So…my jeans always wear out pretty quickly. I tend to buy Gap jeans, and they tend to go at the crotch within around 6 months…then I chuck em and throw them in the bin.

Anyway…so I wondered into one of those hupster shops in east london the other day, and there were loads of blokes with beards, gruff wooly hats and birkenstocks and shit like that and they started lecturing me about different weights of denim and raw denim and this and that and blah blah blah.

So I said “well what weight of denim are these things I’m wearing” and they had a little feel and said “About 9 oz we reckon” and then tried to persuade me to buy some Japanese jeans made out of 14oz Denim for loads of money. I declined.

But does the weight of the Denim make any difference on how long it takes for them to get ruined? Jeans experts of the STW discuss…

Yes but there is good denim and average denim. Selvage isn’t always a guarantee but the stuff from Okinawa or cone mills usually lasts as does the heavier weight. I have various pairs of 14-15oz jeans and they are all a couple of years old with a long way to go but I don’t cycle in them though.
If you shop around you can pick up selvedge for less than £100 or get lucky in the sales (Edwin rainbow selvage for £19.99 thanks to tkmaxx)
Personally I’m happy to spend on good denim, if that doesn’t appeal to you just buy lots of cheap pairs.

they tend to go at the crotch within around 6 months

Firstly – hitch your pants up.
Secondly – don’t just wear one pair until they wear out.

Lee 101z are good for vaguely affordable selvedge, 14.5oz

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Lee-101-Z-Regular-Jeans-Toughed-Up-L971GDGX-Denim-BNWT-RRP-150-NEW-34-36-/360810685350?pt=UK_Men_s_Jeans&var=&hash=item5401fe23a6

For longevity hand wash and not too often.

Edwin rainbow selvage for £19.99 thanks to tkmaxx

????????

“Unbranded” do some reasonably priced selvedge.
http://www.liquorstoreclothing.com/denim-c1/the-unbranded-brand-m48
Never owned a pair but they seem to get reasonable reviews.

Edwin: denim jean manufacturers
Rainbow selvage: the end of the cloth is usually finished in red thread

They do a rainbow version

Tkmaxx is a shop that has a lot clothing at up to 60% off, a lot of stuff is tat but you can find some bargains. They have shops on the high st and in out of town shopping centres.

HTH.

LOL. Thanks for the lowdown. My fault for being so vague I suppose!
Been after a pair of ED47s in rainbow selvedge for a while. I had no idea you could get them from TK Maxx!

Lee 101z

jeans for the internet generation.

jeans are what one wears when one doesn’t wish to get one’s cord’s grubby.

hand-washing jeans? – my dear old thing, life is simply too short.

if you want trousers that are actually indestructible: Cactus, NZ

they wear in, not out, rippa.

LOL. Thanks for the lowdown. My fault for being so vague I suppose!
Been after a pair of ED47s in rainbow selvedge for a while. I had no idea you could get them from TK Maxx!

I got lucky, not seen any since, I usually go to interstate in covent garden to try them on and they do 29’s there as most places only do 28 or start at 30

they tend to go at the crotch within around 6 months
Firstly – hitch your pants up.
Secondly – don’t just wear one pair until they wear out.

Thirdly wax your balls instead off shaving them so they’re not so scratchy.

I’d say a lot of the mass-market end of jeans tend to be quite light because they sell on their soft, comfy, ready washed, ready crumpled ready-to-wear-ness. A new, raw, heavy denim pair of jeans needs a bit breaking in an a bit of consideration. For most consumers the idea of having to break in a pair of trousers seems a bit archaic. But apart from being lighter fabric to begin with the manufacturer has usually already done some of the wearing-out for you before you even buy them

But good denim does last, not just in the not-wearing-out sense but in the terms of looking good for longer. I bought two good pairs of jeans in 2003, both would have cost over £200 a pair but I got them when they were reduced to £160 and £80 respectively. Haven’t needed to buy a pair of jeans since and they still look spot on, but 20 pairs of gap jeans (if you’re only getting 6 months wear) would cost in the region of £1k over the same period. So while it seems an indulgence it can be pretty cost effective

So if you’re trashing them that fast a good pair only has to last 18months to be worthwhile so why not buy a pair and see how it works out. Or wax your balls. Choice is yours.

