andrewrose

@ Brennen- I was looking at a pair of those as well, but the waist may be too big in the smallest size.  Have you found them to have stretched out much?  I may do a pair of the French Blue Chinos, but been having some trouble deciding between the two!

I'd be interested in participating if the Roys make the rounds. Bonacoura will be too large for me.

@Pizza, @Brennen - congrats to you both!  @Christian - thank you, and thank you for the fun contest.  Thanks sufu for hosting....

And thanks to all of the other competitors.  As many of you have said, it was nice to get to virtually know you and get a peek into your lives.  It's pretty neat to know that we all started with the same product, yet got visibly different results in the end due to fit, wear patterns, and washing/soaking.  I had a great time!

To all participants, I posted my final pics on the last page (102) right before Christian asked us to post 'em today.  I let him know, so please hit back one to check them out...  I had an estimated ~280 days of wear, and washed one time only, right at the end.  And it was a pleasure to get to know the other participants.  A pretty interesting and cool group of people!

Really enjoyed the contest- I am a slow fader compared to some of you, despite the number of wears I had!  And really enjoyed the denim- I will definitely be purchasing from @Leftfield again!  And to answer your question Christian, it is a Olympus XZ-2, now several years old, but still doing a good job.  I have seen Valley Uprising and enjoyed it, Lynn Hill was a customer at my last job and she actually lent me her personal copy!  How cool is that?!?

Day 1:

Day ~280, post wash:

Annnnd (sorry to blow you up) fit pics...

As you can see, my dogs who are also fading from black to grey, were quite eager to help me!

The hot wash and dry has shrunk the jeans back down quite a bit, I could wear them without a belt now. 

Are we supposed to send final pics to Christian?

Anyway, it's been fun.  I look forward to seeing the rest of your final pics!

Closeup of leg to see the vertical streaking.

Cuffed area vs top block-

Tracks...

Hey Gents,

With just a few days left, I decided to go ahead and wash yesterday.  If you don't remember, this is the Chelsea fit in a waist 31, and I have not washed or soaked for the entire year of wear.  I am guessing somewhere around 280 days of wear in that time....

Prewash-

Post wash (machine on hot, pulled before spin cycle, rolled up in towel to remove excess moisture, then in drier on low until dry)-

contd....

@ Brennen- that repair job looks very well done! 

I find/make time to get outside because it is important to me.  It helps that I have off 3 days a week, am not in school, don't have any kids, and have a very understanding wife!  As long as I spend one of my days off with her, she seems okay with me doing whatever on the other two. 

And some mountain photos for you all!

The route I soloed in trail running shoes to reach the top of Noel's Knob, 5.4.

A face in the rock near the summit of Mount Olympus.

A pine framed by a gate to private property between Crosier Mountain and West Crosier.

A very pretty meadow area en route to Crosier Mountain.

Hart Ridge, Lead Mountain, Never Summer Peak, and Mount Richthofen (way in the background).  These peaks are all in the Never Summer range, which forms the western border of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pinnacle Pool, 11300 feet.  The last of 141 named bodies of water I have visited within Rocky Mountain National Park.  Some were more difficult to reach than many of the peaks!

@ performedbeef, brennen, pizza- all looking great!  Pretty cool to see some out and about shots in some beautiful scenery as well...

Here we are with only a month to go!  I will wash for the first time when we hit October, taking photos before and after.  I'm interested to see how they will look afterwards.  Anyway....

Those were all taken last week outside in shade.  I took these today inside using natural light.  Thought they looked almost indigo in these ones....

I finally decided on something and have a pair of Samurai's 18 anniversary on the way, purchased from 2nd on Rakuten.  They look pretty interesting, and at 18oz raw, will be a bit heavier for winter. 

And some mountain photos for you.  Last week I set personal bests in time elapsed(17h43m), distance(30.02m), and elevation gain(9700ft).

Sunrise- 6:00am.

Sunset: 8:16pm.  Both seen from above 12,000 feet.

Yesterday I met a moose.  Mating season is not yet upon us, and he didn't seem to mind my presence.

Then climbed Aiguille de Fleur, seen here from Lake Verna.

And then visited East Inlet Falls.  Though close to a trail, this was a difficult bushwhack.  But it was in this amazing amphitheater.  I estimate the rock face on the left to be 100 ft high.

Two more months to go.  Looking forward to seeing the final product from you guys!

