I've been struggling when it comes to buy jeans matching my waist and length. I was stumbled upon two brands who produce my correct waist and length. They manufacture a bit expensive raw jeans (Hugo and G-Star). The raw jeans are the ones who don't get washed after dying, during the production phase. Most modern jeans use indigo dye and you might lose the whole purpose of wearing a raw denim when you wash it.The raw jeans look great when you wear them for a period of time without washing them. The jeans would fade away naturally leaving a nice pattern, over a period of time. The skinny/straight jeans often get molded into the body shape leaving a nice pattern of a honeycomb or a stack, when you wear them without washing for a while. However, when you wash them, you're forcing their natural wear, tear and fade to get awkward; washing away their quality. Ruining the whole purpose of buying and wearing a raw jean.
I wash my jeans very very rarely and *never* my raw jeans. So here comes the question. How do I keep my raw denims clean and fresh ? Pretty simple, you need to freeze them. Yes, you heard it right, you need to freeze your jeans to smell and feel afresh. I have never washed my raw jeans and I've been wearing them for years. These are the steps that I have followed, which worked well for me. I wear shorts during summer, so I never made my jeans soaked with sweat.
The preparation :
1. Leave the jean inside out for 4-6 hrs (not under sunlight)
2. Brush your jean gently
3. Fold your jean
4. Put it in a plastic bag or wrap using a cling wrap
5. Put it in the freezer for 10-12 hours.
6. Take it out, leave it outside for a couple hours
7. The denim is ready to rock and roll
When you fold the jean, make sure to fold it into just 2 or 3. Don't fold it beyond that or try to shrink it. The plastic bag should be a very thin transparent one, the thick bags aren't ideal for this. An extra large freezer bag would surely do.
If your jeans were soaked with sweat and dirt you may have to wash them, if the above approach failed to make it clean. (That's highly unlikely to occur) I would simply use a single bucket of plain water to make it clean if that's really and truly necessary.
Follow steps 1 & 2 as above. Then :
8. Pour a bucket with cold water
9. Put your denim into the bucket
10 Let it get soaked for about 30 mins
11. Take it out from the bucket
12. Don't try to squeeze or shrink it
13. Hang it on a clothesline, inside out
14. Keep it away from sunlight
15. Never user a dryer.
16. Let it dry naturally.
Alternatively, you could wear your jean while taking a shower if it truly truly needs a wash; my preferred way. No matter what, if you wash your jeans more than twice a year then you're transforming your raw jean into a skirt. Think before you wash, save water, save the planet and your jeans. Please freeze them. ;-)
Still in doubt ? Listen to what Tommy Hilfigre says.
