joshyle

Thanks for the journey, fellow denimheads! 2 years was a long time, but it was quite the experience.

Nietenhosen: I don't understand how all your denim turns out so beautifully! Your photos are always top notch too. Do you take photos in cloudy conditions with a prime lens? Looking forward to the live-action belt photos!

2nd and 3rd place doesn't make full sense to me, but it's ultimately a win for the denim scene as a whole. Lots of pretty denim all around from all the different brands. Proud to hold down the fort for Naked and Famous in Round One!

Thanks for organizing this, Mega! Best of luck with Round Two.

Continued:

A variety of detail shots in different light settings.

joshyle checking in with my NFxBiG 21oz.

The details:

Wear: Jan 1/11 to Jan 5/13. I didn't wear it as much during the summer of 2012.

Washing: 1 wash at the 1 year mark.

Soaks: 0.

Memories: Immersurable.

It's been a great journey! Thanks for setting this up, Mega!

I've taken photos in 3 different light sources just to show how different the jeans look in differing lights. Click the link to zoom in on the photos.

Left: inside the house by the window (cloudy day).

Middle: Outside in the snow (-18C today; it was -43C with windchill two days ago!) on a cloudy day.

Right: DIY photo studio.

Continued:

A variety of detail shots in different light settings.

Midnight Feb 1 = 5PM on January 31 MST. Too generous. I'll have it in for then.

I'll be posting mine up today, In true student fashion, things come in at the last minute. I hope we're all mindful of the time zone differences. Representing Mountain Standard Time here.

I'm excited to throw my legs into a fresh pair of RFG Spikes X09. I got a chance to visit Steven, Celisse, Ruben, and the rest of the RFG family in Arcadia, California while on vacation, and I'm super excited and impressed by their story and craft.

Photos of the trip will come up soon, but in the meantime, here are my new jeans!

Just finished watching the documentary! I had this idiotic grin on my face the whole time. Well done, Devin! It's great to match the name, face, and voice of so many denimheads together.

So how's this competition going to be judged? Do we want to absolutely destroy our jeans or just go hard on them and then stop before it dies? I don't know how many times I should repair it before retiring them, haha.

God, I love those jeans. Beige weft right? I wish they would remake them so I could wear em in the next HWDC ;_;

Yup. Beige weft. These puppies have served me well. As with all raw denim, you get pretty attached to them after a while, eh? Haha.

x-post from the Heavyweight Denim Competition:

NFxBiG collabs @ month 23. 1 wash. Plenty of love.

Cheerio,

Josh

Quick update at the start of month #23. The NFxBiG collabs still going strong. Still surviving at 1 wash. Taken on campus earlier today.

i dont understand lol you should wear them till theyre at their peak fade and then maybe wear them less so you can preserve it in the nice fade status. dont overdo it like joshyles pair, imo they looked best around their 9-16 month transition (closer to the 9) but at the 21 month theres too much indigo loss throughout (probably a drastic change from his wash). i understand that hes in the heavyweight 2 year competition though so he 'has to' wear them to death. i feel he couldve won already during his 9-16 month mark.

I understand your opposition, TooAwesome, but jeans are meant to be worn. Wear the jeans, don't let the jeans wear you.

Props to the fellas above!

My quick update at Month 21. I feel like detail shots similar to DFreshLeish would be good, but that'll be for another day.

Edit: 1 wash @ the 1 year mark, but I feel like a soak or another wash is in order soon.

Update from #76.

Photos galore! Sharing is caring, right?

My jeans are 9.5 months old are this point. No washes or soaks - only my pure unadulterated sweat and tears.

Cheers,

Josh

itylerstewart Thanks for the wishes. I didn't really intend to have many SuFu people on it. I was more hoping to contribute to the world of denim knowledge about denim comps hosted by stores. When I was planning out the competition, I couldn't really find a full-on "offline" competition. I hope this helps the next person in line who's thinking about doing the same thing.

supersexy Thanks for the thumbs up. If anything, pop by and say 'hello.' The non-selvedge Levi's ranges from $88, I believe, so it's not thaaat bad. In any case, keep an eye out for the competition because it's gonna be fun.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I wanted to post this to document and contribute more knowledge for the denim community. In the process of putting together the details, I couldn't find many stores that hosted an "offline" competition. I'm sure there's a good bunch of people out there that work in clothing stores/denim shops that wanna host a competition, so they could use us as a case study.

beautiful_FrEaK Ideally, it would've be a year, but a year for the average person/first time raw denim wearer. 6 months was the bare minimum and I wanted to push it further. One of the biggest deciding factors is that the post-secondary school year ends in April for us, so we had to be conscious of that. 7 months seemed to work the best.

The local aspect is to help build an Edmonton denim community.

lysandar I'm hoping for the quality over quantity. There's so much to cover, but we gotta keep it real. I think it'll be fun and informative, regardless. There's going to be monthly meet-ups, so that should fill in any denim cravings.

Part of the community building is because most denimheads know each other through the Interwebz. I get excited whenever I meet a denimhead in real life, so I think it'd be cool to facilitate these meet-ups to bring people with the same passion together.

ah_long I had to draw the line somewhere. I still want to keep the store's interest in mind, y'know? The plan is to get some reps from each brand to help judge the contest, so it makes sense to use the brands we have because of our existing relationship.

Hey SuFu,

I'm emerging from under my bridge to let you know about a local denim comp that I'm hosting through the store I work at, Jaisel, in Edmonton, Canada.

