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Jeans
Jeans are riveted cotton denim trousers from American workwear, loved because their indigo dye fades in patterns shaped by the wearer's body and habits.
Jeans are cotton denim trousers with riveted stress points, descended from nineteenth-century American workwear. Their interest to anyone who cares about clothing is the way indigo fades, abrading off the surface of the yarn in patterns determined by the wearer's body and habits.
Raw, one-wash, sanforised
Raw (or dry) denim has never been washed after dyeing. It is stiff, dark, and shrinks, sometimes considerably, on first wash. Sanforised denim has been mechanically pre-shrunk and will not move much. One-wash has been washed once to shrink it and is the practical middle position.
Unsanforised raw denim is bought a size or more large and shrunk to fit, which is a commitment most people do not need to make.
Fading
Indigo sits on the outside of the yarn over a white core, so wear removes it in layers. The classic fade points (whiskers at the hip, honeycombs behind the knee, wear at the wallet and the hem) are simply where the cloth abrades most.
Washing less produces higher contrast; washing more produces softer, more even fading. The advice to never wash jeans is folklore rather than practice: the cloth degrades faster when dirty, and washing inside out in cold water costs very little contrast.
Fit and hem
Raw denim relaxes as it is worn (typically a centimetre or so in the waist within a few wearings), so a new pair should feel slightly snug rather than comfortable. Unsanforised denim shrinks first and then relaxes, which is two variables at once and the reason it is best avoided by anyone buying their first pair.
Hemming: chain-stitched hems produce the roping effect prized on selvedge denim as they fade. Any competent alterations shop can hem jeans; only a shop with a chain-stitch machine can do it the way the factory did.
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- Raw selvedge jeans folded at the cuff: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Tellason jeans, top front: Photograph · A Continuous Lean · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- Tellason jeans back pocket: Photograph · A Continuous Lean · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0