360 degree before and after wash

I've managed to build a 360 degree view of the Ormond Selvage jeans, before and after the wash. I'm going to compare more closer areas this week, but for now you can see them on me in 360 degrees. I tried to get the light the same on both days, cloudy and so on, but there was rain on day one, and not on day two, which always affects colour in photography.

You'll notice the hems are rolled up smaller after the wash. This is because the jeans have shrunk. It's usually 5%, or 2cm, but this may differ wash to wash. I try to not use the spin cycle after the wash, as this removes more indigo ink than I am happy with. I still like the dark colour, however you can see the colour is lighter on day two.

Day 187 Washing tips

Here's a post I found on 'How to wash denim'. Some good advice. As there are a hundred ways to get from point A to point B, so it is with washing denim. Everyone has their own way. I wash mine in the same way i wash all my other clothing, with the exception of the first two washes. The reason is simple. Have a look at the pics above, where I washed a white T-shirt along with my pair of Dr.Denim Terence Raw. With the first two washes, no matter what you do, you want to be careful, as there's a lot of blue ink washing out.

Day 185 How I washed my jeans

What I think is important when washing your jeans, is to fold them inside out. This keeps a lot of the indigo dye in the denim, which prevents fading, as well as protect the exposed outer seams.


On day 161 I crashed my bike and got a big grease stain on my knee. I always use vanish when washing, and this means my denim too, if they ever get washed. I wasn't sure it would work so well, because the stain has had 20 odd days to settle into the fabric. I am glad to report that the stain is completely gone.


The washing machine I use has a lot of settings, so I choose the one that seems most appropriate, called 'Denim'. The only problem I have is that the program ends with a spin cycle, which I try to avoid. The reason for this is that the spin cycle, no matter how slow, sucks out all the water. This means dye, which means more fading than is absolutely necessary. So I always set my alarm to 5 minutes before the cycle ends, so I can pull the plug and hang them up wet, to dry naturally.

Tomorrow I will publish some photos after the wash, stretching the seams and hanging them up.

Day 183 Time for a wash

It's finally that time. Time for a wash. 6 months have come and gone and they're looking good, but like I said smelling a bit. The two photos above is what they look like today. I will wash them tonight, then publish some photos of them as well as compare them before and after.

Day 102 Stains

One of the most asked questions and most visited pages on this blog is How to wash your jeans? The second is How to get rid of stains?. Although I am no expert, I have had my share of experiences, this being my second 6 month denim test and all. I have had everything from chewing gum, mud, dirty snow, baby food, porridge, wine, beer and Cava on my jeans and every time succeeded in getting it out. The only difference here, and something that makes it harder is that you cannot use water with raw denim, as it will cause the fabrics to shrink. Makes removing stains from raw denim tough, so rule number one applies, which is to not get anything on your jeans in the first place.

Above is an image from Men's Journal Magazine on how to sort out those stubborn stains. But as I said, this is for when you have already washed your raw jeans and they have shrunk and so on.

What I have found out is this:

• Beer and white wine is not so bad. Just use paper to dab it as much as you can.
• Mud needs to dry first then use a brush to brush it off, as you would with dust.
• Don't get red wine on your jeans. It doesn't come out. If you do get it on the first thing you do is take off your jeans and lie them flat on a table. Then cover the entire stain with fine salt. The salt draws out the wine. Helps a lot, but you're lucky if it removes all.
• Baby food and porridge. Take off as much as you can, then a damp cloth usually gets rid of the rest.
• Grass stains is along with red wine. Don't get it on in the first place. I would assume that once dry, a brush would get rid of a lot. And here I mean a hard bristle brush.

Other than that, if you know of something more, let me know.

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.

The United Nations Environment Program

The United Nations started an Environment Program (www.unep.org). The aim is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

It's a excellent idea, because the savings in the end are enormous for the environment. Saving water and saving electricity.

Below is the video they did to get people to not wash their jeans as often as they do. I take it they assumed eveyone washes their jeans after each wear. Now they encourage them to not only wash them after wearing them three times, but to also not dry them in the drier. Don't really know anyone who will tumble dry their jeans, but apparently they are out there. I think most following this blog washes their jeans twice a year, I know my original Dr.Denim Harris pair has now been washed twice in 20 months. Oops, that reminds me, I need to publish the photos from the last wash.

Thanks to Anonymous for posting the link to this article in the comments and dgleyze for posting a working version on YouTube. Here's the link to the United Nations Environment program regarding this video.

Day 184 | Before and after

Today was the first day that I had the jeans on again after washing them. I have to say that they now fit really well, and very much softer than when I bought them. They shrunk length-wise perhaps 2 centimetres, even though I stretch the seams out directly after the wash. When I have them on without shoes, they hang perfectly just above my ankles. Width-wise they shrunk a bit too, and they now fit better than ever. I do not have to wear a belt any more.

