Raw Denim 101: Buying Jeans You’ll Still Wear in Fifteen Years

There comes a time in your life when buying an adequate pair of jeans becomes truly an existential activity. Try three identical cuts in a store, and hope that at least one of them won’t make you either a confused teenager or a retired golfer. Maybe you understood by now that fast fashion jeans tend to become a piece of lint after two semesters of consistent washes. The answer to this problem lies in raw denim.

It is nothing else but the purest version of denim, as manufacturers refuse any distressing processes that make the jeans worn out even before it gets on your back on the store shelves. It means that it is quite stiff, dark, and extremely durable. In other words, you are purchasing a blank canvas and waiting for your contribution.

A few definitions may sound intimidating for now. Indigo dyeing is a process of dying threads in special vats, keeping their cores white, and thus creating iconic white streaks when you wear them called fades. When a fabric is sanforized, it is already pre-shrunk, and in case it isn’t, you should choose a bigger size.

Another element to pay attention to is the weight of the denim. Anything under 14 ounces will be summer and lightweight denim. When talking about anything over 16 ounces, you have to deal with denim that is as stiff as a cardboard. It looks fabulous, but sitting in it on your desk all day will become a torture for your knees.

But buying your first pair of jeans is not just an activity. You will have to wear them for at least six months prior to washing it for the first time. It sounds unhygienic, but you don’t want to lose any unnecessary amount of indigo. Honeycombs and whiskers will appear only depending on how you will move in your jeans. This is a long process that requires some patience.

Of course, the budget is the priority criterion for most of the students. Naked and Famous will be enough to start with. But as you move towards something heavier like Iron Heart or Pure Blue Japan, you will have to pay much more. Longevity will help you compensate the price of the product eventually.

Do not be afraid of the break-in period. Your knees will ache for the first week. Also, you will certainly look like a robot while moving on campus. But this behavior is absolutely normal.

This purchase can be called an anti-fashion one. Trends change every time, but a well-worn pair of raw denim will stand above all the seasons. Not only do you buy the pants but invest in your time capsule. Do not spend fifty dollars every six months on something that will become a lint after washing. Buy it once and cry once. Wear it until it literally falls off of your body.

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