Is it my imagination or do they only do the rainbow in a 32 ISL? My Edwin Sen have just popped a ball ventilation hole…

I think mine are ED-73? No cinch back and a lower rise than an ED-55 (my favourite) and a 29 so they do them from 28 up
EDIT you mean inseam. Not sure about that but they may be measuring inc a turn-up. If you are in that London then interstate stock them all and will know what lengths are available.

Uniqlo used to do a really nice, unadorned selvedge denim, 14oz, Japanese woven. Had that lovely musty smell that proper indigo dye has, and they were pretty cheap at around £70. Sadly they’ve stopped doing them, so I’m going to have to look after my two pairs.
I liked the fact there was no fancy stitching anywhere, or labels, apart from a plain brown leather patch with a couple of numbers in one corner. Completely anonymous.

Albam do a nice selvage jean for less than £100 Japanese fabric and made in the u.k. Nothing fancy and the straight cut fits cyclists legs.

Wrecker, thanks for the link to the Liquor Store site, their Unbranded selvedge jeans are similar to the Uniqlo ones, and a similar price.
When they’ve got some in my size, I might get a black pair, and maybe a pair of the 21oz blues; they ought to last pretty well…

I only buy jeans with front external patch pockets which can be very difficult to find if they are out of fashion. They are out of fashion now … arrgghhh … 😡

I bought several of the same design with external patch pockets at TK Maxx three years ago when they were in fashion and am still wearing them in rotation. Jeans with normal pockets will be holed in one month as I carry keys.

My best jeans are Duck and Cover which I bought for £40 each. Think I bought two. These are the slightly heavier version.

Wrecker, thanks for the link to the Liquor Store site,

You’re very welcome. I’d be interested to hear what you think of the unbrandeds when you get them (particularly fit)
I’m wearing in a pair of nudie straight alf ropy selvedge. Very nice too. One of the few fits around which I can get my legs into that aren’t too big around the waist. My shape isn’t in fashion at the minute.

I’ve been looking Iron Heart jeans. I ordered their IH-634SV which I thought were too loose around the calf area so returned them but I was recommended to get the 1955s by the really helpful helpers. Being tapered jeans they should fit me better but were out of stock. I know they’re really expensive but at 21oz those blighters are going to last. You’ll also get some nice shades, no not 8) ‘s, as they are Japanese denim which are mostly rope dyed. If you don’t wash them for at least 6 months!! Change yer knickers though. Iron Heart recently had a 10% sale for about two days and I don’t know how regularly these happen to be honest. Not saying they’re the only brand but were the ones I was looking at due to their reputation. Yes they will take some wearing in and like all denim it’ll stretch over time though proper denim stores will tell you the ins and outs about fit, wash and stretch.

What the hell is happening here?!

Never thought I’d see a raw denim discussion in here! I’m thinking of picking up some more raws if I get any christmas money. Not sure what I’d get although I do love the look of some of the Japanese stuff; it’s all dependant on the money though.

many moons ago, I worked in a sand blasting factory. new very rigid thick denim jeans from all the top labelled designers would be rolled in. the stacker lad set the new jeans on the bench, then the blaster grit blasted the jean legs, knees, pockets for pre agreed times, to give then the soft feel, some were then washed in varying stone mix tumblers to finish them off.
I haven’t looked at expensive jeans quite the same since. the dust got everywhere, very hot work. not a nice job at all. the nextdoor factory unit blasted metal work. blue blasters from jeabs, orange blasters from the rust.

fourbanger – Member
What the hell is happening here?!

Um, people having a discussion about decent quality but not overpriced clothing?
You must be new, it happens on here quite a lot.
Wrecker, according to the Unbranded page, they say go up a size, because they’re a bit small; when I got my Uniqlo Japan Denims, I’d tried a pair of their regular denim on in the London shop, as I happened to be up there.
Glad I did, I usually take a 32×34, I couldn’t even pull that size up past the top of my thighs! I bought 34×34 from the website, and they were perfect, so I might try that with the Unbrandeds.
They look good, nice and plain and simple.