Getting through those first 60 days

[ruprecht]

After spunking stupid amounts of cash on denim over the last two years, I'm finally going to do the decent thing and wear some f*ckers in properly over the six-month barrier. I've been wearing my new LVC '47s for all of two days now.

As a serial denim neurotic I'm lookng for any tips/inspiration/mantras/benedictine chants/whatever that can help me stay strong before that first wash.

To elaborate - I'm a worn in, pale blue and battered 501 man - not really loving the stiff, dark blue look. Eventually, I want really good contrast and, of course, a great fit.

Shared neurosis would be great - and any pics of similar jeans that have worked out nice. I NEED SELF HELP SUPPORT here people!!!

[ruprecht]

Oops, Imeant 6 months, not 60 days. See, my brain's screwed already.

[snugglepony]

props on the dirty rotten scoundrels refs. (keep that cork on the fork).

appropos of your post... well... two days is two days. my guess is that in three weeks you won't even be worrying about it anymore.

[punyfig]

Be mindful of the whiskers and honeycombs but apart from that ignore it, takes a couple of months though.

[batorizer]

you just have to get into the mindset that if you wash your jeans, the world MIGHT come to an end.

[s to the z a]

yeah you'll get used to it, just a word of advice tho, watch out for the knees, in trying to get wicked honeycombing on the backs of the knees of my nudies, i inadvertantly stretched the front of the knees and now (3 months in) i have this weird overhang that looks like i've got tennis balls taped under my kneecaps. lameness, don't let it happen to you man

[ruprecht]

Cheers for the warning - I'm determined to just let nature take its course this time. Good to know that others struggle with self-discipline too. Niceness.

[__3xL]

^^ cant avoid that if you sit with legs bent ever

[tweeds]

um, after awhile you'll just stop thinking about it. no need to go mad over your jeans, they'll live through a world war and a half without us bothering too much.

[prufrock]

its just about patience. just be careful not to spill anything on your jeans other than water. dont worry too much about your jeans, in 6 months they'll look good. if you soaked your lvc 1947s in the beginning they shouldnt be too stiff, trust me they get pretty soft. it might get to the point where you would want to starch the honeycombs and whiskers. lvcs arent as stiff as APCs, im dealing with that right now and it feel like im walking in paper bags. but you do start to get an appreciation for the stiff jeans, they are much warmer . =)

good luck with the lvc 1947, ive got about 2 months left in mine. ill post pictures after the next wash.

-later days.

[ruprecht]

i haven't actually soaked them. ummed and ahhed but decided on wearing them in dry. they're 36 - 36, but i figure i can rock them a little bit big for a while. then i'm hoping they'll go down to a snuggley 34 - 34. does that sound about right to you? the whiskers etc won't go off kilter, right?

[sneakeraddict]

Unfortunately, (this is from my reading over the past few months anyway) the problem with Levis dry denim is that shrinkage is actually UN-predictable.

I have read accounts on here that say they have washed/soaked Levis dry denim in the hottest water, and received very little shrinkage, while others have become unwearable because of too much shrinkage.

I think the shrinkage must vary from lot to lot.

I think Levis give the "worst case scenario" on the brown sticker attached to the jeans, obvously because they dont want complaints, so they are hedging their bets on shrinkage

Interestingly enough, I also own a 47 and a regular STF, and am curious to see how shrinkage will effect them each

After browsing ebay and looking at second hand STFs in my size, looking at listings were they have clearly been washed and dryed regularly over the years, the seller gives the REAL measurements at almost the same as the original TAG measurements.

I have seen normally used years old STFs on ebay, that are tagged 40 length and according to the seller, measure still almost 40 after measurement.

[ruprecht]

the only recent experience i've had with STFs was a pair i bought in Brazil. the shrinkage was minimal, if at all...

[wild_whiskey]

47s fade pretty fast, I think. After 3 or 4 wearings, my back pocket already started turning bright blue from the wallet fade.

Also, I hot soaked and machine dried my 47s to shrink them down... they went from 30x34 to 29x32

[rnrswitch]

I would hustle up and get the shrinking out of the way, just to get the correct fit.

[ruprecht]

"I hot soaked and machine dried my 47s to shrink them down... they went from 30x34 to 29x32"

did that effect the denim in a negative way? - you hear horror stories from denim heads about that she-ite. i figured by not soaking i'd get added stiffness and better creases etc...

[snugglepony]

i can't cosign on the dryer because i've never tried it, but soaking your jeans doesn't do much but shrink them a little. remember, it's not the water that alters the denim and/or indigo, it's the agitation. you'll lose some starch/sizing in the soak, but in my experience, they always come out pretty freaking stiff once they dry.

[prufrock]

its best to just soak and then let the jeans dry on you after a spin cycle. the creases will turn out marvelous.

-later days.