Raw Denim
So ...genuinely how much of a PITA is this stuff? I want some good jeans (in my case defined as dark wash, a good fit, durable/heavier weight, minimal/no stretch). I'm actually finding that many of the top recs sell exclusively raw denim. I don't care a lick about "cool fades" but I deeply care about getting blue dye on my furniture, being obligated to wear a single pair of pants for weeks on end, having to wait to wash something until my smell starts offending others and all the other stuff I see discussed online that I'm not sure how serious to take.
- Based on the above, do "good" jeans offer me anything a random pair of Levi's does not?
- If I buy raw and don't care about fades....can I just run them through the wash 4-5x straight away and then ignore all the raw denim talk? Or is this stupid and I might as well buy a mall brand if doing so?
- If raw denim is not for me (fine if so), brand recs that are high quality per above but NOT raw, have a slim or tapered fit (need not be drastic) and are in the ballpark of $250 (or less).
26 Replies
Not a pain in the ass
Yes good jeans offer a lot more than Levi's
Re: your second bullet, yes. You can throw them in the washer straight away and ignore all the fademaxxing stuff that's out there
I don't think you're going to get blue dye on your furniture unless you're like spending a really long time wearing blue jeans on a white sofa before you've washed them or something ridiculous
That's more of an issue with the top of white sneakers or tucked in dress shirts—stuff with a lot of heat and friction and sweat over time
Not at all, I wash my jeans very regularly. You do not "have to wait", thats only for the people looking for super high contrast fades. Not for me. Just be sure to size accordingly for shrink in the wash (especially if you use a drier). I've never had jeans which havent shrunk, even if sold as "sanforized" or "one wash" .
They WILL take a while to achieve the level of light wash that you might be looking for, so unless you are patient, ok with dark, or into adding some bleach you might look for nice jeans which are already close to what you want.
He said he wants a dark wash though
oh then yeah, raw is basicaly just dark denim
But new raw denim jeans have a tendency to pick up fade lines/creases especially w/ first washes, so the only Raw Denim lore I really vibe with is to turn them inside out when you wash. Probably avoid the spin cycle and drier at the beginning too
yeah you can def wash em just be a little more careful than normal
no dont do raw denim its disgusting
never raw denim
if you want to maintain a dark color, there are some brands which have more robust indigo. Alot of popular denim brands to not, as people like the fading.
literally no reason to write that
Yeah, aiming for a dark wash for a first pair of good jeans just because it seems a bit more versatile - at least with my current wardrobe. I literally just want good jeans that are a deep indigo and feel like I went down a rabbit hole of insanity for people for whom this is an art form they have dedicated their lives to. I just want a new pair of pants🤣
shut up dude
:banned: @paterpatriae_ has been banned from mfad! :banned:
i will not tolerate that language here
Realistically its the dye transfer thats going to be the issue
Unless you've got dark furniture or wanna cover it, it is going to get on it if you plan on sitting on light colored furniture regularly
The rest of the care is fine; people take it to an excess for fades (which is valid), but if you don't care, you can just wash it a normal amount.
If you don't want to deal with that, there are reactive dyed jeans as well as chino fabrics in five pocket cuts
But scott and the rest have covered it well
just about everything WILL fade, i think Iron heart ($$$) and N&F both have a model with super slow fading dye, not sure if they are still available though. Aside from that, some fabrics by TCB are slow fading and my fav within your budget, I believe 3sixteen and Momotaro jeans are also known for slow fades
probably others, im sure the info is out there if you search r/rawdenim or super-future for "slow fades"
Appreciate the recs. And yes, totally get that it will fade to some extent (at least everything else I own does!). My mall crap mid- blue jeans I got like five years ago are still pretty mid though (or at least definitely not light). I assume the darker they are the faster they fade in general, but as long as we aren't talking "you get dark indigo for a week and then they're light" it's expected and fine.
When I said I don't care about fades, I just meant this isn't a "blank canvas whose contrasts will emerge to reflect my living patterns" or whatever I was seeing in the raw denim world (no disrespect to those here for whom this is more of an art form ...I am just at a point in my life right now even minor inconvenience is not worth it for jeans).
I dont think any raws will really be less convenient than normal jeans, they are in the end just pants
Again the tldr is I want good pants that are darker denim and a step up from my prior go-to of "This was on sale at JC Penny for $30"
they are just jeans
I believe that marketing such as that is because alot of people are otherwise not interested, or need to justify, jeans which are nice for the sake of being nice
but not everyone cares about the things which make some raw denim nice! Such as great construction, cool historical details, really characterful fabric, etc
orslow, n&f, momotaro, iron heart($$$), could all be brands to look at
Well, I'm seeing people talking about blue getting everywhere. That was really the nonstarter for me (a long with elaborate care routines). I have a light beige couch and a wife who will commit violence only to defend the life of our child or furniture she really likes
Anyways, thanks all! Super helpful as usual.
if you are concerned about, take a white rag and vigorously scrub somewhere on the jeans (not an obvious place) and see if anything transfers.
after a few washes I'd think it would be minimal
yeah only real transfer ive had is before first wash
and even then its not on every pair
just some of the really dark ones
One other little note in case it's not obvious - if you're gotten them wet with for example rain or sweat you should be extra cautious the first few washes, and I wouldn't risk sitting on furniture
I don't think anyone mentioned yet but the other important thing about washing is to put the jeans in the wash alone (or with similarly shaded items) the first few times. That's the biggest indigo transfer risk in my experience.
Lost a few tshirts to that