fine Goods denim detergent, or similar, or if you're lazy: at least Woolite Dark.
  • Put in your jeans/jacket inside-out, unless it's filthy.
  • Agitate as necessary, knowing that the more you agitate it, the more potential for indigo loss.
  • Remove, drain tub.
  • Refill tub with clean cold water.
  • Add jeans/jacket again. Let soak for a bit.
  • HANG DRY.


If you absolutely must (aka you shit your pants on vacation and you didn't bring another pair): cold water, delicate cycle, in a machine washer with some Woolite Dark. Hang dry.

Other notes: if the denim is unsanforized, it will skrink much more than if it's sanforized (much more common). Switching to hot water will increase this effect; use as necessary to achieve whatever fit you're looking for.





Wash them if they smell. That's it. I usually wait ~6 months for a new pair of sanforized denim before I "wash"/soak them. If I roll around in some mud........... or some dickhead at a concert spills an entire beer and vomits on me.... I'll wash them immediately. The world will continue spinning.
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,870
Location
East Java
I washed them in large bucket since i only have shower cabins, cold water and soap for delicate fabric and for minimal fading, added dettol antiseptic into the water,

i brush the pants with bristle brush prior soaking it outside and inside on the creases, along the seams, around and behind pocket bags, fly etc where dust grime skincell might be trapped and accumulated to shake off loose dry stuff, and then soak the pants for an hour or so in the bucket with soap and antiseptic thing, then brushing again lightly while rinsing it with hand shower, and wear it until dry because they are either 1 size down and 2 size down than my usual mall pants with lower waistline,

one is 21oz unsanforized the other is 24oz sanforized, both shrank quite remarkably, so i have to force wear them on the hip bone area while wet.

So far i have washed them twice since jan2019. With every wash there is still some shrinkage happening, although no color loss on the water.

The unsanforized still get more leg twisting, and i think the fly also twist /slant too now but the length remains more or less the same after 1st wash, the sanforized didnt twist but it still losing some more length on the leg and it sit lower now on the waist line than before it lost 3" on the inseam compared to its raw measurement.

Im not aiming for contrast fading or fading at all, at least i dont want them to happen too soon, like them inky dark just fine. Only leg twist and fluctuating fit on every wash bugger me.
 
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El Marro

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,603
Location
California
Do not purchase Gustin denim. Gustin anything really. I purchased about $1,500 worth of their clothes that ended up being returned or sold on Grailed after I finally 'woke up and smelled the coffee.'

Inconsistent fits (from the same cut and size), a bunch of flagrant errors (a Type III denim jacket showing up with contrast stitching when I ordered tonal), shipping DELAYS AND DELAYS AND DELAYS, and overall: a lackluster product with construction details that are subpar. They are cheap for a reason.
b1lf,
I have to disagree with you when it comes to Gustin. I too have purchased thousands of dollars of clothing from them and I continue buying their stuff to this day. I have not experienced the errors in construction nor problems with fit in the same cut and size, although I have read stories from plenty of other people who have. I have experienced delays in shipping with nearly everything I’ve ordered from them and at this point I’ve just sort of factored that in to the experience. I don’t even bother checking up on it until I see a shipping notice From them.
I find that their straight cut jeans fit me quite well and they seem to hold up despite seeing hard wear from time to time. I also like their short sleeve button down shirts, particularly the poplin and seersucker ones. Quality on these items is as good as any I’ve purchased from other manufacturers
I will agree that some of the items I’ve tried are lackluster, I’m not a fan of their sweatshirts nor the first run of polo shirts I tried from them. The jean jacket I received got tried on once and then thrown on the pile, nothing wrong with it just didn’t grab my fancy. Other items are surprisingly well executed, their weekender bags for instance are pretty awesome. The tube knit T-shirts that they sold for a time, and haven’t had since, are quite well-made and I am still wearing them years later.
Everybody’s tastes are different but I find that Gustin does some things quite well, especially when considering the price.
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,870
Location
East Java
2RDfHHp.jpg

This is sanforized so it doest do twisting on the leg (i dont like leg twist, totally cant see the benefit nor the beauty of it ) but even as sanforized it has changed from a pants i can wear double cuffed into a pants that on the edge of being too short just from shrinkage alone.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,082
Location
London, UK
Oh boy......................... do NOT dry clean raw denim.

Never owned any raw denim; can only imagine they'd shrink ridiculously with a dry clean.

My Wranglers are back from the hotel system. Looking fine. Less stiff than when unwashed, of course. Snugger at the waist, but that's normal with any laundry, they'll stretch out a little again with wear. Only pain is they ignore my instructions to keep the cuffs/ "rolled up legs" in place, but I'm guessing that got lost in translation. At least I got them back in the promised time, which wouldn't have been the case where we used to stay (where "same day" dry cleaning inevitably took 48 hours, or a day more than that if you didn't chase it hard).

I wash my jeans every week in the washing machine. It never seems to hurt them.

I find washed regularly they last longer. I'm guessing it's the lack of bacterial build up that the no-wash get in their uber-heavy denims that they pay leather-jacket money for then wonder wh ythey blow out at the crotch in six months. ;)
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,870
Location
East Java
I dont want to send my jeans to the laundry not because of how they wash it but how they would hot press it flat afterward. If i already complained about mini breaking in again after washing having it hot pressed flat would be the worst :eek:
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,870
Location
East Java
I dont know how heavy is it to be un comfortable my experience is only down sized 24oz at max, it was a bit skin scrapy at first but now it is just felt like thick blanket, just hoping it wont shrink more length wise as it is already at the limit
 

b1lf

One of the Regulars
Messages
172
Location
Long Beach, CA
b1lf,
I have to disagree with you when it comes to Gustin. I too have purchased thousands of dollars of clothing from them and I continue buying their stuff to this day. I have not experienced the errors in construction nor problems with fit in the same cut and size, although I have read stories from plenty of other people who have. I have experienced delays in shipping with nearly everything I’ve ordered from them and at this point I’ve just sort of factored that in to the experience. I don’t even bother checking up on it until I see a shipping notice From them.
I find that their straight cut jeans fit me quite well and they seem to hold up despite seeing hard wear from time to time. I also like their short sleeve button down shirts, particularly the poplin and seersucker ones. Quality on these items is as good as any I’ve purchased from other manufacturers
I will agree that some of the items I’ve tried are lackluster, I’m not a fan of their sweatshirts nor the first run of polo shirts I tried from them. The jean jacket I received got tried on once and then thrown on the pile, nothing wrong with it just didn’t grab my fancy. Other items are surprisingly well executed, their weekender bags for instance are pretty awesome. The tube knit T-shirts that they sold for a time, and haven’t had since, are quite well-made and I am still wearing them years later.
Everybody’s tastes are different but I find that Gustin does some things quite well, especially when considering the price.

Check out Japan Blue... Momotaro’s sister/parent company.

Buy a pair of their jeans from Denimio for the approximate same price as a pair of Gustin, and try to tell me that Gustins are still a good value.
 

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