@Brennan- Pizza is right, looking good!  I need to get the lady to take some fit pics for me.  I've been saying that for awhile now too.  Glad you didn't make them into jorts, and I've been feeling your pain.  It's been pretty hot here this summer.  

 

@Pizza- Knees are awesome.  Combs looking great as well.  You got a bunch of very tight crisp looking folds there.  Digging it!

 

I agree on the rear rise, but at the same time my butt must be pretty small because that is a place they feel a little baggy on me.  Then again, I think I should've sized down one more from what I did.  They've definitely stretched alot.  I didn't measure at first, but the tagged 31 waist is now at 32.5 and I can fit a hand in between me and the jeans.  Then then again, for the next two months I will be at about the leanest I will be all year.

I've been thinking about what next too.  Definitely thinking about something heavier weight for the winter.  The new SExSG look interesting.  Also been looking at some IH666.  Also thinking the next WHWDC will start next spring, and it would be fun to participate in that, so don't know what to do in the time being.  Anyway....

Some Nizzle inspired closeups:

cont'd...

@pizza- great suggestion!  I finally joined the modern world and got a smart phone two weeks ago.  Now I can actually use apps!

@mikecch- forgot to say those things look amazing!

I took some more photos today at work (fluorescent light).  They came out alot better....

Here's a few mountain pics too, in chronological order (snow to no snow).

Looking down from the top of Taylor Glacier.  Approximately 1200 feet of climbing, with sustained climbing in the 60 degree range, maxing out near 70 degrees, approximately 6 ft tall vertical headwall.  The most difficult snow climb I have ever done.

Looking from Twin Sister Peak West to Twin Sisters Peak East.  Note the two people on top for perspective!

Dropping down to Hazeline Lake.  This lake is approximately 6 miles from the nearest trailhead, and there is no trail to it.  I took a longer way that had a shorter drive. 

This photo was taken a week later about 2.25 miles east of Hazeline Lake from Flint Pass.  Quite beautiful.

And this one was taken just yesterday from Hallett Peak.  I'd already done Flattop Mountain, and continued on the ridge to visit Otis Peak (the shorter lump in the center), Taylor Peak (the tallest, ramp like peak), Powell Peak (small high point to the left of the largest snowfield, which is Taylor Glacier), and McHenrys Peak (the next high point to the left of Powell with the thin ribbon of snow near the top).  Also pictured to the left of that are Chiefshead Peak, Pagoda Mountain, and Longs Peak.

@Pizzacrust- looking good!  Hope you are having an awesome time!

This is the 9 month plus update.  Sorry I am a little late.  I love my new job, but it is alot of studying.  I have ~600 flashcards made in 5 weeks.  Anyway, it's been taking up alot of my free time. 

I've shot photos 3x now but just not getting good light or something.  So these don't look 100% representative of how they look in person (save for the last photo).  I am still getting 5+ days/week of wear, though largely sitting at work.  Ah well...  Estimate 210ish wears now, still untouched by water.  Definitely going the whole year without washing at this point, don't know if anyone else has....

Looking a little blurry there... think it's the low shutter speed.  But this is more how they look color wise at this time.  The other two photos make it look like they've gotten darker from the last time I posted!

Been enjoying the outdoors of course.  No photos this time, but have logged some pretty long days.  Two weeks ago finally broke a marathon in distance, going 26.5 miles in a day.  Not bad!

@pizzacrust- thank you.  I think shooting in direct sunlight last time had something to do with that too!  Yours are looking great.  Repairs are barely visible- I probably wouldn't have even noticed the areas unless you highlighted them.  But 30 days is a long wait!

I'd say summer is here at lower altitudes, but winter still reigns above.  I've been largely out of action since January with a foot injury, but have started moving back to active recovery.  It's good to be outside. 

On Memorial Day, I spent some time in Lumpy Ridge, just outside of Estes Park, CO.  This photo was taken from the top of "East Gemstone", and shows Gem Lake below, and "Middle Gemstone" and Gem Peak.  The snow capped mountains behind are part of the Mummy Range, which holds eight peaks over 13,000 feet in elevation, plus many other lower peaks and some beautiful alpine lakes. 

Last week my friend Dan and I set out for Stones Peak, the highest and farthest point to the right here.  We were amazed at the amount of snow in the area- state snowpack is at 197%.  He is doing his first 100 mile ultra marathon in two weeks and wanted something with some distance and elevation gain to take it "easy" on.

