A couple of days ago we were happy to contribute to a piece on NRK P1 telling denim users never to wash their jeans. Mostly posts like these focuses on the hygiene part of the wear & tear, rather than the part on why people actually do it. So I wanted to share with you why, and how.
The concept of waiting a couple of months before you wash your brand new jeans is mostly relevant for dry denim jeans. This means unwashed pure raw denim jeans that hasn’t been treated in any kind of way. Most jeans in stores today are washed and treated. Which means that the jeans are processed in factories to look similar to dry denim that has, over time, faded. The idea of breaking in dry denim is to create your own personal fade, which in time, will have a much more genuine and beautiful look than the pre-processed factory jeans.
This is one of the beautiful things about denim, its ability to change and create a personal appearance from the lifestyle you lead. Its astounding way to tell an unique story through a natural fade which is yours.
Dry Selvage Jacobs from Livid Jeans, worn for 7 months without wash. You can clearly see unique wear patterns.
Why does it fade?
Before denim is woven together into a fabric, it consists on lots of threads of cotton spun yarns. The warp thread, which covers the top side of the fabric, is dyed in the blue color indigo, while the weft remains un-dyed. After dyeing, they’re interlaced with eachother and woven into the fabric, denim.
Indigo dye (the blue color) is not very soluble, which means that it doesn’t bind that well to the fabric. So on pure raw denim fabric, the color actually “sits” on top of the fibers. When denim get exposed to stress, it will tear the color off the surface of the fibers, and the raw white cotton core of the yarns will slowly appear. This leaves beautiful fadings, such as whiskers and honey combs on the upper thighs and behing the knees, which is generally the most exposed areas.
Why should we wait ?
Basicly it is because we want to tear off as much color on exposed areas as possible before washing our jeans. The longer we wait and the more we use our jeans, the more beautiful genuine fadings will appear.
So what happens when we first wash it?
Because the indigo doesn’t bind to the yarns, and the fact that the color is insoluble in water, the washer will remove more indigo color from the surface of the fabric. Friction in the washer also makes the color fall out of the fibers, both in areas with more or less stress, leaving contrasts and wear patterns. So after each wash, your jeans will actually fade more and more. When washing your tearing project you should wash it on 40 to 60 degrees depending on how much contrast you want.
Why shouldn’t we wash treated jeans ?
Generally because of friction and tearing from the washer, which will make it fade more color. To keep the color intact, use a cup of salt in the washer to bind the color to the fabric. Wash inside out once a month, and it will last longer.
Hygiene?
Read about the hygiene study Josh Le did on wear for several months. He wore his Nudie jeans for 15 months before he first washed it. Read more.
Fading!
I recommend watching this video from the japanese video director, Takayuki Akachi. He has captured the beauty of dry denim in this documentary, showing the traveling denim, fading for two years.
Tried to keep it simple, don’t know if I succeeded or not. But hope it was O.k. Please leave comments, insight or experiences.
All the best
Jens Olav
