best way to store dry/unwashed denim

[Chicken]

i have a wall, too. my jeans are hanging on a curtain rod, right above my bed.

[Dogfarm]

The ones you are wearing either put on the floor or a hook. The ones that you don't wear either fold up or hang up.

[SEDUCTION_INC]

no offense but that looks fucking stupid.

Edited by partytaco on Feb 25, 2006 at 04:06 PM

haha... using the department store type clips or hanging them on suite hangers should do just fine. or just throw them on the floor.

[fndmybetterhalf]

who the fuck is this guy bumping threads from 06

[funkaoshi]

I usually drape mine over a chair. Jeans are pretty rough and tough: you really don't need to baby them. I don't have any weird creases from having them folded at the knees either, so I wouldn't worry about that. Hanging them on the wall seems like over kill, though I guess that makes them easy to grab.

[aho]

Been over-thinking about how to store my denim whore collection (ie: not going to wear, just for storage/collecting purposes) and was wondering if any archival clothing experts had any tips? The biggest problem that I foresee is that raw denim has starch in it, great for bacteria to thrive. I've also read that clothing needs to breath (does this apply to denim?) and yet I just put them in air tight plastic containers which I assume isn't best over the long run...How does one go about storing raw denim for decades to come?

[klue]

Been over-thinking about how to store my denim whore collection (ie: not going to wear, just for storage/collecting purposes) and was wondering if any archival clothing experts had any tips? The biggest problem that I foresee is that raw denim has starch in it, great for bacteria to thrive. I've also read that clothing needs to breath (does this apply to denim?) and yet I just put them in air tight plastic containers which I assume isn't best over the long run...How does one go about storing raw denim for decades to come?

Apocolypse preparations?

[aho]

it's the obsessive compulsive trait in me coming out...

[vitasoy]

I think it's fine just to store them in a closet, folded or hung, but what I noticed is the "cut" denim that changes. I'm not sure if it's the contact with scissors or whatever, but the denim is clearly affected by it. I got my 710s over a year ago from 2nd and I got them to hem it. Ever since I received them, I haven't looked at the hem until a few months ago lol and look what I found! Sorry for the large photos, I thought it was necessary to see the detail. I left them in that taped (semi-concealed) plastic bag it came with, which was placed inside a drawer. I took them out for the first time today to take a few pictures. The denim quality is still new (awesome), it's just the cut areas that changed colours. This happened to my 0500's hem as well, and I got those a couple or a few months ago, but they haven't turned that purple/pinkish yet.

[aho]

^Interesting...wonder if it has anything to do with the lack of oxygen...I'm no science major so who knows.

I guess the biggest concern is if the bacteria in the starch would deteriorate the fabric over years and years, and if placing the material in a non-ventilated container would speed up this process. Another concern is insect damage so I guess the best thing to do really is to stick them in a drawer with circulation or someplace with some cedar and hope for the best.

I know I'm over thinking this all but I'm approaching the subject more with a historical conservationist/archival mind frame rather than the traditional "They're just jeans, do whatever/Just wear them" mindset...Different beasts altogether but I figured there maybe someone with some knowledge on the subject that might pipe in as usually tends to happen here on sufu...

[lostinthesupermarket]

That looks like the result of some sort of oxidation process.

Interesting.

Aho maybe you should ask Paul T. how Lynn Downey stores the jeans in the Levis archive?

[WAKE UP SHEEPLE!]

I don't think any oxidation was involved. A simpler theory for the purple coloration is that wax (little wax crayons that look like soap) was used to mark the cut. I've had my jeans kept in plastic boxes at storage facilities for several years and they've held up fine.

I think it's fine just to store them in a closet, folded or hung, but what I noticed is the "cut" denim that changes. I'm not sure if it's the contact with scissors or whatever, but the denim is clearly affected by it. I got my 710s over a year ago from 2nd and I got them to hem it. Ever since I received them, I haven't looked at the hem until a few months ago lol and look what I found! Sorry for the large photos, I thought it was necessary to see the detail. I left them in that taped (semi-concealed) plastic bag it came with, which was placed inside a drawer. I took them out for the first time today to take a few pictures. The denim quality is still new (awesome), it's just the cut areas that changed colours. This happened to my 0500's hem as well, and I got those a couple or a few months ago, but they haven't turned that purple/pinkish yet.

[aho]

^Pretty rudimentary if I remember correctly (based on pictures taken from the archives) although I'm sure there's more technology to it than meets the eye. I also wonder how many raw deadstock pairs they have as I feel the majority of what the pairs I've seen are worn in, and if there is a different storage process for these than other pairs...