We ended up deciding Stones was out since the ridge we'd have to cross was quite snowy and we didn't have crampons or ice axes.  Instead, we stayed on the continental divide to climb Sprague Mountain, 12,713 feet.  It's around 17 miles round trip with ~4,000 feet of elevation gain. 

Looking south from the summit.  We both wore trail runners, and had firm snow on the way up, but it was pretty slushy on the way back and our feet got soaked.  Either way, it was alot of fun and great to be back in the mountains again. 

And one last piece of good news.  I got the dispatch job!  I start on June 21st.  I am pretty excited for it, looking forward to serving the citizens of my city. 

Hope you are all doing well!

@lickquid- looking great!

@performedbeef- also looking great!  It's been hitting 80's here, and I've been sweating, so I feel your pain.  Can't wait for full summertime and suffering!

@christian- congrats on 10,000 followers!  I saw your post on twitter.  Obviously, I really like what you're doing.

Eight months, how time flies.  I still haven't washed or soaked, just some spot cleanups here and there.  Estimating 180 days of wear so far.  I felt like I was falling behind many of you since it seemed like I was loosing color more slowly, but I think they are really starting to pop at this point.  Shot outdoors in shade.

Left side and ever stylish socks and slides.

Top block.  I keep my phone in the left pocket (on r) and lip balm, cards, and pen in r pocket.

Left side.  You can see the pen line pretty distinctly here.

Front.

Back. 

Some details:

Rivet below left pocket.

Coin pocket.

You can even see wear on the pocket bags on the inside!

Rivet just poking through back right pocket.

I've continued to get some burnishing on the top button from my belt.

Cont'd....

Hey guys.  I am taking part in the Left Field Black Maria contest.  Thought I would post these here as well.  I took these in direct sunlight, since I've been trying to get different lighting conditions each time I update in the LF forum.

Chelseas, 7 months in, approximately 160 wears, no washes or soaks:

Hey guys.  Seven months and a few days in.  For something different, I shot these all in direct sunlight.

You can definitely see more wear on the left knee than the right. 

Top block.

Right side and strap in there.  Whoops!

Left side top block.

Still no washes/soaks.  At this point, maybe I'll go all the way?  I'd estimate ~160 days of wear.  Well, I now (and for now) work over nights, so it's a different day when I go in than it is when I leave.  I had to get up at 830 today to meet a guy working on our swamp cooler.  I don't start work until 9pm tonight.  I am not a napper.  It's going to be interesting...

And a small update on my last entry- I got a conditional offer on the dispatch job.  Still more testing to do before it's for sure.  Feeling good, but I thought I'd feel more excited about it.  Ah all.

Thanks guys for the kind words.  I appreciate it. 

@brennen- still looking great!  Good luck on finals.

Hey guys.  Sorry for my lateness in the 6 month update.  Here it's almost time for month seven. 

The past month has been one of the worst and most stressful of my life.  My wife and I were set to close on our first house on April 4th, but I was fired from my job of almost 4 years a week before that.  Which means we no longer qualified for the loan we prequalified for.  We'd already given notice to our landlord and he'd found someone to take our place.  For a few days, it looked like we'd have no where to go at the end of April.  

Fortunately, a family member was able to help us out with some money, so we were still able to move forward with the house, just in a slightly different manner.  We closed on April 8th, and since it's 1.5 miles from the place we were renting, took a day to move all the big stuff and have been bringing smaller stuff over in loads as well as cleaning up the old place.  Hopefully we won't be moving for a long long time.  Moving really sucks.  Next time I think I'd rather do it all in one go, even if it is just a short distance. 

But we're here and getting settled in.  Still have quite a bit to unpack and go through/get rid of, since at the end it was pretty much shove stuff in boxes and bring it over.  Finally got internet access back- went almost three weeks without!  I didn't know Prince had died until he was already cremated!

Found a new job, which I am much happier at, though the money won't be sustainable for long.  I'm in process with the city we live in to become an emergency dispatcher, so hopefully that will work out.  Seems that like would be very rewarding and fun.  Law enforcement hires at a glacial pace, as they really want to make sure you are on the up and up.  I first tested for the position in early February.  We'll see.

Anyway, I did take these photos earlier in the month.  Thanks for reading and bearing with me.

