Denim questions...

[Guest]

... thanks in advance if you can field or confirm any of these.

<ul>

[*] Why is the high grade denim hairy? - do the hairs wear-off, wash-off or absorb the indigo color? (I saw the 0 grade evisu denim in Tokyo - and it had these thick albino flies legs sticking out of it.)

[*] How do Evisu and Vintage Levi selvage flaps sit so flat? yet the nudie selvage has become crooked after one wash. I've seen jeans from Lee and GSTAR where the selvage is glued down... yuck.

[*] Is a tighter fit - better for getting whiskers? Nudie recommend buying one size too small - their attitude seems to be "stretch to fit" rather than "shrink to fit". Also, the nudie denim is thinner... does that also enable crisper creasing?

[*] Has anyone got information about the L.Vuitton selvage denim? I've got a broken-twill jacket with writing in the selvage. Is it french selvage denim? Japanese?

[trinket]

... thanks in advance if you can field or confirm any of these.

<ul>

[*] Why is the high grade denim hairy? - do the hairs wear-off or wash-off ? (I saw the 0 grade evisu denim in Tokyo - and it had these thick albino flies legs sticking out of it.)

[*] How do Evisu and Vintage Levi selvage flaps sit so flat? yet the nudie selvage has become crooked after one wash. I've seen Lee and GSTAR jeans with the selvage glued down... yuck.

[*] Is a tighter fit - better for getting whiskers? Nudie recommend buying tight - their attitude seems to be "stretch to fit" rather than "shrink to fit". Also, the nudie denim is thinner... does this help for getting crisp whiskers?

[*] Has anyone got information on the L.Vuitton selvage denim? I've got a broken-twill jacket with writing in the selvage. Is this French selvage denim? Japanese?

_trinket

[ringring]

Why is the high grade denim hairy?

It isn't necessarily. Lots of high end denims aren't hairy at all. The hairs are often burnt off at the denim mill as a part of the finishing process. Hairy denim, just means that this process wasn't carried out. And yes, the hairs do wear and wash off eventually.

How do Evisu and Vintage Levi selvage flaps sit so flat?

??? Not sure what you mean.

But you can iron the selvage seam open so it lies flat. I have selvage by Nudie and they don't seem to behave much differently to other selvage jeans in that respect. The only difference is that Nudie selvage twists less than non-sanforised denim (like LVC), due to the sanforising process.

Is a tighter fit - better for getting whiskers?

Whiskers depend on how much abrasion you subject your jeans to, not necessarily the fitting nor the thickness of the denim per se. If tighter jeans means that you're getting more abrasion to the crotch area, then it will help.

Re: Crisp whiskers, just depends on the amount of abrasion applied to a crease in the denim. If there is only a little abrasion between washes then the whiskers will appear more blurred, as the creasing will have moved position slightly between washes.

L.Vuitton selvage denim?

Probably Japanese denim.

[trinket]

Thanks ringring.

I guess I am wondering why - within the one brand - the higher grade denims have thicker hairs (assuming that the grades are treated the same, and the hairs aren't burnt off).

And I guess my question about the selvage flaps is mainly fascination with the almost supernatural way that the evisu flaps sit flat ... i doubt that washing, tumble drying, or ironing them in the wrong direction would stop them sitting flat.

_trinket

[rhythmandsound]

Quote: Is a tighter fit - better for getting whiskers?

Whiskers depend on how much abrasion you subject your jeans to, not necessarily the fitting nor the thickness of the denim per se. If tighter jeans means that you're getting more abrasion to the crotch area, then it will help.

you will at least get more creases with a tighter fit...this is a fact. with loose jeans you have little chance of getting that desired (by some) 'whiskered' look, even with a lot of wear.