IH-555-XHS - 25oz Selvedge Denim Super Slim Jeans - Indigo

Oaktavia

@neph93 that last sentence nailed it.

@sisterray:

I was planning to wear them a few weeks then give them a cold soak. Any thoughts, good idea or not necessary?

Never really understood the point of cold soaks or what they are meant to achieve.

It depends on the specific denim, but "cold soaks" for me is different from "unsanforized cold soaks", which have a specific purpose. "Cold soaks" in my opinion are to facilitate the crease-to-fit phenomenon that takes place the first several times you wear brand new denim, and it doesn't have to be "cold" water. As you might notice with my DWC2 pair, for example, the crease pattern on my final submission photos is the same crease pattern that was achieved immediately after wearing them for the first time. For me, this moment is EXACTLY what is wonderful about wearing denim, above and beyond any other piece of clothing. Every pair is molded to your individual form based on fit, body composition and movement. Denim wearing is art in action, and soaking, for me, is what enables the transmission of my body movements into the memory of the fabric. Just like glassblowing where the borosilicate can be formed while molten, denim can be formed while wet.

In this case, "wearing them for a few weeks" and then giving them a cold soak would do nothing but maybe rinse some grime out of them. Since it is unwashed, you need to get that remaining shrinkage out before you wear them or you will have two slightly different crease patterns before/after the first soak.

I soak before the first wear, and then soak-to-clean when needed until the denim softens enough to safely withstand the washer, which takes a minute.

While not necessarily "cold", soaking in water (i do a soapy soak with spot treatment, and then a subsequent clean soak to rinse the soap out) instead of washing is advisable for the first several weeks to avoid the potential of hard crease lines in the washer if they aren't removed quickly from the basin and smoothed over.

And as neph said, wash your jeans when they need it. Fades are not afraid of water. After the first few months, when they gets lots of wear and relatively minimal cleaning, I wash on average about every two weeks. I work in my jeans and I think I have ok fades…

neph93

Aaahhh… I don’t do any of that cold soaking for creases thing. Perhaps I should try for fun. I salute your boss level nerdery @adam313

Kasi

@adam313

Post some picture of your fades then. Let see how they look.

It all started because my first pair was UHR, and my second….so the soaking before wearing was necessary for shrinkage and constructional threads etc. I put them on to check the fit and boom, the crease-to-fit was born, obviously an inevitable by-product of the shrink-to-fit process. I usually wear them while slightly damp after a wash anyway, so that achieves the same purpose without the preliminary pageantry. Just do that if you like. Might allow for more expressive crease lines when the denim is wet and crisp, as opposed to softer, less defined lines from dry denim

@Kasi:

@adam313

Post some picture of your fades then. Let see how they look.

Seriously? Just look at my avatar dude. Relax

Kasi

it just a picture upload some new one here, then relax

First generation 2011-2016

Second generation 2016-present

Some Up close XHS to help you relax

neph93

I was just in the «Evolution of Iron Heart» thread looking for some links @adam313. Thanks for taking the time. Wonderful jeans.

@neph93:

I was just in the «Evolution of Iron Heart» thread looking for some links @adam313. Thanks for taking the time. Wonderful jeans.

Yea I kicked the hornets nest of fade insecurity, so I take it upon myself to do the leg work. Definitely had to dig into the archives lol.

Kasi

Nice.

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RoxRocks86

Fantastic fades @adam313 & @Kasi

sisterray

I listened to all the comments and decided to give them a warm soak. The jeans were a bit loose on the waist and a little too long in the leg. I bought them at Rivet and Hide, and got them hemmed to a 33", my normal inside leg is 32". The tagged waist was 33"

The jeans are now a perfect fit on my waist, they a still a bit long on the leg but I think they will stack ok since they are slim jeans.

I'm glad I did the soak in the end.

neph93

@sisterray:

The jeans are now a perfect fit on my waist, they a still a bit long on the leg but I think they will stack ok since they are slim jeans.

Yeah, I think an inch of shrinkage in the length on XHS is a rare thing. In my experience bit pairs I own only shrunk about half an inch. It’s risky to hem with that in mind though. The 555 looks great stacked, and the XHS drapes well. You should be golden. Worst case, R&H can take half an inch off for you. Enjoy!

sisterray

Yeah I thought about the risk of hemming and then them ending up too short after washing/soaking, that's why I got them hemmed an inch longer than normal. I think you're right, i think I got about half an inch shrinkage in the leg