The colouring is also fantastic, because it doesn't seem like I lost too much dye in the wash. As you can see in the top photograph, with a comparison of the last day ,unwashed, and the first day ,washed. You can see that they're narrower around my legs and a bit shorter.

Only on the close-ups can you see that all the shine is gone from 6 months of wear. Over the next couple of days I'm going to do comparisons of them on the last day, unwashed, and the first day, washed.

Day 183 | Wash day

It's finally done. The jeans have been washed for the first time in 6 months. They're still a bit damp, so I'm only taking photographs of them tomorrow.

It was a bit scary at first when I put the jeans in the machine this morning. I can speak a little bit of Swedish and when I selected 30 degrees Celcius, I noticed the word "Ylle" next to it. I didn't know what it meant, and checked the machine to the left of it. That one said "Ylle/Handwash", so I knew it would be something to do with a gentle wash. I had to select the machine to the right, because there was a button where I could switch off "Centrifugering" or spin cycle. I didn't know how to do it on the machine on the left, which was a fancier model. Ylle, I found out later, means wool. So it was a safe choice.

When they came out the machine they were still soaking wet, and I stretched the seams out a bit from the crotch to the hems. This left blue water all over the floor. I rolled them up so I could get them upstairs without messing all over the steps on the way up. I hung them in the shower with the belt loops over a hanger, and left for work.

When I came home this afternoon, they turned out fantastic, but as I said, still a bit damp. I'm wearing them again tomorrow, just to feel how they've changed. I can already see that they're a bit lighter, but look great. The bottom photograph is the last on of me wearing the jeans unwashed. All shiny, oily and worn in.

It did feel weird wearing a different pair of jeans today for the first time in 6 months. It was however my my favourite Evisu/Puma jeans

Day 182 | The final day

Today is officially the last day of the "wearing in" period. I'm washing the jeans for the first time tomorrow morning at 8am. Right after I take my final full length photos out in the garden.

Here's some photos of what they look like at the moment. The top photo is a comparison of day 1 and day 182, 6 months later, with no wash and wearing them every single day. I'm really excited to put them in the washing machine tomorrow. I had a friend suggest that I bath in them first, but we don't have a bath, and I don't think a shower will give you the same results. The bath apparently gives you time in the jeans while they shrink, to make more marks, and soap them up in all the right places.

I will wash them a normal washing machine, inside out, at 30 degrees Celsius and no spin cycle. Should take 30 minutes and then I'm stretching the seams out, from crotch to hems, and hanging them up in the shower to dry.

Day 181 | How to wash your jeans

I have 2 days left, then I've worn these jeans everyday for 6 months. I was contemplating taking a shower with them first, to sort out the shrinking, but I think think I'll settle for 30 degrees Celcius machine wash, with no spin cycle, then stretch them out along the seams and hang them up to dry. Here's how to wash your jeans according to the website Allevol.com.

Washing instruction for raw/dry denim & jeans (wash and care)
"It is often a myth how denim products needs to be washed/treated. There is certainly no "right way" but many different ways, depending on how you prefer your denims to look. Here are some examples."

Denim enthusiast's way - Wear as long as possible, wash as less as possible
"This is the most commonly used technique for denim enthusiasts. Wear rigid-raw dry jeans a minimum of 6months (recommended) everyday, machine wash at 60c inside out without washing powder/liquid, then wear it again for the next 3months, then wash by machine at 30c (less colour fade at 30c than high temperature), dry it by hanging up in the shade where air is flowing."

Japanese magazine way - Wear your jeans and take a bath with it
"This was once introduced in a Japanese fashion magazine. Wear your denim for a few months, the first wash is taking a bath with your jeans in lukewarm water and use a scrubbing brush to create a colour fading effect (mostly the front thigh bit). Dry it by hanging up in the shade where air is flowing."

Japanese denim mania way - Wear your jeans after "the first wash"
"This technique is frequently used by many Japanese denim enthusiasts. Firstly, prepare lukewarm water (between 35c and 45c) in a bucket and put the dry/raw jeans in it for 1hour-2hours (Note 1: please bear in mind that jeans need to be submerged completely in the water. The raw denim jeans contains air which make it float in the bucket. Note 2: Some people add a table spoon of salt, or vinegar in this lukewarm water). Secondly, take the jeans out of the bucket, wash it inside out at 40c without washing powder (please do not long-wash as this damages the fibers of the denim). Dry it by hanging up in the shade where air is flowing. Second wash is preferably after 3-9months of wear."

Natural looking way - Wear and wash as you like
"Wash the jeans at 60c, dry it by hanging up in the direct sunlight (or tumble dry). This will make it completely shrink up to 1-2.5inchs and the jeans will not be as heavily starched. Wear and wash as you like, however, the jeans will not have the strong dense coloured effect achieved in methods 1, 2 and 3."

