Day 20 Skiing

Off to go skiing today. For my first time ever. I've done cross-country skiing and snowboarding quite a bit, but never alpine skiing. So the jeans will be on again later in the day, but for now they will be replaced by my snowboard pants.

Day 19 Snow Scooter

Didn't spend a lot of time in my jeans today, as we were out in the mountains in the snow. First watching the snow scooter races, then doing some racing of our own. If ever you're in Sweden and want to do some skiing, check out www.funasfjallen.com It's absolutely beautiful up here. Haven't been here in summer yet, but the locals say it's just as beautiful.

The jeans were only on for about 3 hours in total while I prepared supper. Tomorrow will be more of the same, but instead of the snow scooters it'll be skiing.

Day 18 Live music Friday

Been a busy week preparing for an important presentation which I had today up here in the middle of Sweden. There's not a better way to end it off than with a glass of wine and live music.

Day 17 A beautiful day

I arrived in a little town in the middle of Sweden called Funäsdalen. It's a beautiful day today and there's still a lot of snow on the ground. You do get the sense that spring is just around the corner. The sun feels warmer, especially on days like this.

I don't think it's going to be a hassle keeping the jeans dry, but as I learnt in Copenhagen, it is not wise to temp the weather gods.

Day 16 Travelling by train

At the moment I'm just getting ready to go to sleep on the Night train from Oslo to Støren in Norway. I'm on a business trip to Funäsdalen in Sweden, but the shortest trip is via Norway.

Looking forward to be back in the snow.

Day 15 Some marks already

It's good to see what 2 weeks wear can do. Already when you flatten the creases behind the knees and the moustaches in the groin area, you see light blue lines. So far so good.

Heading of to Funäsfjällen tomorrow. The area has snow till the middle of May, which is a huge difference to here in Gothenburg. Now it's just cold and still grey. Fortunately the sun is setting later and later every day and is much warmer already, like 5 degrees C.

Day 14 Ormond Before

These are my pair of Ormonds. They've been worn maybe once a week for 18 months without a wash. This is what they looked like before the wash. They're made from a light weight denim, compared to the Raymonds I'm testing now, plus they're not Selvage Denim.

As you can see, the knees were very stretched, and so was the waist. They have over the years, become a favourite pair, particularly in summer, because they're made from a light weight denim, hence not very warm. They are however very skinny.

Tomorrow I'll publish some photos these Ormonds after the wash, so you can see the difference.

Day 13 Stretch

12 days into this 6 month test (183 days) and already the knees on these Raymonds have stretched a lot. The same with the waist, hence me wearing a belt already. Not always necessary with my jeans, as I'm a 32 waist but these seem to be closer to 36 waist already.

Day 12 Just another day

As these six month long tests go, there will always be days, where nothing happens and it's just another day. Today is one of those days. Fortunately the rain has stopped.

Next week I'll be in the snow in a town up north in Sweden called Funäsdalen. Pronounced Fuun-ass-daa-lin. There's snow. Lots of it. Let's see what happens when I'm there. Should be interesting. I'm happy the denim is a heavy salvage denim. Keeps the cold out a bit more, but I'll still need my long johns. On my last trip there a month ago the temperature dropped to -35 degrees C.

Day 11 Ormond gets a wash

18 months and one wash. And they came out beautifully. These Ormonds were bought a week after I washed my first pair of Harris jeans, but unlike Harris, I didn't wear them everyday. They just went into my jeans collection and I wore them maybe once a week. Now that they're washed, you can see the wear and tear much better. That's why I prefer starting with raw denim, as it's after the first wash, that you see the individuality in that pair of jeans.

Over the next couple of days I'll publish some photos of what they looked like when I bought them, what they looked like before the wash, and what they look like today.

Day 10 And more rain

Just as if I was teasing the gods with my post on day 6 about no rain and perfectly sunny weather, it's not stopped raining since then. Keeping these jeans dry seems now to be an exercise in survival. Running from building to building, tree to tree and so on, just to keep them dry.

Day 9 Snow and Rain

I spoke to soon about not having any rain. Today was crazy. After 2 weeks of no snow or rain and sunny days it snowed and rained all in one day. And that on a day I needed to be out a lot walking to meetings and more.

Not complaining about the weather, but more about the fact that it's tough to keep my jeans dry until it's time to wash them.

