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

Awesome, would like to see some denim porn.

I'm still breaking in and fading my Levis. I seldom wear them now because my thighs got bigger than the jeans, which makes it quite uncomfortable. I'm trying to get as much wear as I can before my Full Count arrive!

That pair sure doesn't look like an authentic selvedge pair to me.

Malaysia would be a bit difficult to find.

If you want jeans from Japan, you will need a Japanese proxy, there are services for you to obtain anything from Japan. For example, Zipangu Treasures. Rakuten.co.jp is another alternative to get your denim.

I believe you can get Dior Homme MIJ in any Dior branch. They would measure 19cm (ouch! skinnies) and are vanity sized (i.e. 30in tagged W29).

Good Evisu are usually imported from Japan anyway, so use a proxy or buy it from a retailer. Bread & Butter is shite to be honest. If you're looking for a sweet pair of Evisu Deluxe, drop me a line and I'll buy you a pair in London. I can get your Dior Homme MIJ from Selfridges as well

hrmm, trying on selvedge jeans gives you very little idea on how the final fit is, unless it's sanforized.

This is because most jeans are raw and unsanforized. They will shrink after soaking and form a better snug fit.

There is a whole resource on how jeans fit and how you should buy them. If you're interested in getting a pair, I can give you sizing advice.

As mentioned in the first thread

"Selvage produced currently means that it is produced on a vintage loom and will show more character. These looms are very rare."

Character could refer to fade, honeycombing (the crisscrossing behind the knees), creasing or just how they wear and shrink.

bumping this up because people keep creating new denim threads.

Selvage (selvedge) is not equivalent to Self Edge, which is a shop in USA (also having their online shop by the same name).

I didn't say that all raw jeans are selvage, nor did I say that non-selvage jeans would lack the personal touch of whiskers, fading and honeycombing.

I merely stated that selvage has the benefit of adding more character to your wear. Misquoting me makes me very uncomfortable.

Yeah probably. Also, maybe my fking messed up sleeping hours and medicated sleep has got to me. Apologies. I should really not reply to threads anytime past 12am.

You were mentioning that not all selvedge is raw. It was already apparent to me that they do not always overlap. My post was merely stating the benefits of having 'selvedge' and what 'selvedge' would bring to the table. 'Selvedge' gives you more character when worn. In an ideal world, all selvedge denim should be raw, because stone washed is a crime. 'Selvedge' does not merely describe the edge of the fabric, it also signifies that it came from an old (vintage?) loom (usually), and the benefits of being woven in and old (vintage?) loom bears more character - irregular weave, tighter weave, slubby-ness etc.

I was just stating the benefits of having 'selvedge' in terms of denim, which is character (assuming raw, read: ideal world), which was in response to answering jind86's post. I failed to address (admittedly) that some selvedge can be 'not raw' (cooked? ha), but I probably didn't realise this because... who would pay for stonewashed jeans? Then I realised that this is the general public, not enthusiasts like you/me.

Good post, now that I'm awake. You seem to know more than me, but you were picking apart my post anyway.

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Added on January 7, 2009, 8:57 pmAlso, I've never heard that the origins of selvedge came from self-edge. Thanks for enlightening.

All in good nature?

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Added on January 7, 2009, 11:03 pmAlso, by all means point out the errors on the first post. I shall edit them in due time.

It's a forum after all.

This post has been edited by mofonyx: Jan 7 2009, 11:03 PM

Well, yeah, generally it would give you a higher quality because of the characteristics from the vintage looms as described above. It's more desirable.

Not all selvedge denim has selvedge. A.P.C. has a pair (New Cures?) which tapers a lot at the bottom so the selvedge is cut off. It's a selvedge denim without the selvedge, I guess.

Timberland making selvage jeans?

I'll take a pass

Agreed, but if you're spending that kind of money anyway, might as well get something else?

Nudies? The cheaper brand. Crotch bust galore.

Good starter jeans though.

Okini rescued you sooner than I could find this thread.

I'm a big fan of the new Evisu Lazy S No.13 LEFT http://shop.evisu.com/collections/mens/pro...ge_lazy_s_jeans

Which is a vintage more slender Lee-esque fit.

About the differences on APC http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=45979





You can easily get someone to hook you up with a nice pair of jeans if they are overseas.

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Added on July 10, 2009, 1:40 pmWord of advice, don't get anything from bread and butter. The prices are inflated and their selection is horrible (no No.1 is a crime!). If you want I can probably pull a favour from a friend to get discounted Evisus from London. No promises though.

Get Okini to hook you up and give him a bit of cash for the favour

This post has been edited by mofonyx: Jul 10 2009, 01:40 PM

IINM Self Edge ships world wide! But they don't have Malaysia listed under the country selection. Doesn't hurt to call Self Edge to ask what's up! I'm sure Kiya's a nice guy, Okini's met the man.

or anything modelled after the Levi '44 and '55 cuts. A lot of Japanese denim use the Levi cuts, because it appeals to the niche market of denim enthusiasts.

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Added on July 22, 2009, 3:40 pmI think it's a waste to get 8 pairs of Nudies. There are much better denim out there.

This post has been edited by mofonyx: Jul 22 2009, 03:40 PM

kotmj, big thighs cannot fit into 501XX 1947. I have a pair.

but you can try your hand at many online stores (even Levi's online)

cultizm.com will get you what you want. Remember it shrinks 2" arond the waist.

there isn't much of a reason to try beforehand, because they shrink to fit anyway, you're going to size up 2"

goldlion, it's an awesome pair of jeans. If you don't have big thighs from the gym, I would suggest 1108 which is a better fit and would fade with wear better (the 0105C is a bit straight and anti-fit).

All in all, good classic fades. Not grainy like Warehouse, which is also desirable to some! Check out the Fullcount contest thread in Superfuture. I haven't been wearing mine to bits because I'm constantly bogged down by exams (gym also no time, friends also no time).

I recommend them!

@goldlion: There are 0105Cs but they don't fade as well cos of the looser fit, so they aren't getting as much attention/posts as the 1108C.

If you feel you like the looser fits then sure go ahead! 0105C is a great vintage fit. I reckon it's after the '55 or '44 Levi 501 silhouette.

@oki-ni: I'm not very fond of the term slubby. What does it mean exactly? It is hairy, though, with leg twist. I've soaked it twice. Shrinkage is quite significant but it stretches back to a good comfy fit. I would probably soak again tomorrow or day after!