Blue Jeans

[Twelvefret]

After soaking for an hour Sunday and air drying, the shrink to fit 501's remind me of the Wrangler shrink to fit. I did this unknowingly, but I've always put the jeans back on slightly damp. This allows the cotton to conform individually. I've worn them for two days and may wear them the rest of the week before washing, or not. The weave is tight, and I've used them for hiking in wind and 40 degree weather.

I might try a pair of selvedge or "self edge" at some point. I have nothing against them, but these jeans I have are excellent quality. I also have a pair of prewashed 501's that feel thinner, but maybe not.

 

[Twelvefret]

I have worn selvedge denim for years, Japanese selvedge is the way to go after World War 2 all the American looms that made the Selvedge denim were taken to Japan, I like Lee Rider 101 Selvedge straight fit, and slim fit the sanforised pre-shrunk is the best forget about dry denim and stay away from anything over 13oz far to heavy, at this moment I'm wearing Unbranded Selvedge straight fit. PS The best Levi and Lee jeans are still made of Japanese Selvedge, Selvedge Jeans look great with a nice pair of Red Wings or Chippewa boots.

What is your break in process, if any. Two things have kept me from considering. There are counterfeits and some "white cone" weave is personally unattractive. Plus, any jean without stitching on the rear pockets look generic....LOL!!

 

[chazt]

Over here dungarees are what you call bib overalls.

Yes, that makes more sense. Truth be told, my Mom helped shape my early vocabulary. In retrospect this seems to be another one of her occasional malapropisms that seeped into my left brain.

In the late 1960s when I joined the RCN Reserve the work dress was dungarees, meaning denim pants, denim shirt and denim jacket. About that time the work dress changed to a new material in green and has changed a few times since then. It was the only time I heard jeans call dungarees. On the street they were and always have been referred to as jeans here.

Bob

I guess most people call them jeans just about everywhere. I can’t bring myself to use the word. It sounds so silly to me. What are you wearing? Jeans. Gene’s what?
I’m guessing you’re a couple of years older than me, Bob. I adopted the all blue denim look in the early seventies. Rocked it into sometime in the eighties when all of a sudden it was uncool with the girls whose very blue jeans I wanted to explore. Switched it up to black and I was good to go

Maybe I should just stick to calling them Levi’s.

 

[R181]

I guess most people call them jeans just about everywhere. I can’t bring myself to use the word. It sounds so silly to me. What are you wearing? Jeans. Gene’s what?
I’m guessing you’re a couple of years older than me, Bob. I adopted the all blue denim look in the early seventies. Rocked it into sometime in the eighties when all of a sudden it was uncool with the girls whose very blue jeans I wanted to explore. Switched it up to black and I was good to go

Maybe I should just stick to calling them Levi’s.

Call them what you want but they are still some of the most comfortable and durable clothes you can wear.

Bob

 

[JamieM]

What is your break in process, if any. Two things have kept me from considering. There are counterfeits and some "white cone" weave is personally unattractive. Plus, any jean without stitching on the rear pockets look generic....LOL!!

I can and do wear them for about 4 weeks, then I wash them as normal, I do on a 40-degree wash with conditioner I like the softer feel you get with added conditioner, like I said all my Selvedge are sanforised pre-shrunk with the shrink to fit stuff there a bit more guess work.

 

[Vacumatic]

The first Levis that I owned had a peculiar way of the left leg going on the twist, the seam did not stay still and rotated around the leg, just the left. Switched to Wrangler which were are better fit, still used 16oz denim. Later on bought jeans made of lighter denim, more like shirt denim. My wife liked the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, says they were superbly made and cost under £2 from Stanley Market,

Not sure what our grandfathers wore before jeans were around, perhaps one piece overalls over cavalry twill trousers.