Front- these were a bit dirty in all the photos taken.  Still no washes/soaks at 6 months in.  Finally got a small hole over my cell phone on the left pocket.  It doesn't appear to be widening at this point.  Also had one of the back pocket rivets wear through.  I think it adds to the character.

Closeup left pocket area- you can see the small hole.

Closeup right pocket area and some dirt.

From behind.  Interesting to see the variation in the combs.  The right leg looks to have tighter and straighter creases.  The left looks to have more open and somewhat curvier folds going on.  At least to me.  As you can see on the front photo, the left knee is definitely more worn, as I tend to kneel on that leg first.  Don't know if that has something to do with it. 

Closeups- left (top) right (bottom).

Left side.

I promise I will be on time for month seven!

@pizza and @bruce- looking great gents!  Really cool how we are all getting such distinct wear when starting with the same product at the same time.  I guess that's what it's all about!

@christian- great jeans, I love them!

Well guys, looks like my crotch is finally gone. I'll send it out to get patched up before the hole gets too big.

 

Where do y'all usually go for repairs?

 

Railcar seems like the cheapest at the moment. I'm also looking for a relatively quick turnaround - something about the fit on my Strike Golds just doesn't feel right after being in the Chelseas for so long.

Make sure you send them somewhere that takes 2 months to repair so the rest of us can get caught up to you!  Of course, just kidding, I think your pair is my favorite so far. 

Looking forward to seeing the next batch of updates from all of you.  We're now at six months!  How time flies.

Hi Gents.  5.5 months in.  Still haven't washed/soaked.  Wearing 5+ days a week, so I'm guessing somewhere around 120 days of wear.  These are Chelseas, fit like a glove.

I was working in the garage when these were taken, so they are a bit dirty.  Outdoors in natural indirect light.

Indoors in natural light.

The left side is looking quite good IMHO. 

@pizzacrust, performedbeef, itschrisb, BrennenCooke, brucenasty- all looking great.  Bruce, cool story behind the tattoo.  My old roommate had a fairly large handpoked tattoo on his back and said it was brutal.  It was on/over his shoulder blades, and though I've heard from others that area really sucks, it was actually a relief for me after having ribs and lower back done in the same session!

@Christian- thank you for your generosity.  As soon as I can get someone else to take some pics for me, I will take advantage of that offer. 

I'm reading this book right now:

Definitely worth checking out if you can find it at your local library or feel like buying it.  It seems like alot of you (much like myself) are into making various things vs. buying them.  This guy is the father of modern American furniture.  Built his house from the ground up, and every single thing in it.  Very inspiring.  @itschrisb if you have a car, his home/studio was made a national historic landmark in 1993.  Located in Malvern.  I went to visit when I was in school.  It's awesome.

@brucenasty

Lookin' good!  Amazing how the wash changed the appearance of them.  One thing I've noticed is that the denim is so dark pretty much anything you rub against shows up on them. 

 

@itschrisb

Funny welding story... I went to UArts for jewelry/metalsmithing.  One of my classmates was working on her final project late at night and on not much sleep.  Funny how those things always came down to the last minute.  She was wearing a synthetic blend hoodie, and sitting down while oxyacetlyene welding, with sparks going everywhere including into her lap.  You can probably see where this is going already.  Her hoodie caught on fire and of course she did not stop drop and roll, but stood and screamed and took it off over her head.  Fortunately, she suffered only minor burns on her abdomen.  She kept the hoodie and gave it to our teacher the day she graduated. 

Hi all,

Slightly behind schedule with the three month update.  They are looking great, really starting to see some wear developing.  They fit great/feel great too!  I've still been getting at least 5 wears a week, so somewhere in the 60-70 day range I'd guess.  No washes or soaks....

From the front.

Top block- some wear on buttons, cell phone outline (yes, I still have a flip phone), whiskers.

From behind.  I don't really carry anything in the rear pockets.

Really like seeing the hardware wearing- this rivet is on the right pocket.  Love seeing the copper poking though!

My belt has caused some burnishing to take place toward the bottom of the waist button.

Close up of the area above the left pocket.  Seeing some distinctive wear there.  Note the copper on the rivet as well.

Here's a deer I saw while running today.  We haven't gotten a ton of snow this year, but it's been pretty cold and what we have gotten is sticking around.

Enjoying seeing the photos from the rest of you.  Hope everyone had a nice holiday season and happy new year!