Harris gets another fix

After three years and four days, these jeans were in need of a fix. Now you have to understand, that they went through an abnormal test, in that I wore them every day for 6 months before their first wash. That's 183 days none stop, which is equavalent of wearing them normally for 3 years, so in total they should look like this after six years of normal wear. That's what you get from raw denim. They're unwashed, untreated, and the fibres are in perfect shape. So they last much longer than treated, pre-washed denim. This fix was on the hems, which started tearing. Not a bad result in the end.

Day 40 Hem creases

When the jeans are new, they fit well, or usually anyway. Once you start wearing them in, they stretch more and more, and this has problems all of its own. It usually means you have to get a belt on, but it also means that you have to fold the hems up a little bit more than usual. Because I'm still wearing some winter boots, they look sloppy if I don't fold them up enough. With my Dr.Martins I have to fold the hem over 4 times, but with my low All Stars it's only once. On average I'd say I'm folding them over twice, which you can see in the picture. It does damage the jeans, as the folds become permanent very quickly, which means at night it's always good to unfold them, but there's not a lot you can do to prevent the damage.

Day 188 | The bottom hems (5th comparison)

It's only after the wash that I noticed how much more the wear on the denim shows than before. The folds on the bottom hems, that I used to wear before I started wearing a belt every day, can now clearly be seen. The same with all the other creases, on the knees and below the front pockets.

The photograph with the seven pictures in are from each month in the past six months, including the first photo after the wash. There's a huge difference between the last two pictures. Besides the obvious less shiny bits, you can now clearly see the fold damage. Fortunately now the denim has shrunk about 2 cm in length and I never have to wear the hems folded up again. The denim also seems a bit newer after the wash.

Tomorrow I'll compare the button holes.

Day 179 | Altering your jeans

I got another question from someone about altering your jeans. As far as I'm concerned, it is better to alter them after they have been worn in and washed. There's a couple of reasons for this, but the main reason is that you don't know how much the denim will shrink when you wash them the first time. How would you know how much to alter them? You cannot gauge the amount to alter, from the way they fit on the first day, and not even after you have worn them in. They need to shrink first, then you can see.

It's like my friend I wrote about before, who always folded up the bottom hems of his jeans, because they were too long. The denim then got very damaged on the fold instead of on the original hem. He then after a couple of months washed his jeans for the first time. They shrunk so much that he does not have to fold the hems up any more. The problem now is that they're so damaged on the fold, that he doesn't want to fold them down. The other problem is that he can't keep them folded up, because then they're too short.

It was my little sister's 24th birthday today. We ended up at her place the whole day, because she spoiled the whole family to a really fantastic meal. She did get the motherload of all presents though, the lucky bum. Unlike last night with the wine tasting that ended after 12pm, today will be an early night.

Day 167 | Dirty and damaged hems

These jeans have picked up quite a bit of dirt in the last 167 days. Most I could remove quite easily with a brush, my nails or a damp cloth. It's the same with the dirt you get on your hems from shoes. Just a couple of light brushes and it's gone. One day however I had these marks on my hems, and when I investigated further, I noticed that my hems have been damaged quite a bit on the fold I used to make. It's not torn through the crease, but if I didn't start wearing a belt when I did, perhaps they would have been. So not too serious.

I spoke to a friend of mine a while ago, who also only washed his one pair of jeans after 6 months. During that whole time he wore them with a big fold up on the hems, because they were too long, and they creases got damaged quite a bit. When he finally washed them, they shrunk about 3-4 cm. The fold-up now sits much higher than what they used to, so he does not need to fold them up any more because the length is now perfect. The problem is that folded down they look silly because the crease is damaged and folded up they're too short.

I hope these turn out really good after the first wash. I can only hope and see. Tomorrow I meet up with the guys from Dr.Denim again, just to say hello, have a cup of coffee and show them the progress. Really looking forward to it.

