The crotch and the seat before and after

Today I'm looking at the front and back of the jeans before and after the wash. The crotch and the seat areas as they say.

You'll notice, as always, the shiny-ness of the before photos on the left, and the matt colour of the after photos on the right. Then the standard colouration that happens because of the wash. The other thing is that the folds which is clearly shown on the left are now just marks on the right. Tomorrow I'll show photos of the knees fron and back, where you can see it more clearly.

Day 84 Wear and tear

There's this area on my upper thigh, that seems to be wearing a lot more and faster than all the other places. The fibres are already torn, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on it to see if it's getting worse. If it's going to tear, then I'll wash the jeans and fix them I think. Will have to see. I've thought of all possibilities, and the only one I can think of is my mobile phone, which is in my left hand front pocket all the time.

Anyone else with the same problem?

Day 195 | Front moustaches

Why do we use the word moustaches, when referring to the front creases on jeans? Isn't the word whiskers, as in cat whiskers, closer to what it is that we're all talking about.

Be that as it may, here's what mine looks like now, after 6 months of wear then one wash. Dependent on how you look at it, I haven't spent any time making any of the marks on the jeans "worse" or "prettier". They are from natural wear every day. That means a lot of time on a chair sitting in front of my laptop.

Today is the last day of writing daily. There's new projects on the horizon, but I'm going to continue blogging here on a weekly basis. Probably a Monday. There's still so much to learn about denim, that I don't want to give it all up, even after the test is complete. The next wash will again be in another 6 months, but I'll be wearing the jeans probably 3 times a week, instead of daily.

Day 187 | The front pockets (5th comparison)

The front pockets for me, show the biggest changes in the jeans. Not just before and after the wash, but since day 1, up until day 183, because of the marks made by my front pocket wallet and the general creases or moustache marks. The pictures in the top two photographs are from the beginning of each of the 6 months and the right hand picture in both is after the first wash.

It's strange to see and feel the difference in the washed denim. It's softer, with more character, yet it shrunk quite a bit. They're by far more comfortable, even though I know they will stretch again from all the wear. Perhaps another wash in 6 months will show other changes. Perhaps a hole or two?

The bottom photo is of my front pocket wallet and the marks it made on the right hand front pocket. I had it in that pocket every day for 6 months. I'm really happy with how they turned out after 6 months and the first wash. Tomorrow I'll compare the bottom hems.

Day 158 | The front pockets (4th comparison)

The front pockets for me is the place on the jeans that you can see the most change, because of the mark my front pocket wallet made. Other than that it's the usual creases and a lot more shiny.

The creases also have a light blue edge to them, so that when you flatten the denim out, you can still see the crease very clearly. This part of the denim has also stretched a lot, so much so that I have been forced to wearing a belt every day. Otherwise they hang too low, which forces me to fold up the bottom hems. After the first wash next month, it should be a much better fit.

The photos are from the beginning of each month, one, two, three, four and five. Next month is my last comparisons before they get washed. I'll compare them again directly after the wash, which should be really interesting. Tomorrow I'll compare the bottom hems.

Just as a matter of interest, I was in Red Devil again today with a friend, looking at some Dr.Denim jeans, and I am really interested in two of their pairs of pants to purchase next. The first one is Terence, and the second is Donk. Terence would be a good pair of additional jeans, but Donk is a pair of Chinos, a really good cut, excellent material and perfect for spring going into summer.

Day 124 | The front pockets (3rd comparison)

Today I'm comparing the front pockets. This is probably the area that the most wear is visible. The pictures on the left in both sets of comparison photographs are from day 14, the pictures that are second are from day 59, third are from day 92 and fourth is from today, day 124.

There's such a huge difference from each other, especially day 14 vs day 124. In the beginning the denim was all smooth or uncreased, yet very raw. Now it's more creased, yet smoother, in a more shiny way. My front wallet mark on the front right pocket is also much more visible than before. It reminds me of what I wrote on day 107 about being obsessed with denim, "When you're seriously considering buying a new cell phone, just because you don't like the shape of the pocket fade your current phone creates."

Day 92 | The front pockets (2nd comparison)

Today I compare the front pockets. A lot more creases and by far more marks everywhere. The main changes are the creases from sitting in front of my laptop everyday, in the places where my hips bend. It's like my jeans are permanently moulded into that "sitting" shape, even when I take them off. The pictures on the left in the two top photographs is from day 14 and the middle pictures from day 59 and the right side picture is from today.

There's plenty of light blue marks from the wear on the button holes as well, and as I mentioned on day 90, a lot more shiny from not having been washed for 92 days. Will be interesting to see how shiny they'll become after the full six months with no wash.

I spoke about my front pocket wallet on day 33, and showed photos of the marks it usually makes on all my jeans. The bottom photograph show what the mark looks like at the moment on these jeans. Much more visible than on day 59. Tomorrow I compare the bottom hems.

