Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t realise he looks like Jeremy Clarkson.

I shouldn’t imagine he cares.

It’s fine as long as you don’t have a gut that hangs over your belt.

*Hefts gut over shoulder*

There. Happy now?

What is so delicate about expensive jeans? I buy cheap ones and they last ok. Not as good as expensive work rang jeans but ok. Are designer jeans made of rubbish material?

Got that the wrong way round; it’s because of the heavier material and better dyes used that means washing isn’t required so often, especially if natural indigo dye is used, as it has a naturally strong odour which lasts a long time, so if the jeans are worn for purely social purposes, washing shouldn’t be required that often.
Of course, getting sweaty, and wearing jeans commando might require more frequent washing!
Natural indigo appears to have antifungal and antibacterial qualities as well, so not washing jeans that have been dyed with natural indigo for extended periods would extend that quality, and other than actual grime, wouldn’t be necessary anyway.
Most denim uses synthetic dye, so more frequent washing would probably be required.

CharlieMungus – Member
This thread is quite worrying, apart from the not washing thing, which is quite trivial really, it seems that, given the STW demographic, many of you seem to be unaware that people over the age of forty should not wear jeans!

Ah, another Daily Mail feature writer who seems to have the same snobbish attitude as tjagain. 🙄

Anyone who has used a urinal whilst wearing shorts will know why you need to wash your jeans. #splashback

Would all you self confessed scrubbers practice your filthy habit if your trews were white?

They’d be slick with man fat, sweat and seepage within days.

And next time the hipster nephew in law comes round, he can sit on a newspaper.
That sofa was expensive.

And next time the hipster nephew in law comes round, he can sit on a newspaper.
That sofa was expensive.

Quite apart from any hygiene concerns indigo dye rubs off on other fabrics so that’s a good idea if your sofa’s light coloured.

Ah, another Daily Mail feature writer who seems to have the same snobbish attitude as tjagain.

Hah! This following the post you wrote!

Seems to be a bit of a split here, with those who don’t care what others think and those who care very much about what jeans, what colour, how to care for them and how to get them to fade properly

CountZero – Member

Ah, another Daily Mail feature writer who seems to have the same snobbish attitude as tjagain.

So, why this random attack on TJ who hasn’t posted in this thread at all?

I thought it was rather complimentary!

Filthy sods. Don’t these unwashed jeans look dirty for goodness sake?
What about greasy fingers, sweaty, chocolate, tyre grime, just general muck. You can see this on jeans after a few days. Also the more you wash, the softer it gets.

Whats with all these jeans? Why do people like jeans? Clean or not.

Do we need a separate thread to discuss who is and isn’t washing their HebTroCo Founder Moleskins? Or can we do that in here?

😉

People are missing a trick by washing jeans.

Keep them unwashed, and after a few months they can form part of a self supporting design feature in the home.

Combined with a denim jacket and a few strategically placed coat hangers, you could have a life size shadow to sit with on an evening.

God knows you probably wouldn’t have a real life partner by then.

Dirty gits – wash your bloody clothese like the rest of the world 😉

Whats with all these jeans? Why do people like jeans? Clean or not.

They are hard-wearing, relatively cheap (depending on how STW stereotypical you are) and I find them comfortable. Pretty much live in jeans or shorts.

Really can’t understand this. I wear jeans and do plenty of man stuff*, which means they get dirty and they get washed. They fade, they are jeans, they do that and I don’t care. The only way I can fathom that you wouldn’t wash jeans is if you live a very sterile life with no exposure to any kind potential dirt exposure ever. Bit like people who leave the plastic cover on furniture. Come to think of it, could you not wrap them in plastic as well?

*DIY, Bike fettling, car fettling, walks in the woods, going to gigs, beer/curries, lion wrestling, etc.

Seems to be a bit of a split here, with those who don’t care what others think and those who care very much about what jeans, what colour, how to care for them and how to get them to fade properly

Caring about what you wear and caring about what others think of what you wear are not the same you know.

So, why this random attack on TJ who hasn’t posted in this thread at all?

He posted some words of wisdom from his fashion blog on the ‘what jeans’ thread along the lines of ‘only wear jeans if you’re under 25’.

Caring about what you wear and caring about what others think of what you wear are not the same you know

Yup, but caring about how you look?

TINAS, interesting link, thanks.
Very surprised by that.

In all seriousness, If you’re using them for general use, or like Mike even for commuting, don’t they get covered in road glue, mud etc?

If I go for a stroll on local footpaths I get my jeans muddy most of the time.

Don’t they look manky?

I’ve not fully committed to the not-washing jeans thing, but I had a pair of decent Howies Selvedge jeans that I think I’ve washed about 4 times in the last two years (and they’ve finally worn through the crotch, where all mine go, so I’m looking around for new ones).

I became aware of the advice not to wash them and thought it was weird, but it seemed to work. I don’t wear them to work, they were my “best” jeans but basically my only pair, so I wore them most weekends. The raw denim / indigo combination is, apparently, naturally anti-bacterial in the same way that merino wool is, so they don’t build up smell. They’re dark blue and didn’t really seem to show up any marks; if they got muddy at the bottoms I waited until the mud dried and brushed it off.

I was really sceptical and didn’t want to chance having smelly jeans, and although I’d imagined them getting weird and manky and feeling unlike cotton fabric, they didn’t at all (you know what I mean, that grim “these trousers / sheets could do with a wash” thing I remember from being a student). The fabric relaxed where it needed to and they just got more comfortable.