Day 159 | The bottom hems (4th comparison)

Today I'm comparing the bottom hems. Most of the wear is from wearing them barefoot around the house, without folding them up. As I've written on day 157, I've been wearing a belt every day, so they don't get caught below my heels any more, hence less wear. This is the part on my other jeans that usually have the most wear. Just getting caught beneath my sneakers and the pavements, wears them the most. Really should wear a belt with the others too, when I start wearing my old jeans again after this test is done.

The photos are taken on the beginning of every month, from month one to five, with the close-up taken last month. Lately I've been thinking a lot about which pair of my old jeans I'll wear first, when this test is all done. Not really sure. I don't really remember which ones I have here in Sweden, and which ones are back in South Africa.

Day 125 | The bottom hems (3rd comparison)

Today it's time to compare the bottom hems. As you can see, not a lot has changed. I think it's because I wear the hems turned up most of the time, so the damage is mostly done on the inside. I mean from the two hems chafing against each other. I'll take a photo of that some time this week.

Most of the wear you see at the moment, has been done by wearing the jeans without the hems turned up a couple of months ago. The top most comparison photo is from around day 14, the second one is from day 60, the third one from day 93 and the bottom one from today, day 125.

As you can see on the photo at the bottom, the fold itself is showing a lot of wear. That wear is showing through from the inside. Tomorrow I'm comparing the button holes.

Day 98 | Folding up the hems

I started wearing the jeans without folding the bottom hems up. There was no need to in the beginning, because they fitted well. Over the past ninety eight days though, they started stretching more and more. They are now sitting a little bit lower on my hips, which means I need to fold the bottom hems up, otherwise they look too crinkled down at my shoes (See day 27).

I don't know if it was such a good idea to fold the jeans or not, because now there's a permanent crease about 3cm from the bottom of the jeans. I know it'll be OK to wear the jeans without the fold again after I wash the them, because the raw denim is sure to shrink. I'm just not sure for how long it'll last before they stretch again. Perhaps I should have bought a 33 or 32 leg instead of a 34 leg?

Day 93 | The bottom hems (2nd comparison)

I last compared the bottom hems on day 60, and even then you could see the wear from where the jeans get caught under my feet at home. I hardly wear them without folding them up, but at home, walking around barefoot, sometimes I forget.

The top photograph has three picture in it. The top picture is from around day 14, the middle one is from day 60, and the bottom one is from today. The only big difference between day 60 and today, is that the folds are by far more evident today than then. There's a distinct line where I fold the bottoms up every day. I think that's better than having them wear out at the back and damaging the back hem under your shoes too much.

There's a lot more creases on the denim too, but that was to be expected from wearing them everyday for the past 93 days. Tomorrow I'm comparing the button holes.

Day 71 | Laurence Grey

On the trip to Stockholm this week, I made a stop in at Urban Outfitters, and found a couple of Dr.Denim items in one section of the store. I tried on a shirt called "Laurence Grey", which is the one in the photos, but can also be seen on the Dr.Denim website.

It's one of those really nice and warm winter shirts, which you can usually pick up in second hand stores. The only problem I have with the ones from the second hand stores are that they're older in style, and that when they fit me around my body, the arms are too short, and when they fit the length of my arms, the body is way too big. The new styles from today are usually more fitting for people who are as skinny and tall as I am. That is exactly why I bought this one from Dr.Denim. Perfect fit, really nice cut and some great details.

On another note, I had a closer look at the creases made by folding up the hems of the jeans, so they don't wear at the bottom, and was shocked at how much they've worn in any case in the last seventy one days. But that is what will happen from wearing them everyday I suppose.

Day 60 | The bottom hems (1st comparison)

Today I'm comparing the bottom hems of the jeans, after 60 days. They're definitely the part of the jeans that have shown the most wear so far.

It is not from wearing them outside of the house, because I always have shoes on outside, and the hems never touch the ground. This is from wearing them barefoot at home, because I sometimes forget to fold them up. Lately though, I've been folding them up more and more.