Day 59 | The front pockets (1st comparison)

Here we go with the front pockets, or actually the whole front of the jeans, 59 days later. The photos on the left hand side are from about 2 weeks in, and the photos of the right hand side are from today. A lot more creases just below the pockets, and a lot more permanent looking.

The raw denim has also become a lot more shiny, or smooth from the daily wear. The jeans also have a more fitted look about them now. In the beginning they were more straight all over, where you can now see that someone has worn them often. You still can't clearly see the marks my front pocket wallet has made that I wrote about on day 33. Maybe in a couple of months or so.

Tomorrow I'll compare the hems.

Day 58 | The inner seams (1st comparison)

I don't have the same comparison photos for the inner seams taken on day one, besides the top one taken on day 5, but here's what they look like now, after 58 days of everyday wear (photos 2 and 3). I'll take some at the end of next month to compare to these, and so on till the end of six months.

You can already see the difference between the raw denim in the photo from day 5 to the denim in the photos taken today. A lot more worn. There should be a much bigger difference next month. The

You can see the blueish "wear" or "chaff" area on the right hand leg of the second photo. I wear the hems folded up as much, as I have them down, but the material still chaffs against each other no matter what. You can even see that the creases made by folding the hems up are much more visible now.

The wear on the inner seams should be a lot more noticeable after 6 months of everyday wear. Tomorrow I'll compare the front pockets.

Day 55 | Comparing the creases

Been having a look at the changes in the creases behind the knees. The first photo was taken after 2 weeks of wear, where the second and third one was taken after 6 weeks of wear.

For me the creases in the white photo don't look so permanent yet. The creases are a bit rounded and looks like it'll be easy to iron them out. Not that I'm going to bring an iron close to my jeans. The creases on the jeans on the wooden floor, however, look a bit more permanent, with sharper edges, and they don't seem so easy to remove.

It's interesting to see the changes in the jeans when you compare photos one month apart. I think I'll do that at the beginning of each month, by comparing the knees, front and back, the hems, the button holes, the pockets, front and back, the creases below the front pockets, as well as any other permanent marks that may have started to appear. Just to see if there will perhaps be a really big change in the denim after six months of daily wear.

Day 34 | More front pockets

My day started off really good. By really good, I mean I had coffee from the start. Usually an Americano from Condeco (Double espresso with extra boiling water). Condeco is not my favourite coffee place in Gothenburg, but it helps that they have a free Wi-Fi connection. It's good to get out a little bit in the mornings, especially if you work from home. Read the newspaper, check your emails, see some people and drink your coffee. The newspaper in my case is the Sesam, which is a Swedish newspaper written in really easy to understand Swedish. Every article has all the difficult words at the end of it, in a sort of dictionary, so you can learn as you read. Have a look at their website for more info.

Here's two more photos of the change pocket in the front, that I spoke about yesterday. As you might have noticed how the denim changes colour, dependant on where the photograph was taken. It's usually in our lounge, but sometimes you can't choose the lighting in a coffee shop, restaurant or street, and have to make do with what you have.

Day 33 | Front pockets and wallets

As I said yesterday, I have a front pocket wallet. I'm not a believer in large wallets, with everything in it, including the kitchen sink. I don't carry change (coins) with me if I can help it, so a small change pocket on a pair of jeans for me is useless. The bigger front pockets on most jeans are also too large for my type of wallet, and the change pocket, again, too small.

So far only one manufacturer has really answered the question of front pockets and front pocket wallets for me, and that is Puma/Evisu. The two pairs of jeans I have is a collaboration between Puma and Evisu. The larger front change pocket, which opens and closes with a clip comes in really, really handy.

The first pair is, what they called, "worn in" and my second pair is "stiff", or unwashed. Both now have marks on the front from my wallet, and that is the first mark I'll be expecting to show on my pair of Dr.Denim's. Even though I don't like wearing the wallet in such a big front pocket, I'm doing it any way, so the marks will show sooner or later.

Day 32 | More pockets

As you can see the back pockets on the left are as the ones on the left, like I showed yesterday. The back is a bit more stretched, with creases all over the place.

The front change pocket is, as the back of the knees, very creased. I do have a problem with the small change pocket in the front. I am someone who has a front pocket wallet. The wallet is small, and I do not carry change with me, so the change pocket never has any change in it. My wallet does not fit in it either.

I'll show a bit more on my wallet and the marks it made on my Evisu/Puma jeans, tomorrow, plus how they solved the front pocket wallet problem.

Day 29 | More creases in the denim

As I said I would on Day 27 about the progress of my Dr.Denim Harris Blue Black Raw jeans so far, here are more photos.

The creases below the front pockets look very permanent already. Must be from sitting in front of my laptop all day. No colour change as yet, or maybe just a little, but I didn't expect much after only 29 days. The denim is much softer now and is still really nice on, and the feel is great.

We had some rain today, but fortunately got nothing on me. The weather forecast have predicted the first snow up north in Sweden, and it made me think of how the denim will handle lots of snow, all the wetness, and the cold. We'll see in two months time, when we expect our first snow here in Gothenburg.