Care For Your (Denim/ Wool/ Cotton)
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Salt, sludge, grit, mud and god knows what other detritus is currently caked to the lower reaches of your denim. (or in my case, the seat of my jeans :-X)
You hadn't planned on washing your jeans for a good while yet, but the caked on grime is kind of unsightly and you want it gone.
How do you deal with such scenario? Will a gentle hand wash loosen it or do you think even a soak might help shift it? :-\
Any and all opinions welcome.
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I routinely do a soapy soak every two weeks to a month. I just leave it in a bucket of cold water+Woolite dark. This way I never get that "caking", but I don't lose the indigo and move the creases as a wash would do. Every six months of wear I give it a machine wash
It's just my way of washing my jeans
I'm going to give this thread two days before merging it to the "Care of your denim" thread
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No time like the present… I just merged them. It really belongs there anyhow...
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Nice one Doug, sounds like a plan.
No time like the present… I just merged them. It really belongs there anyhow...
Great bump, thanks Lando!
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Ok, feedback kindly requested please…
....My name is Hectic and I suck at evo - there, I've said it.
Q: Is good evo closely related to tight(ish) fit? It seems that this must be the case for the behind knee combs, no?
Q: I soaked my 634S-B twice now in 1.5 months, cold soak, Doc Bronners. Should I have done this re: evo?
I would like these 634S-B to be my first really good evo pair.
Thanks for thoughts.
H
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^ On the one hand, it is indeed easier to fade tight jeans when it comes to combs, at least, that's my experience. Of course you got more tension and crinkles on tight jeans when walking and sitting down which speeds up the fading.
With skinny jeans the combs turn out to be more horizontal lines and on straight cuts they turn out to be more like the classic honeycomb structure.But on the other hand, this is just concerning the speed of the developping fades. I had no trouble getting combs in different pairs of jeans and I don't have problems on the 634S-B as well.
Washing or soaking is "bad" for combs, when it affects the creases from settling and washes out the sharp lines. That's why I wait very long before the first wash, normally 10 months, if nothing requires an earlier wash.
So, your soaking/washing could indeed slow down the evo, but if you care for your creases and make sure, that the combs and creases settle fine, it's doable. What I do to settle my combs when I get a new pair of jeans: put a little water in the back of the knees and do some squats. (Works especially on starched raw denim, which od isn't.)
Conclusion: Faster fades on slim cuts: yay. No fades/combs on straight cuts: nay. Potential for your 634s-B to fade well: yay, dependeing on your livestyleGood luck!
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brother hectic - fit doesn't matter, they will fade no matter what. your biggest issue, as Max said, will be with soaking/washing them too often. this will lessen the contrast that i assume you're going for. as Beatle says, just wear them and don't worry.
i guess the bigger question is why the two soaks in 1.5 months? then maybe this should get moved to the Care For Your Denim thread for further discussion, yeah?
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yeah, why 2 soaks in 10 weeks ? I generally stick to no water policy for at least 12 weeks
We can do anything
http://bybeatle.com -
Some of the nicest jeans I've ever seen didn't have "high contrast fading".
I actually prefer the look of lived in and loved denim that isn't intentionally thrashed (not to say those aren't beautiful as well).
The Japanese denim trade was born out of their love of vintage American jeans. In the 40's 50's and 60's, I wouldn't imagine it was the thing to own multiple pairs of jeans for most (or buy several sizes too small on purpose), so they probably took better care of what they had. The aging of denim is a very esoteric and magical process that I'm sure we're all compulsivly drawn to, and I personally want to let it happen on its own, and not have expectations or manipulate the process.
I feel like if you've got a certain end look in mind for your worn denim, it takes away a bit of the freedom of just living in them…
They're gonna turn out how they're gonna turn out.
Or just find a pair of 634SRs...NEVER seen a lived in pair that didn't blow me away...P.S. If you want a quick pocket fade, put an iphone in your back pocket and go down a slide with your kid a few times. I got a very noticable fade in about 2 minutes...
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Agree with most of what max power said.
I'm a big proponent of wearing slightly damp jeans next to a space heater when you first soak them and sit down! the jeans will mold to how your legs bend.
I think the majority of fades will relate to how much you walk and how much you squat down.
High contrast fades aren't the ONLY type of "good evo" albeit probably the most sought after and shown.I've seen some gorgeous sexi08's that were treated like normal denim, washed when dirty (so assuming daily wear, like once a week) in the machine, in warm or hot wash. They turned out amazing.
Evo requires patience and lots of walking!
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Great post, Max.
I would just like to add one thing in regards to washing and fading. As Max said, washing can lessen the "sharpness" of the creases - especially if you wash before the creases are worn in. That is one reason why you want to postpone washing for at least a few months, if you're looking for high contrast fades. Apart from that, washing in itself fades your jeans. How much depends on the quality of the denim, but soap and water takes out color. The point is that washing fades your jeans everywhere, while wear fades your jeans more in the areas that are exposed the most, i.e. the heights of creases everywhere, ass and thighs. Tighter jeans crease more, creases are more exposed, and thus it is easier to get high contrast fades with tighter jeans.
That is, IMO, the most basic, yet somewhat overlooked, explanation of the relationship between washing and fading.
But don't wash too little either. Sweat, dirt etc. will make the denim brittle. And a good wash can bring some stiffness back to a pair of jeans that have become softer with wear.
