Denim Break-In

[KYinC]

We all know that you can "cheat" and break-in denim with the use of sandpaper. I wanna know what everyone thinks is the best ACTIVITY to do in their jeans in order to break them in the fastest way possible with the best result? Also if my denim is "washed selvedge" that appears to have been washed ONCE from the factory (still pretty dark and bleeds onto my shoes), will it make my results far less noticable?

[darknworn]

I've heard of the beach treatment. Basically, wear your jeans and bath in the ocean...then roll around in the sand, then bake in the sun. Repeat as necessary. Personally, I wore a pair of Levi's loose fit to go snow boarding when I didn't know a snowboard from a washboard. One day of rolling down the slopes is worth a year of normal usage. Make sure you wear extra paddings. No pain, no gain...literrally!

[leviathan]

Don't do the sandpapering. I've sort of ruined by LVC 55s by slightly over obsessive papering!! Also it just doesn't look quite right. IF you're going to do it, one tip I learned here - iron the jeans while they're still wet after the wash - the abrassion marks really "light up".

Anyway, I'm going to get another raw pair of 55s today, soak them once, and just leave well alone (apart from wearing them). IT's really the only way ....

[rhythmandsound]

where do you get your raw 55's and what's retail on those?

[leviathan]

Actually I made a mistake, can't get the raw 55s. Got a pair of raw 44s instead. From Dover Street Market. LVC and Junya Watanabe have a "stall" there selling selected LVC items and JW altered LVC jeans (for example a re-cut and slightly flared LVC raw 1933) and other levis pieces remade in JW fabrics (mostly washed out morning suit fabrics)

[Brienneoftarth]

just wear the same pair of jeans for a month straight, if they start to smell, air em out in your backyard on a dry cool day, after a month, if theyre raw denim, they should start to look waxxy or shiny a lil bit, if you put em in the wash at that point you should start to see fading in all the right places faster and more authentic than you would otherwise. I would recomend wearing them without wash for even long if you can.

[trinket]

yes, if you alternate your jeans they take a lot longer to break in.

a day's rest allows the fabric to relax, and the fibres actually recover a bit.

... wearing the same pair non-stop will break them in faster - because of the contstant stress.

i've been wearing my LVC '47s during my training for a marathon walk. I think i've walked about 120km in them so far. ... less wear than i expected.

More whiskers are caused by sitting on your ass at the computer... or hardcore shopping is my recommended denim-distressing-activity.

_trinket

[MyMindSpray]

this might be the wrong approach, but i find that if you're not afraid of heavy fading...wash in hot water, then dry in high heat...this basically kills the denim...i used this method on my rogans, and i was quite pleased with the results......i think it reduces the lifespan by almost half though....

[Brienneoftarth]

i've found that wearing them everyday gets a great fade, but they also fall apart. for some reason the crotch in my kjeans always fades out fast and rips. prob fron constant walking, sitting, stretching etc

[Serge d Nimes]

You can use steel wool as an alternative to sandpaper. steel wool will get the desired efect without damaging the denim and making it look fuzzy. I don't like to use either though.

I'm not illiterate, I just can't type!

[alexbigman]

a month of constant wearing is always good.....i've had good results on rogan/sixty with that....

i'm working on a raw pair of nudie ola right now....they suggest 6 months, and i'm at about 3 months right now.......i'm gonna go to around september though b4 i do...so like 8 months

[Geowu]

if my denim is "washed selvedge" that appears to have been washed ONCE from the factory (still pretty dark and bleeds onto my shoes), will it make my results far less noticable?

Probably not. It might be a bit harder for the indigo to fade IMO.

Crouch, stretch, run, dance, sit on concrete.

I crouch 100 times a day, heard that from a Japanese.

As to the beach treatment, will the jeans turn out with yellow fadings?

[ABELnyc]

in my experience, the best wear appearance on any denim is achieved by:

1) wearing them alot, until you absolutely have to wash them because they're starting to get really filthy.

2) wash in cold, inside out if you prefer, but hang dry, preferably in the sun. something about the light and air getting to the ink and denim stitches etc. results in a beautiful look.

this method has worked extremely well for my Diesel Kratt and Kurat, Engineered Levis, Rogan stasis, Double RL selvedge. not sure about anything else like evisu, APC etc. but i think the only way to truly acheive a worn in look without being contrived or forced, is to just wear the hell out of them. wash only when necessary...but remember, putting in the dryer on high heat may look okay, but it makes the denim much weaker.

sandpaper is a bad call. that's when you start to venture into "forcefade" land, like when you see some loser with brand new jeans, but the legs/hips/seat and 'whiskers' are completely bleached and sanded and it looks horrible. denim is meant to withstand the elements big time...in that way it's kind of like leather.

when you see leather furniture that is truly decades old, cracked and worn but utterly beautiful...such a look can be attempted by a forced aging, but it's never quite the same. so yeah, patience and time.

~multiflavored RodLavers~

http://abelnyc.com

[wild_whiskey]

To the original poster - if youre jeans have been washed once, youre fine. One-wash, two-wash, three-wash, hell, as long as you're beating them up, you can get fading after ten-wash.

Also, bike-riding wears in the thighs like none other, and going to the beach a couple times a week will get to the butt a lot from sitting in the sand.