Random Announcements
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So the girlfriend is lamenting to me the angst of finding a quality woman's boot. Not sure what she likes or is looking for, and being half a wise ass I show her what Wesco offers. Thinking if anything she'll like a more feminine option like the Phoenix. Instead she's completely smitten with the Boss and Jobmaster. This chick wants a 14" Jobmaster with commando soles and has laid out a plan to acquire them. Just when I was about to give up on this one, I find a glimmer of hope lmao
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^Awesome
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The swing over the last year/year and a half from don't wash your jeans, to wash them normally has/is making a huge difference on the fadez I'm seeing on the internet and in/on my own pairs. In general, of course. There's many who've always done the regular and a fair few who are still doing their own thing, and then some of the crazy Thai's with their own style (much love to them!).
These high contrast fades from the 2003-2013 era on whatever jeans on whatever forum, now more and more frequently seems to be turn around to dad fadez. The look I see creeping up since the seminal 'wash your jeans' video from Kiya/Andrew is moving more and more towards that '80s acid/stone wash.
And it's done me in too! I've gone from one hand soak a year regardless of wear, to machine washing after any period of hard wear or when they start to smell. That's often around the 2-3-4 week wear mark.
It's liberating to wash when required/desired, however the flatness of the result on most jeans is making me start to think that I may need to go back to not washing them again. Depends on the end game/destination. The ideal/goal for me with raw denim is they take on part of my life and story. If they end up this drab light blue canvas with no markings or progression of time, what's the point?
This isn't a rant, more a reflection of a thought. Where are we heading in this brave new world? Were the @kiya's of the world right? Or maybe we should convert back to salt-soaks with the odd machine wash, to balance out the 2 schools for the ultimate look?
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Always really enjoy reading you, Snowy, regardless of whether or not or to what extent I'm agreeing.
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I think that the only time when washing "frequently" (2-4 weeks) leads to boring dad fades is when the denim itself is boring.
I first started washing frequently because I wanted a pair of flat heads that fit me great and hated how most of the flat heads I saw looked once faded. Then I saw the world tour and basically wanted to recreate that…
It's funny, flat head my favorite brand and they weren't even considered for the first pair of nice jeans I bought! I seriously hated every jean I saw in the thread... Really a shame that since others don't "get" the whole denim thing and went along with the crowd (never washing) it took me so long to realize what's right!
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I know what you mean about it feeling liberating to wash them whenever they need it or you feel like it. I do And will always though get 12months of unwashed wear into a pair of raw jeans before i start washing as and when.
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I never got the whole "don't wash your jeans" thing. Mine tend to end up in the machine every few weeks.
I'm currently wearing a pair of Tender jeans that have regularly been washed. They're looking quite good, though it took a long time for them to develop any character. I think the end result is a bit softer than the high contrast fades I see elsewhere.
One of the shops in Melbourne had really pale stonewashed jeans in the window the other day. Perhaps the cycle of fashion is moving away from the darker look.
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Wants denim to reflect life…..worries about how often to wash them to attain this "reflection"....sigh, the turmoils of a denim head.
I wonder if Cowboys and Coal Miners felt this way
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Wants denim to reflect life…..worries about how often to wash them to attain this "reflection"....sigh, the turmoils of a denim head.
I wonder if Cowboys and Coal Miners felt this way
First World problems…
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Let's face it, vintage and authentic are the two most over used words in denim and we're all guilty of this. You can use those words to describe the material and the cut, the people who screw it up are us consumers with our fancy automatic washing machines.
I might start taking my jeans down to the local river and beat the dirt out of them with a stick (like everyone else in Mansfield)
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Wants denim to reflect life…..worries about how often to wash them to attain this "reflection"....sigh, the turmoils of a denim head.
I wonder if Cowboys and Coal Miners felt this way
Well did they wash their jeans or not? That's the 100 year question!
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If you want super authentic fades you simply have to spend hours in a coal mine…on horseback
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Sick fadez pony boy.
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Interesting post, though I'm late to the party.
The longer I wear raw denim, the more often I wash and I feel like the Fading benefits from it - more pluckering, more defined colours, streaks and vertical falling become more visible. I really think that frequent (or regular) washing makes interesting denim even more interesting. It wasn't something I liked from the start, but the more pairs I saw, the more I prefered the washed look of Jeans. In fact, when I browse through a Lightning mag, the Jeans I like best nowadays are vintage Levi's or the ones that look like in the Warehouse blog.
Funny Thing is, I don't feel like much has changed round here - the latest Releases of IH also seem to produce way more contrasted fades than the regular 21 oz denim (maybe it's also just that pairs like fanyas, LN's or Alex' SII's stuck in my mind). So I'm pretty astonished that your perception is different than mine.
(And the guys at RAWRdenim still celebrate the non washing rule and high contrasted fades)
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I only wash when they get dirty or stinky. Not because of fades, but out of laziness. My demanding first world, white collar lifestyle in the climates I've lived in means that I wash them very infrequently.