I usually give them a double fold up when I wear them around the house, so that neither the hem, or a single fold-up will touch the ground, and hence wear unnecessarily. But as you can see, the damage is done already. Now I just have to watch it from here.

The comparison photo shows the back of the hems, where the top most photo is from about day 10, and the bottom photo is from today. The bottom most photo is also from about 2 weeks of wear and shows the front of the hems. You can't really see anything other than the creases made from folding the hems up. This will obviously change with time.

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 45 | A thousand words

As a design student my lecturer always drummed into my head, the age old saying of "A picture is worth a thousand words". "Stop thinking about the text, and think about a striking image instead."

It's with that thought, that I was browsing through the photos I have taken over the past 45 days, of the same pair of jeans. Same jeans, different angle. Same jeans, a little bit older. What more can be said? What more can be shown?

So I've chosen the photo above. What do you see? What do you think? It's the hem of a pair of pants, that much is certain. I can see it's pair of jeans. The denim seems very dark, very raw. The stitching is a darkish yellow. The hem seems a bit dirty. A bit scuffed. They're lying on the floor. There's a fold about an inch up from the hem. They must be too long for the wearer. What else? You could literally go on forever on what you can see, but also about what you can't see. Why are they on the floor? Why are they dirty? Why are the hem's scuffed?

It's all part of the test, seeing a pair of jeans, over a period of six months getting older, and older, before your eyes. Things you would never have seen, if it hadn't been recorded.

Day 43 | Spiderman

Today was a very relaxed day. Didn't have a lot to do, other than contact some companies regarding work and setting up my personal blog. Everything went very well, up until about 20 mins ago, when the file I have been working on for the last two hours, just vanished without a trace. I have searched everywhere and in all file structures. Poof! It's just gone.

I was working in a web program called Dreamweaver, and was switching between that and my browser, Firefox, to see what the file will look like in the end. Then all of a sudden I got an error message and when I wanted to save it, it just disappeared. Stuff like that drives me nuts. So now I'm shutting everything off and watching Spiderman 2 and 3 in a row. Just to see someone break something.

Because as for these jeans, they're performing really well. I've been wearing them every day for the past 43 days now and they're just getting more and more comfortable. I thought they would have been stretched so much by now, that I would have had to wear a belt for the last 120 days of the experiment. But alas, they're still good.

The only thing is, when I wear them at home, with my bare feet, that I need to fold them up quite a bit, because already they're starting to show more wear on the hems, than anywhere else.

Day 27 | Harris Blue Black Raw so far

Now that it is twenty seven days into the test I've had a real good look at the jeans and have only noticed minor changes to the denim.

As mentioned before, the button holes look a bit more worn. The back hem is more worn, from when I where them at home, barefoot, and let them hang down without folding them up. The crease made by the fold up is more visible when the hem is folded down. The knees are much more stretched in front, and creased a lot behind the knees. Then there are more creases below the pockets where the jeans fold in front, when I sit. Other than that, I have not seen a major colour change. That will take time and a lot more wear. I'll publish some photos of the next couple of days of all the areas I've mentioned. It looks like a bit more rain will fall here over the next couple of days, so it'll be interesting to see how the jeans hold up with all that water. We have two more washes from Dr.Denim for today.

Cellulose Enzyme Wash - "The jeans are washed with enzymes and organic substances that break down the cellulose in the fabric. The result is a washed-out effect."

Acid Wash - "A type of stone wash that was launched in the 1980s. Pumice is soaked in chlorine and washed with the fabric. Also called iced, frosted or snow wash."

Day 24 | Lot No R-18

Here's something I am going to have to find out. There's a label on the inside of the jeans that read "Lot No R-18". I understand it probably has to do with the batch these jeans came from, but what is the story behind it? Does anyone know? Does it have to do with the place the denim was made or the place the cotton came from? Why have a label inside the jeans?

The jeans effect from Dr.Denim today is the Short legs effect. Cause: Jeans too long and refusal to alter. Result: Completely ripped bottom hems.