I thought I should start a thread about my favourite and most popular piece of clothing, selvedge (or selvage) jeans.
What is selvage denim? "Selvage produced currently means that it is produced on a vinatge loom and will show more character. These looms are very rare."
What it looks like, picture of FullCount denim (of Japan) selvedge shot courtesy of www.blueingreensoho.com
Notable brands include Levis LVC, Samurai (Japanese), Full Count (Japanese), Sugarcane (Japanese), Pure Blue Japan (Japanese), Skull, Imperial, The Flat Head, some runs of Evisu (Evisu No. 0, Evisu No. 1, Evisu No. 2, Evisu Deluxe, Evisu Brown Box), Dior Homme (MIJ - Made in Japan, MII - Made in Italy).
Overpriced denim include 7 for all Mankind, True Religion, most of Evisu
I own a pair of Levi 501XX 1947 and soon to be blessed with a pair of contest Full Count 0105C, pictures can be found here: http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showp...24&postcount=22
Selvedge denim care:
Soaking before wearing.
Buying raw denim requires a pre-soak in warm water 40 - 50 deg celcius to remove starch and all to get rid of all the shrinkage before wear. It should be noted that some jeans shrink below the tagged size (i.e. Levi 501XX '47 shrinks from a tagged size of W32 to W30, which then stretches back uncomfortably to a W31.5). Most Japanese denim shrink well into the tagged size (i.e. Fullcount 0105 tagged size of W31 measures 33inches, which then shrinks to W31). Sanforized denim will not shrink upon soaking, and semi-sanforized will only shrink a little.
It should be noted that the length and thighs would also shrink on soaking.
You should soak for 1 to 2 hours. There are some who leave it a whole night to soak. You can choose to soak inside out or outside out, it doesn't really matter in my opinion. Some soak with vinegar and salt to get rid of as much starch as they can, I just soak with plain water.
Hang and leave to dry, remember to massage and get rid of as much water as you can before hanging because indigo dye may run if your denim carries a lot of water while it hangs. You don't want that to happen.
Washing.
Most denim enthusiasts would tell you that if you want maximum contrasts on your denim, do not wash them until they really need to be washed (6 to 9 months before first wash). This makes it quite difficult for Malaysians, I know. It is best that if you cannot wait 6 months for your first wash that you send it to the drycleaners.
However, there are enthusiasts on the SuperFuture denim forum that have shown amazing fades with monthly washes! So you can do that too if it makes you happy.
Wash gently, use cold 30 deg C (or 40 deg C maximum) with soft detergent. Set the washing machine to no spin and gentle cycle as you don't want the washer to destroy your denim and the dye. It is recommended to turn your denim inside out when washing. Fold it well and line it along the sides of your washing machine.
Alternatively, for a softer wash, you may handwash your denim. Add detergent to water and swirl it until it starts to develop foam, but not too foamy! Too much detergent would damage the denim (bleaching due to phosphates). Remember that it is important to rinse the jeans thoroughly before drying and wearing as residual soap would increase wear and tear.
As with soaking, massage as much water out as you can before hanging to dry. Some enthusiasts recommend against hanging it in the hot sun (Malaysian sun is very hot!) which would cause the indigo dye to boil and affect your colour. This is hardly a concern as you wear your denim in the sun everyday anyway. I would hang it in the shade, though.
This post has been edited by mofonyx: Dec 14 2008, 11:36 AM
The premium selvedge jeans & raw denim thread V1