For those that don't know why it's important to keep them dry, it's because raw denim has never been washed or has never been in water and they shrink about 5 % or 2 cm during the first wash. That's why it's good to wear them in for 6 months before you wash them the first time.

Day 8 Dr.Denim's new campaign

Here is one of the new images Dr.Denim's using for some campaigns. Some like it, some say it's a little too risky. I know I like it. Anything to get people talking a bit.

Day 7 Beer

Spent the weekend in Copenhagen with some friends. It was a beer expedition. Quite an adventure for a wine drinker like myself. We were out a lot and there was a lot of beer on tap. I'm just happy to report that no one, myself included, spilled any beer on my jeans.

I was thinking about that and what I would do if it happened, just so they don't smell like beer for the next 6 months before they get washed. My answer? I truly don't know, so I searched the web. Most of the answers weren't very helpful, because they involved water. There was one answer I liked and it is this. "I decided instead of dry cleaning or hand washing the jeans to just do nothing. The beer dried up, I sprayed them with Febreeze, hung em outside, and they're good as new!"

Day 6 No rain

The last 6 month test I did was during winter. This made it difficult to keep the jeans dry when it was snowing and raining. This time around it's during summer, so it's a bit easier to keep them dry. That's if we're not going to have a rainy summer. At the moment though I'm enjoying the sun in Copenhagen.

Day 5 Wash your hands

When you wear raw denim you have to wash your hands a lot more. It goes hand in hand. There's just so much Indigo dye that brushes off, but you get used to it quickly.
I actually washed a pair of Dr.Denim Ormonds raw denim today after wearing them for 18 months. I'll publish some photos next week. They came out beautifully.

Day 4 Your mother's white couches

You have to be aware of the Indigo Dye in a new pair of raw denim jeans. Watch out for your mother's white couches. She's gonna to kill you if you mess them up. Above is a slip I had in my pocket for an afternoon. Nothing escapes the blue dye. As I said, the denim has never been washed, so it rubs off on everything. Be careful.

Day 3 Washing Harris a second time

The jeans I used for my first test was a pair of Dr.Denim Harris Raw. I washed them for the first time after 6 months, during which I wore them every day. After that they went into my collection and I wore them probably once a week. Their second wash was then after another 16 months.

Most of my readers are interested in knowing how to wash them, so I'll quickly cover it again. I wash mine for the first time inside out, and by themselves. This should be obvious, but if you don't know why, it's because raw denim has never been washed before, and the amount of Indigo dye they lose during their first wash will definitely colour everything else a very dark blue indeed. So try to avoid it. I also switch off the spin cycle. Here's a quote to help you understand why we should learn from other people's mistakes. "I spun my Samurai s500wx just to get the water off (no heat) and regretted it. After 10 mins, I checked on my baby and found a murder scene in the machine. It was blue everywhere. Don't do it."

After the wash without the spin cycle, I stretch the stitching in the legs out. Just grab the crotch area and the hem for the inner stitches or the pocket and the hem for the outer stitches, and slowly stretch each of them. Different materials are used to make the jeans and stitch them together, so it helps to stretch them a bit before you hang them up to air dry. If you want to read more, then I posted before about how to wash your jeans.

Day 2 A Comparison

People have asked me why I'm doing this, and all I can say is I have an interest in Denim, and I like the individual qualities you get from putting your own marks on a pair of jeans, compared to buying a pair of treated jeans and looking like everyone else. Above are my first pair of Dr.Denim Harris Raw denims next to my new pair of Raymonds. They're now two and a half years old and only had two washes. I need to do some fixes to them already before they go in for their third wash.

Day 1 Red Salvage

Finally I've started again, with another 6 month project. What's the difference between this time and the last time? Well a few things really. Most of the 6 months will be over summer, March - September, compared to winter the last time, September - March. This is a pair of Salvage denim, a lot heavier than the last pair. Harris vs Raymond. Just speaking about blue dye, this pair is very blue, and my hands are covered in indigo dye at the end of the day if I don't wash them regularly.

So what's the deal with this project? Basically it's me having a pair of jeans on, every day, for 6 months, then washing them, and seeing what the result looks like. In case you didn't know, Raw denim has never been washed. That means they will shrink about 5% at the first wash. That's why it's recommended to wear them in before you wash them. Here's some info on the first 6 month test I did two years ago.