Where To Buy Raw Denim Jeans
Do you have your idol in mind? Good, which jeans is he or she wearing? How do they fit? Which colour are they? What about the details? Now picture yourself in those jeans. Still good? Keep that in mind as you go through the next phases.
where to buy raw denim jeans
With the length of the jeans, you should again pay extra attention if the denim is unsanforized; that 10%-shrinkage is going to be most pronounced in the legs, where it might translate to around 10 centimetres.
How to wash raw denim is a topic that usually causes a lot of discussion among denimheads. I wash my jeans. Not only because I think washing makes denim look better, it also makes it last as long as possible.
People who choose raw jeans over washed jeans do so because they want to break-in the jeans themselves. Raw jeans provide a blank canvas or clean slate, that can pick up fades better than washed denim.
At the end of Denim Month 2020, we threw out a challenge. A free Pro Original Raw jean to any person in exchange for them sharing their raw denim experience with our community the following year during Denim Month 2021.
We set some guidelines. Wear the jean a minimum of 200 days throughout the year. Wear at least 100 days before washing (yes, raw denim generally comes with unusual washing rules, read more about that here). And detail the process. 4 guys accepted the challenge.
The 4 raw jeans shipped the first week of March. Then Covid hit. By May, we told the guys to not feel obligated to the challenge. One guy actually made it to 200 days. Two almost made it. And one had his weight change, making his raw jeans no longer fit (until they do again one day).
Did anything surprise you about raw jeans?How stiff they are at first and then how they mold to your body. Also, how long you can go before washing pants was a surprise. Before this, I would always wash my pants/jeans after maybe 6 wears at the most.
While raw denim in its truest form comes straight off the loom, a process called sanforization has become popular in recent years, which prevents the signature shrinkage that can make the process of buying raw jeans in the correct size almost as painful as wearing them for the first time.
The fastest and easiest way to break in raw denim jeans is to wear them. Wear them around your house and while running errands to start to stretch them out a bit and form to your body. Eventually, natural creases will begin to appear around the places you sit, around the cuffs of the jeans, and items you have in your pocket.
Veteran denim nerds are well used to blowouts and see them as just another part of the raw denim experience. Every hole is an opportunity for a repair, which means another way to make your jeans slightly different from every other pair out there. Wear it like a badge of honour.
It may seem strange, but there is a logic behind it. During that initial six months to a year of continuous wear, jeans can develop a hum. Some think that putting them in the freezer will kill the odour-causing bacteria and keep them smelling fresh. But the actual science behind this is a little foggy.
The idea is to wear them, go for a paddle, come out, rub them with sand and then allow them to dry in the sun. Will it make your jeans look any better? Maybe. Are people likely to try and have you sectioned? Almost certainly.
Today, Japan is a country famed for producing some of the best jeans you can buy and OG label Edwin has had a big role to play. For the best Japanese denim cloth, served with a hearty dose of heritage, this is the first place to go.
Founded in 1998, Japanese brand Samurai makes some of the most coveted raw denim on the market. With only a handful of global stockists, the products are notoriously tricky to get hold of, making them all the more enticing to fade-hungry denimheads.
Tellason jeans are woven in San Francisco, using the finest Cone Mills denim from North Carolina. Even the leather waistband patch is made by Tanner Goods in Oregon. If ever there was a pair of all-American jeans, this is probably it.
A brand designed by bikers, for bikers. Iron Heart is a biker brand through and through and has a reputation as such in its native Japan. However, here in the west, its rugged, raw, selvedge denim has found a home in the luxury jean market.
What is Raw Denim?Raw denim is the term for denim fabric that is unwashed and untreated. The vast majority of jeans sold today are produced by washing and distressing the denim in order to create an artificial worn-in look.
First and foremost, you need to know your measurements. One of the easiest way to do this is to take one of your own pairs of denim or pants that have what you consider to be an ideal fit. From the images below you can see what measurements are required when buying a pair of raws, then by means of a simple tape measure, you can reproduce the same measurements on your own pair.
Lay your denim on a flat surface and pull the front waistband up so that it is on the same level as the rear waistband. Measure your waistband from left to right and multiply by 2 to find your waist size.