The above four ways are often used to treat or how to wash dry/raw denims. Allevol's favourite way is method 1. We wear jeans 4-6months. As soon as we see a break-in effect, machine wash at 30c. After that, we wash our jeans at least every month

Day 175 | But what will I wear?

I'm washing these jeans for the first time on Wednesday next week, and it's all exciting, after 6 months and all. I did realise today though that I need to choose another pair of jeans to wear on that day.

They're going into the wash at just after 7am and then I'm leaving them the whole day to dry. I've been thinking that perhaps I'll wear my other favourite pair of jeans, a pair of Evisu/Puma jeans that's raw denim, and only been washed a couple of times in the three years I've had them. Perhaps something else. But like I said before, I need to go check in my clothing cupboard what I have, and perhaps air them a bit.

Day 174 | Tom Ford

One of my favourite designers is Tom Ford. What he's achieved, has been fantastic. Now I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but you have to admit he's got some style.

The blog world has been abuzz lately with the news that he will be launching a $1000 pair of jeans. Think about it. Nearly 8000kr for a pair of jeans. Now for me it's not so much about the price. OK, maybe a little bit, but it's mostly about how his jeans are made. From Japanese selvedge denim that looks and feels like raw denim, however, they have been pre-washed and pre-shrunken. This means the indigo doesn’t rub off. The seat is distinguished only by a straight stitched line across the pockets. Then there's a small black tab reading TF001 or TF002. Obviously Tom Ford No.1, a boot cut that Ford wears himself and Tom Ford No.2 is a straight-leg cut. The front button is plated with 18-karat gold, and the pockets are lined with silk, the same as Tom wears in his suits. Don't know about the button in gold. I love the button on my jeans that read: "A good pair of jeans is like a member of the family." Feels a bit more personal.

Now to get back to the whole pre-shrunk, pre-washed business. I'm struggling to understand why anyone would go this route with raw denim? Why not buy raw denim, instead of denim that appears to be raw denim. Maybe they do not want to get any indigo on their expensive leather lounge suite at home or the office? Maybe they wash their jeans after every wear in any case and don't care for wearing them in? Perhaps wearing denim for 6 months without washing them is seam to be a little gross? I just don't know. I prefer the idea of wearing my jeans in first, so they have my marks on them, then washing them after six months and letting them shrink for a perfect fit on my body.

What happens with his jeans after they've been worn in and everything is stretched. What then? The owner can't even shrink them in the first wash for a better fit. Perhaps when you're willing to spend $1000 on a pair of jeans you just throw them away when they've stretched too much and get another pair.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't mind a free pair, if anyone is feeling in the mood, you know, just to see what they're all about.

Day 173 | Caring for your denim

It's getting close now to the day when I'll finally wash these jeans. I bought them on the 3rd of September 2008, so technically the 3rd of March would be the 6 month mark. I'm planning to wash them the following day on the 4th of March.

With that I found some more helpful tips on caring for your denim from a website called DressCodesAlt.com. The photograph of the four pairs of jeans is from their website. It's helpful to see the difference between the same pair of jeans over a period of time, as I do with my comparisons.

There's some really good tips from them, but the two I like the most is: "If you spill something on your Raw denim you can wipe it off, or wait for the spot to dry and it will usually fade on its own. Do not clean local spots with water or cleaning solution because it can remove the indigo and you may get a bleach spot."

And: "Do NOT hem your jeans before the first wash because your denim will naturally shorten with wear since the fabric around the knees and groin will bunch up on its own. In addition a small shrinkage in length may occur after the first wash."

This goes hand in hand with what I got from Alexander at Dr.Denim about the legs shortening during the wash because of the stitching. He recommended to grab the crotch area and one hem at a time, and then stretch the seams out very slowly as much as you can. This will help to get the seams back to their original length, because it's the denim that shrinks and not the stitching.

Day 171 | 12 days left

Just 12 days left then, then I finally get to wash these jeans. That actually reminds me, I need to book a washing time for the 4th of March. Maybe early in the morning, so they have the day to dry. At night I can then take some photos of them and do a final comparison series. Would be so interesting to see what they look like after the wash, as oppose to what they looked like with 6 months worth of wear.

I'm also really keen get back into some of my older jeans again. Those that have just been "gathering dust" in my clothing cupboard. That also reminds me, perhaps it's time to take them out and air them all a bit. It's been 6 months sine they last saw the sun, never mind fresh air.

Day 169 | Shrinkage

I got an interesting question today about raw denim and how they shrink. Here's their question, "Just want to ask if the waist of the raw jeans shrink too after washing? and will the whole jeans shrink?"