EDIT: This is mostly for educational purposes about hosting an in-store denim comp. I came up unsuccessful in finding a store that does a full-on denim competition, so my hope is that this can be used as a case study if one of you guys ever want to host one at your stores.

I've been planning on doing this for some time, but all the planning and logistics are nuts. I have much much more respect for all the brave souls who host comps here.

Anywho, take a peek and let me know what you think? I have big plans for it - I'm pretty stoked, I'm not gonna lie.

Details on website: http://www.jaisel.ca/2011/09/wear-tear-raw-denim-competiton-details/

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158682357552582

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Jaisel presents one of the first of its kind in Canada: Wear & Tear Raw Denim Competition. It's the quest to find the best pair of jeans. Buy a new pair of raw denim and wear it over a 7 month period. The competitors with the best jeans at the end will win a new pair of denim. Everyone will have their perfect jeans.

WHAT IS RAW DENIM:

Raw denim is denim that’s dyed, unwashed and not distressed. Raw denim gets better with more wear because it molds, creases and fades to your body and lifestyle. Instead of buying designer denim, you design it yourself. Raw denim is the journey toward your perfect jeans. Once you go raw, you never go back.

COMPETITION OVERVIEW:

Start date: Date of purchase between July 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011.

End date: 7 months after your date of purchase.

- A July 1, 2011 start date means a February 1, 2012 end date. A September 30, 2011 start date means an April 30, 2012 end date.

The competition will be divided into 4 groups:

- Levi’s

- MINEDRD

- Naked and Famous Denim

- Nudie Jeans

You will be placed in the brand of your jeans for the brand prize. We will also be giving a grand prize to the overall best denim of the competition.

Judging for the grand and brand prize will be based on official competition-end photos.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE CONTEST:

1) Buy a new pair of raw denim* or bring in your new pair (purchased between July 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011) to Jaisel.

2) Complete a registration form.

3) Get your starting competition photo taken (of you and your jeans) at Jaisel.

4) Live life and bring your jeans along for the journey.

* Jeans DO NOT have to be purchased at Jaisel, but in order to enter a non-Jaisel purchased pair of raw denim, we require a $10 processing fee and proof of purchase (to verify the purchase date and determine the competition start and end date). Raw denim purchased at Jaisel will have their $10 processing fee waived.

DENIM MEET-UPS:

Every month, Jaisel will host denim meet-ups to foster the Edmonton denim community. Meet fellow denimheads (AKA denim enthusiasts) and/or just come to learn more about denim culture. Meet-ups will alternate between being hosted at Jaisel and other establishments on Whyte Ave. Meet-ups at Jaisel will include door prizes, exclusive denim goodies and competitor-only sales. Stay tuned for more details.

DENIM WORKSHOPS:

Every 2-3 months, Jaisel will host a denim workshop to teach you more denim. Topics will include the construction of denim, repair tips and tricks. Stay tuned.

MONTHLY PHOTOS:

- Come in once a month for progress shots.

- Each monthly progress shot will give you a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Jaisel (max 1 entry per month).

- If you come in for all the progress photos, you get 5 additional entries into the draw.

Photos are NOT mandatory. You don’t want to miss out on documenting the evolution of your jeans – that’s half the fun.

VOTING:

- Voting will take place between May 1, 2012 and May 15, 2012 on our website and/or our Facebook Page.

- The voting will be split 50/50 between public and industry votes.

- Results will be announced by May 31, 2012.

PRIZES:

Grand prize: A $200 gift certificate to Jaisel for the overall best denim of the competition.

Brand prize: The winner from each group will receive a free pair of jeans from the current season of the same brand.

Additional prizes: Take the best photo of/in your jeans. Judging will take the same format as above. Each side competition winner will win a $50 gift certificate to Jaisel. We’re leaving it up to your interpretation on how to compose the picture.

- The most adventurous photo

- The most artistic photo of your jeans

- The best denim outfit.

Participation prize: All competitors will receive awesome swag from their brand. The swag won’t be for sale in-store anywhere.

Monthly photo draw: The draw will take place at the end of competition. Entries are from getting your monthly progress photo taken. The prize is a $100 gift certificate to Jaisel.

PERKS:

Throughout the competition, all competitors will receive 10% off all purchases at Jaisel.

You’ll create the best jeans you’ve owned in your life.

We’re getting you deals at surrounding Whyte Ave establishments. Stay tuned.

If you have any questions about the competition, email denimcomp [at] jaisel.ca.

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Let me know what y'all think.

Cheers,

Josh

#76 checking in with my NFxBIG 21oz.

220 days in (photo taken yesterday), and they're still holding up. It's usually not that baggy from the side, but you know how it goes.

Keep fighting the good fight, champs!

-Josh

#4's second pair:

damn...you can spend your "whole" day with Samurai and you will always discover something new. Haven't noticed this little selvage detail on the fly/waistband before

That's so intense! That's definitely for the wearer's pleasure alone.

#76 checking with the lone Naked & Famous Denim (N&F x BiG 21oz) pair in the competition.

From Day 140:

I fear that I got a size too big because I'm losing some of my school year weight since it's Spring and I'm exercising more. First world problems, eh?

Not sure what to do with these since I'm planning to get Naked and Famous' Japan Heritage line coming out this Fall. Maybe it'll be a collector's item, but it looks too good to not wear.

Keep rocking, gang.

Josh

Nicely done, straightxedge! Ring in coin pocket?