The price for a decent pair of raw denim starts around $80.00 and can go up as high as $2,000.00 in the exorbitant case of the Momotaro handwoven G001-T Gold. Think about what you are willing to pay for a pair of raw denim and try to stay in your price range. For a few examples, see our lists of raw denim under 100 dollars, between 100 and 200 dollars, and between 200 and 350 dollars.
Buying one size tag or more larger than the size that compares to your measurements. This could be the case with denim that is very sturdy/strong/tough and has little to no stretch, denim that is smaller and tighter in certain areas, and/or denim that is unsanforized or shrink-to-fit.
Without doubt, this step is completely personal and depends on your taste and style. What color denim do you like? Do you like visible backpocket stitching or would you like them to be clean and simple? Do you prefer slim, straight, skinny, etc.?
Bearing this in mind, here is a list of what we consider to be some of the premier destinations in the Big Apple to grab yourself a new pair of raw denim jeans. Note that each store has its own specialties to meet your denim needs, so be sure to not limit yourself to just one shop!
Blue in Green is widely regarded as one of the top places to buy raw denim in the world, let alone New York City. The staff provides excellent service and they are extremely knowledgable about the products they carry.
They have one of the most diverse selections of top quality raw denim in the city, including brands such as Japan Blue, Eternal, Left Field, Momotaro, Samurai, and many more. Stop by their SoHo location, or check out their impressive selection online.
Andrew Chen and his Self Edge staff are known as being some of the experts on raw denim and their brick and mortar shop in New York City does not disappoint. They provide a full range of denim services, including repairs as well as chain stitch hems; and their employees are friendly and extremely knowledgable about raw denim.
Self Edge specializes in Japanese denim brands including: The Flat Head, Iron Heart, Sugar Cane and Co., as well as American brands Roy and 3sixteen. Stop by their location on the Lower East Side, or check them out online.
To make sure you get what you need for size, get a cloth measuring tape at your local CVS. Take waist, hip, thigh, knee, leg opening, and inseam measurements on your best-fitting pair of jeans. Then compare those to the sizing chart for every brand and every cut.
Some shops may categorize their offerings as raw unsanforized or one-wash/soaked unsanforized, meaning they washed the jeans before sending them to you. Each option will have its own measurements for each tag size; they will not correlate with one another.
The goal for most of us is raw denim evolution. Fading is about creating a narrative, displayed on our jeans, through meaningful wear and tear over time and adventure. If you can resist the urge to stuff the guts of your closet with countless pairs of jeans, you will get to experience the real joy of fading denim.
Great guide, thanks for sharing. Do you have comments on Uniqlo selvedge denim? They are way below the price tag of high quality Japanese jeans, but I wonder if they do the job, at least to get started into raw denim.
Jeans are a completely different story, however. Losing weight has made getting the right pair of jeans ridiculously difficult for me. For the previous 5 years, pretty much every pair of jeans I bought fit the way I wanted. In that time period, I went from preferring tapered cuts to straighter, more classic cuts. In terms of sizing, there was no awkward transition. Everything fit me well.
After I did lose weight around a year and a half ago and worked out more consistently, sizing jeans became really difficult for me. This is caused by two main issues. The first issue is my preference for wider leg openings and straight fits rather than slim or tapered fitting jeans. Issue number two is the discrepancy between my waist and my thighs.
You may have a similar build to me or you may not, but my weird troubles with sizing my jeans do show how important measurements aside from just the waist are. For example, another issue I have is with the rise. If the front rise or especially the back rise is too low, then the jeans will not fit me very well.
To get jeans and trousers that fit well, you need to know all these different measurements and how they interact. That means that not only do you need to pay attention to all product measurements, but it also means that you need to measure yourself and the jeans that you already have.
My brother is getting more and more into higher quality clothing and I have helped him get into jeans and trousers that fit him well by having him measure himself as well as the trousers he has that fit him well and do not fit him well with a soft tape measure. We measured everything and he told me what he likes and dislikes about the fits of different trousers. We were able to figure out that the issue with his poorly fitting jeans was the fact that the rise was too low. This allowed him to purchase new chinos that now fit him exactly how he wants them to. 041b061a72