It feels weird to talk about it because it can sound a bit like someone with dreadlocks saying “no, it’s fine, they don’t smell at all!” when it’s blatantly obvious they do smell and the owner of the dreadlocks has just got used to them (my sister has dreadlocks and is otherwise very fussy about keeping her house clean – I know what I’m talking about!), when actually it was more like picking up a merino t-shirt and realising it doesn’t smell of anything other than merino.

And apparently not washing them helps them not only to fit well but also to fade in a natural way – and to stay dark, rather than tending towards that old-jeans mid-blue.

FWIW I did wash them a handful of times, once because I’d worn them every day for a week and felt like I ought to, two or three times because I’d spilt something on them that needed washing out or because I’d picked up my toddler son and his wellies had wiped mud and other park-related treats across my upper thighs! They were noticeably stiffer and slightly smaller and very slightly paler when washed and dried, but went back to being comfortable within a few minutes of putting them back on.

Just my experience. I’ll probably try and be a bit more committed with the new jeans (once I’ve browsed these threads and decided on which to get!) but will definitely do it with an open nose.

Simultaneously I rediscovered Rohan, so am sat here today sporting some Fusions.

The move away from jeans started here. Aged 42.

The old man and Rohan combination seems a cruel and unusual mismatch – especially in the favoured light grey or beige colourway. A very popular older gent travelling trouser by the state of your average motorway service centre. I’ve spotted many a grey haired gent coming out of the bogs at a motorway service station all sporting the ‘upper leg splash back fleck’ and post-piss dribble patch. I believe hose pressure drops a bit as you get older so they shuffle forwards and clearing the pipes of the last thimble full also becomes problematic.

Now denim, especially in a heavy weight organic dyed selvage variety, is excellent at soaking all that up with no visual clue (a bit of a whiff, but you expect that on an older gent – it’s their ‘musk’) but they are prevented from wearing them by the likes of CM above as a sartorial aberration. Fashion is a cruel mistress.

These unwashed jeans go at the crotch because sweat deteriorates the material.

but they are prevented from wearing them by the likes of CM above as a sartorial aberration.

No need to thank me

What a bunch of mingers! Not washing trousers – yeuchhio

Northwind – just seen your post.;

to explain its not snobbish to want to keep up some standards and not to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

I also may not be being entirely serious but middleaged men in jeans with polished shoes and a sports jacket is one of the most stupid looks ever. One basic rule of satorial elegance is “would clarkson wear this?” If the answer is yes then you know you should not.

Personally I never step outside the house in anthing other than worsted wool unless on the bike where tweed will do

These unwashed jeans go at the crotch because sweat deteriorates the material.

How, exactly?

Bacteria love sweat and cotton

What a bunch of mingers! Not washing trousers – yeuchhio

yeuchhio? One of two things has happened, tj’s therapy has been incredibly successful or his account has been hacked.

Not washing jeans is minging.

No offence. 🙂

If you want to be single carry on.

I’d rather smell nice and pull lots women.

How times change; when I was a kid people used to put the jeans on as soon as they got home from the shop then get in to the bath to shrink them as tight as possible.

In all seriousness, If you’re using them for general use, or like Mike even for commuting, don’t they get covered in road glue, mud etc?

My Pashley Mailstar Elephant Bike has full mudguards and a basket so I don’t get much or sweaty, and it’s only a 25 minute bicycle ride.

I used to find that sweat from cycling would eventually make my jeans smell when cycling a lot in the same pair, and always been late for stuff at the time.

Washed or not, the thing I can’t do is buy new jeans when jeans I bought 15 years ago are still perfectly fine. Though I’ve got a pair that are now relegated to the post mud bike ride change clothes, complete with pocket hole rippage, but I’d wear them post ride to the pub and they’re just chucked back in the car without washing them. They’d probably fall apart if washed.

to explain its not snobbish to want to keep up some standards and not to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

Are you not the same man considering a ponytail or Alice band in the other thread? If so, then you have no right to discuss standards of appearance you bloody hippy 🙂

I also may not be being entirely serious but middleaged men in jeans with polished shoes and a sports jacket is one of the most stupid looks ever. One basic rule of satorial elegance is “would clarkson wear this?” If the answer is yes then you know you should not.

Good thing that that’s not what I wear, then.
The jeans I wear on a regular basis, and I’ve got a number of pairs, get washed when they start to look a bit grubby, and as I swap them around quite a bit, and they’re all a few years old now, they’re getting fairly faded, they were pre-washed anyway. My dark indigo selvedge jeans get worn maybe three or four times a year, as ‘best’ jeans, at the rate they’re going, they’ll last another twenty or thirty years!
And I usually wear Meindle Desert Fox ex-Army issue boots, or plain black Vans skate shoes, with one of many tee shirts, flannel shirt, Nomex flying jacket, down jacket, fleece, leather bike jacket, denim jacket, or whatever else takes my fancy.
At 62, I’m waaaaaay past giving a shit about what other people think about what I wear, pretty much as I’ve done for the previous fifty years.
I am considering getting some smart brogue boots, which may well be worn with my dark indigo jeans, and perhaps a black wool jacket, but that’s about as smart as I ever get.

My dark indigo selvedge jeans get worn maybe three or four times a year, as ‘best’ jeans, at the rate they’re going, they’ll last another twenty or thirty years!

At 62, I’m waaaaaay past giving a shit about what other people think about what I wear

Yeah, but what about whoever is going to be wearing those jeans?

Bought the uniqlo selvedge in nov, worn almost daily and no wash yet. They arent minging and plenty of washing tips online to preserve the dye. The seawater tip and drying naturally. They are softening up nicely and starting to mould to my shape.

Also, i expect them to shrink first wash, uniqlo you have to size up to.

Top tips though, uniqlo selvedge are 40 quid so not the biggest disaster if you mess it up.