new thread
I was told by one of my co-workers that the best way to wash jeans to minimize wear and fading was to turn them inside out when you wash them. I tried this a few times, but I can't do it if there is a spot on them or something that needs to be removed. I guess there's not enough agitation on the inside to remove it. Only time will tell though on how well my jeans will hold out. I usually get about 5 years out of a good pair of Levi's anyways, and I wear them to work too. I guess I've been lucky too that I haven't changed pants sizes since I was in high school
Anybody else ever heard of doing this, or had any results to say how good it works?
It works well for me. For the spots or areas that need extra cleaning, put just a bit of detergent right on them.
Doug
Definitely helps. Also, line dry them. Jeans are so heavy it takes a clothes dryer a long time to dry them, and every minute in the dryer means more wear. When I switched to line-drying my jeans, I discovered the clothes dryer had been wearing them out much more than I was. ;-)
Clothes dryers also wear your jeans out all over, which gets in the way of the cool personalization your jeans get from your own body parts like knees and stuff you always carry. I have an afro pick I always carry, and it soon gets imprinted on my back right pocket. It says, "These jeans belong to a longhaired dude!"
washing them in cooler water helps reduce fading... personally, i prefer faded jeans- goes with long hair better i think.
I've found having "unfaded jeans" are a lot more important to a longhair than to a shorthaired guy when it comes to public acceptance though. A hippie who lived in the Haight several years ago put me onto that, and my observations have borne his out. It is as if people will let you have one thing that is different. When I wear faded clothes, a lot of people avoid me on the street, while when I wear crisp clothing in unfaded colors, I'm much more welcomed.
This is all probably akin to the situation that a white kid can wear beat up clothes and people see him as casual, while a black kid tries it and they see him as a criminal. It's not fair, but knowledge is power, and being aware that long hair can often be one strike against you, and that people will often give you one strike but not two, is a useful bit of information to carry about under your mane.
This seems to not only apply to jeans, but all clothing, even to tie-dyes, which obviously carry a strong counterculture message. Wear a bright clean new tie-dye shirt instead of a faded one, and they'll see you as a "clean, intelligent, industrious hippie" instead of as a dumb lazy dirty one.
I sometimes want the faded look of course, and that is perfectly okay when I'm not out to make an important impression. :-)
well... i always looked at my hair to be sort of a 'people filter'... it keeps judgemental types at a distance. i associate loosely faded jeans & long hair because both are something i'm comfortable wearing. if i have cause to impress someone for whatever purpose i won't wear blue jeans & certainly not beat up clothes...
but at a weekend & i'm with people i don't have to impress i wear what's comfortable.
I like faded jeans too, but not totally faded. I like the look that say, a pair of 501's make after they are about 6 months old or so. A little bit lightened around the edges and seams, and starting to show your own "personality" in them....but don't want them to go too much further. It typically like to buy non-faded solid color jeans, and "break them in" to look and fit me the way I think they should, instead of the way some fashion designer thinks they should.
I currently have some pairs of jeans from various manufacturers that started out very dark, that now look like light blue stone-washed ones...which is a little too light for me. They are also starting to fray at the seams and such. I also want to avoid them wearing out and fraying too.