[vitasoy]

^^ The denim hasn't changed, it still feels new and smells new, it's just the area you see, when I first received them, that area wasn't purple/pink, it definitely changed over time which is why I'm curious as to what it really is

Another thing I just noticed is, it's just those hems (unwashed) that are like that.. I have another hem of the 710s (lol, got sick of stacking) that I cut myself and they've been sitting on my table for several months now and they don't seem to be developing that purple/pink colour near the cuts at all..

hmmmm..

[Warakia]

Maybe they put some chemicals on there to make it even stiffer, making the hemming process easier?

[denimotaku]

are they on both sides or just the one side of the hem?

i reckon it's just the marker they used to outline where they were going to cut the fabric when altering. Pink is a very common colour for tailors chalk. If it were caused by cutting, there wouldn't be that streak moving away from the cut edge.

If it's only marked on one side, it's most likely tailors chalk and when you first saw them, you saw the side that wasn't marked. If it's on both sides it could be a fabric marker pen. They have pens with ink that disappear after a wash and some that disappear over a short time.

If not, then it may be the Virgin Mary's tears of blood come to tell you that altering jeans is sacrilegious and against humanity. =)

[Guyute]

that is clearly a crayon type mark...I bet you got both those pairs cut at the same place and they used a marker thing to draw the line...try rubbing I bet it comes off

[denimotaku]

...try rubbing I bet it comes off

lol..... i'll try that tonight

[Paul T]

As far as I remember, the entire Levi's archive is climate and humidity controlled; damp will encourage bacteria etc.

I would have thought ventilation was important, but a lot of their objects are in steel containers; some wrapped in fabric. My experience is that insects tend to attack wool rather than cotton,

I think if you stick your jeans in a dry wood drawer, you'll be good for 50 years or so.

[lostinthesupermarket]

Aho...Paul T has spoken. You need a denim humidor.

[fre-co]

I think it's fine just to store them in a closet, folded or hung, but what I noticed is the "cut" denim that changes. I'm not sure if it's the contact with scissors or whatever, but the denim is clearly affected by it. I got my 710s over a year ago from 2nd and I got them to hem it. Ever since I received them, I haven't looked at the hem until a few months ago lol and look what I found! Sorry for the large photos, I thought it was necessary to see the detail. I left them in that taped (semi-concealed) plastic bag it came with, which was placed inside a drawer. I took them out for the first time today to take a few pictures. The denim quality is still new (awesome), it's just the cut areas that changed colours. This happened to my 0500's hem as well, and I got those a couple or a few months ago, but they haven't turned that purple/pinkish yet.

I really hope this is a joke.

[niix]

lol, I hope that is a joke too haha

[rnrswitch]

What is even weirder is that I hemmed a pair of slacks the other day and used a white fabric pencil to mark the hem lines. After I cut the fabric off, I noticed that the white line I had drawn was on both sides of the fabric. The piece I cut off and the bottom of the pants I was hemming. When I hemmed the pants the white line was no longer there, because I had rolled the hem and sewed it down, but the white line was still on the fabric that I had cut off. What gives?

[vitasoy]

Guys, the hem wasn't pink before, I have pictures of it when I first got it, it turned pink after half a year or so.. I have pictures of my 0500's hem as well, it is turning pink too.. it's probably the markings but 2nd for sure used this

They have pens with ink that disappear after a wash and some that disappear over a short time.

Because there was definitely no mark when I first received my jeans..

^screw you rnr lol, I'm not that stupid..

[klue]

[rnrswitch]

Guys, the hem wasn't pink before, I have pictures of it when I first got it, it turned pink after half a year or so.. I have pictures of my 0500's hem as well, it is turning pink too.. it's probably the markings but 2nd for sure used this

Because there was definitely no mark when I first received my jeans..

^screw you rnr lol, I'm not that stupid..

Just playin with ya man.

[vitasoy]

^ haha now worries, i knew

[LC_Miey]

just want to know how do you guys store the jeans that you only been wearing for let say 10-15 times that you plan not to wear them for awhile ( let say 6months to one year) ?

Normally after getting a new jeans, I would wear them for a week or two then I want to store them for future use so that I can continue wearing the pair that im working on..Im dont want to fold them as im afraid it will encourage mould or stench..

how do you normally do it?

[HAZARDkid]

^i have a couple of those hangers with clips attached so i just let em hang in my closet

[mikecch]

I wash the crotch area from the inside with a bit of soap and hang them up: