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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

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    • S
      Snowy
      Joined:

      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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      • S
        Snowy
        Joined:

        Whoops, long stream of consciousness was long.

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • 501IH5
          501IH
          Raw and Unwashed
          Joined:

          Always really enjoy reading you, Snowy, regardless of whether or not or to what extent I'm agreeing.

          Keep your jeans on–-and let nothing come in between you and the denim !

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          • G
            grandmasterben
            Joined:

            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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            • spitfiredealerS
              spitfiredealer
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              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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              • GraemeG
                Graeme
                啓蒙家
                Joined:

                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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                • Megatron1505M
                  Megatron1505
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  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  😃

                  Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                  • DionD
                    Dion
                    Joined:

                    @Megatron1505:

                    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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                    • Megatron1505M
                      Megatron1505
                      見習いボス
                      Joined:

                      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)  😉

                      Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                      • S
                        Snowy
                        Joined:

                        @Megatron1505:

                        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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                        • SeulS
                          Seul
                          Joined:

                          I wash my jeans twice a year. It's that simple. I don't care who does what, though.

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                          • GilesG
                            Giles
                            IHUK Crew
                            Joined:

                            I guess some did and some did not (& I guess that not one single brain cell was collectively employed in the whole of the wild west and the coal mines to make that decision)

                            Phew, I managed to say it out loud….

                            "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                            • Megatron1505M
                              Megatron1505
                              見習いボス
                              Joined:

                              If you want super authentic fades you simply have to spend hours in a coal mine…on horseback  😃

                              Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • GilesG
                                Giles
                                IHUK Crew
                                Joined:

                                "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Megatron1505M
                                  Megatron1505
                                  見習いボス
                                  Joined:

                                  Sick fadez pony boy.

                                  Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Max PowerM
                                    Max Power
                                    Raw and Unwashed
                                    Joined:

                                    @Snowy:

                                    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)

                                    @elclintor:

                                    > I don't care what people say.. The Max Power way is the right way…

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                                    • GilesG
                                      Giles
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      Joined:

                                      Fanya has distinct lifestyle reasons why he has such contrasty fades.  Alex is in a manual job and guess what?  Washes them when they get dirty…...

                                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                                      • mclaincauseyM
                                        mclaincausey
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined:

                                        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.

                                        Think it, be it.

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                                        • PeterP
                                          Peter
                                          啓蒙家
                                          Joined:

                                          Yeah I'm with mclain; laziness. Cba to wash them frequently, and I've never experienced any foul odor either. I'm a slow fader, being a student I sleep like 11 hours a day and then sit on my ass haha..

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                                          • GraemeG
                                            Graeme
                                            啓蒙家
                                            Joined:

                                            Now that laundering your denim is socially acceptable, I'm going to have to move onto stonewashing mine…

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