As far as I understand, the idea is to wear the raw denim jeans for as long as you can, before you wash them. Usually six months to a year. The reason for this is that the wear stretches them in all the right places. On your knees, the crotch area, the waist and wherever else. When you wash them then later, they shrink back to the normal size, but the fit is better now, because they've been worn in. They're also much softer now.

I could see the person's concern though, because their new raw denim might still feel too tight, and they're scared that after a wash they'll end up with jeans that are too small around the waste. This should not be the case if you've worn them for a while, because everything stretches from the wear, as does everything shrink with the wash.

I only started wearing a belt with my jeans every day after the third month, when the waste was so stretched, that the jeans had trouble staying up. After the wash, I think the fit should be really good.

Day 168 | Back to Dr.Denim

Yesterday I got the chance again to go visit the guys at Dr.Denim Jeansmakers. or Alexander Graah in particular. I also got to meet his father, Morten, the original founder of the company, which was nice. You can read a lot on the history of Dr.Denim on their website under "About us".

According to Alexander they've been doing quite well as a business, most probably because of their competitive pricing structure. I mean 500-600kr a pair of raw denim jeans vs. 1000-2000kr for any pair of Nudie jeans.

We discussed this pair that I had on, and he wanted to know when it'll all end. The final date when I will wash these has been set at Wednesday the 4th of March. One tip I got from Alexander was that after the wash, you need to stretch the seams out a bit. Grab the bottom of the hems and the crotch area and slowly stretch the seams bit. Each on in turn. Apparently they tend to pull together a bit because of all the shrinkage in the raw denim. Looking forward to that day actually. Been thinking of maybe putting a video together. But we'll see.

Day 146 | Learn from other people's mistakes

I prefer to learn from other people's mistakes. If you have to learn from your own mistakes where denim is concerned, then it's usually an expensive lesson, like asking your mom to do your washing and she uses a washing powder that includes bleach. It's the same when taking your jeans to the dry cleaner and the tailor, make sure they love denim as much as you do, before handing over your precious cargo.

I've just joined another denim and fashion related website called Style Forum.net and there I read about this poor guy called h4zin, who took his raw denim jeans to the local dry cleaner. "So, I took my pair of New Standards to the local oriental dry cleaners to get it hemmed. Bad move I know. I made sure to say "DON'T WASH IT" like 5 times... but I did not even think that they would iron/press the thing. Luckily it only had about 10-15 days of moderate use... but it sucks to see my work all gone. And guess what... they PLEATED IT in the front, as if it were a pair of dress pants. What kind of moron puts front pleats on jeans?! Unbelievable. So now I had to take it back so they can press it again to get rid of that."

It's a very funny and sad story at the same time, but you need to remember that there are others out there, who really don't know that much, or anything for that matter, about denim and frankly don't care. Always make sure you ask people who know, to clean your jeans.

Here's another lesson I learnt from someone else's mistake, about spinning jeans in the washing machine: "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."

Day 127 | Where to from here?

I've been thinking about this experiment or test of mine for a while now, and trying to figure out what to do with it, or more importantly where to go from here. I've always wanted to do something like this, but never planned it properly. It all started so fast from day one when I bought these jeans. I always had 6 months in mind, but recently I've been thinking if that's long enough.

Got some friends who say it should perhaps be longer than 6 months, perhaps a year, then there's others who say it's ok with 6 months. Then there's a third group who think it's gross to not wash your jeans. I'm ignoring group three and focussing on the first two. For now the plan is to wash these jeans for the first time on the 3rd of March. The washing in itself is another question I have to still answer. How will I wash them? Dr.Denim actually recommends washing your jeans in 30°. And we're talking about degrees Celsius in this instance, with no spin cycle, then just hanging them up to dry. Perhaps in the drying closet or our shower. There's going to be a lot of dyerunning out after the first wash and I don't want that all over the floor.

If this was your test, what would you do? How long would you still go and in the end, how would you wash them?

Day 117 | I cannot believe it has been this long

I am really astonished at how time has flown by since I bought these jeans on day 1. 117 days already with just 64 more days left, then I can throw them in the washing machine for their first wash, and see them shrink, to provide me with that perfect fit. Or so I hope anyway.

Now that I'm back home, I've been searching the internet for some advice on how to get snow, mixed with mud and sand, off a pair denims, as I needed to know do on day 114, when my "parents in law's" car was stuck in the snow, and I got caught in the spray of a spinning front wheel. I did manage to get most of it off with a damp sponge, without removing too much dye, but if you look carefully, you can still see some traces of the dirt.

The online advice was not really helpful, because everyone suggested waiting for the mud to dry, and then throwing them into the wash. That is exactly what I cannot do for the next 64 days, or until the 3rd of March, because of the test, which requires no wash for six months. Perhaps tomorrow I will just do one more clean with another damp sponge, and hopefully not remove too much dye in the process.