 

[Twelvefret]

The first Levis that I owned had a peculiar way of the left leg going on the twist, the seam did not stay still and rotated around the leg, just the left. Switched to Wrangler which were are better fit, still used 16oz denim. Later on bought jeans made of lighter denim, more like shirt denim. My wife liked the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, says they were superbly made and cost under £2 from Stanley Market,

Not sure what our grandfathers wore before jeans were around, perhaps one piece overalls over cavalry twill trousers.View attachment 144750

Yes, I do remember those twisting Levis jeans myself and they would have been the self edging type back then, circa 1967. There was a Levis factory in Knoxville, Tennessee and an outlet store which sold the twisting legged jeans for a much reduced price. I remember my Latin teacher's college age daughter was an employee. You brought back some good memories.

My grandfather always wore overalls with khakis underneath. He just hung them up when he got home. Those overalls were not thick like raw denim on these shrink to fit I've been wearing.

 

[Twelvefret]

I can and do wear them for about 4 weeks, then I wash them as normal, I do on a 40-degree wash with conditioner I like the softer feel you get with added conditioner, like I said all my Selvedge are sanforised pre-shrunk with the shrink to fit stuff there a bit more guess work.

What I did with the Wranglers and now the Levis raw denim is to initially soak them in cold water for an hour, then wear them damp until they dry. I always wash then inside out using tap water temperature. Initially I wash them separate because I know they will bleed a bit. Since I have one, I am now going to air dry on the clothesline or inside on the shower door. The Wranglers have the most beautiful blue hue I've ever worn.

No conditioner needed for these raw type. Wearing them damp to dry conditions them naturally and mold them to my body shape. As a comparison, the other non raw 501's do not fit the same around my thighs so the jeans are not a warm in the wind while hiking or working outside.

 

[Rufusdog]

Call them what you want but they are still some of the most comfortable and durable clothes you can wear.

Bob

Nope, that’s not my experience. Just the opposite.

 

[Dr Watson]

511 for me. Back in the day I used to wear bootcut until it dawned on me I was essentially wearing denim flares.

I've found quality control at Levi's has been poor recently, purchased two pairs of jeans in the past 12 months directly from their website, both had poor stitching verging on what I would call seconds grade... Also bought a cotton crew neck sweatshirt from them which went bobbly after one wash. Might look elsewhere for my next pair.

 

[Twelvefret]

511 for me. Back in the day I used to wear bootcut until it dawned on me I was essentially wearing denim flares.

I've found quality control at Levi's has been poor recently, purchased two pairs of jeans in the past 12 months directly from their website, both had poor stitching verging on what I would call seconds grade... Also bought a cotton crew neck sweatshirt from them which went bobbly after one wash. Might look elsewhere for my next pair.

The Wrangler 13MWZ are not flare leg type. They bellow out to allow the jeans to fit over the boot top then taper down to sit on top of the boot.

 

[Dr Watson]

The Wrangler 13MWZ are not flare leg type. They bellow out to allow the jeans to fit over the boot top then taper down to sit on top of the boot.

I'm not familair with those, only ever owned one pair of Wrangler and they weren't bootcut. I used to do all my clothes shopping at the supermarket! So they would have been from legendary fashion houses such as George or Fred & Fred

 

[Paper Plane]

511 for me. Back in the day I used to wear bootcut until it dawned on me I was essentially wearing denim flares.

Nowt wrong with flares.

steve

 

[R181]

Nope, that’s not my experience. Just the opposite.

Well, you can't please everyone no matter the product.

Bob

 

[Rufusdog]

Well, you can't please everyone no matter the product.

Bob

And I’m very difficult to please, if not impossible according to my wife. In all seriousness, though, I keep trying to find my “ideal” jeans. Just before Christmas I bought my first pair of Levi 501 Originals, the ones with the button fly, which might be a drawback. I haven’t used a button fly since primary school when our uniform shorts were button fly. Otherwise the Levis seem to fit fairly well, but I haven’t worn them for an extended period of time; they are still in the washing phase which comprises 3 washes before they’re ready for daily wear.