Things They Don't Tell You About Raw Denim
Illustrated by a pair of TCB 50's Regular jeans worn 250 times.
Raw denim is such a broad and debated topic. When I first started digging into the subject about 15 years ago the gold standard was to wear your jeans as long as possible without washing them to achieve the sickest fades. Over time, the winds have changed. People started laughing at ocean washes and keeping jeans in a freezer. Nerding out about denim was considered uncool, and treating jeans like any other regular item of clothing became a way to go. By now, I feel like the online community has come to peace with all the different ways to wear and care about denim, and virtually anything is acceptable as long as you don’t get too serious about it.
With that being said, I’m still fascinated with the aging process of quality items in general and denim in particular. Also, I feel like there is an abundance of talk about all the new, the rare, and the superior but a lack of information on what all that promised land will turn into over time.
One thing that keeps bothering me about denim is that those very things appreciated by style aficionados might not be associated with beauty or quality among people outside the topic. So, instead of writing an ordinary review aimed at earning recognition from fellow enthusiasts, I would like to focus on the functional drawbacks of quality denim that I just can’t ignore.
Don’t worry, I am not going to call quality denim a myth that needs to be busted. In fact, I am completely OK with the drawbacks and even love some of them. By giving them a spotlight, I want to prepare newcomers on what to expect from raw denim not to be disappointed later.
In support of my arguments, I photographed a pair of TCB 50’s Regular jeans that I had worn 250 times over 4 years. Yes, I count the days I wear my jeans. It’s my second pair of this very model, and I can confirm that all the drawbacks discussed below happened to the first pair as well. Both pairs came in unsanforized (meaning they are not pre-shrunk) and non-washed (TCB stopped producing non-washed versions in early 2019).
If you are completely new to raw denim, Heddels is an excellent source of information. In this article, I skip the basics and jump straight to the things that only reveal themselves over time, and thus are less talked about.
Full disclosure: I put myself through the struggles described in this article completely by choice. None of them are the faults of a particular pair of jeans, TCB, or denim in general.
Shrinking
Of course, raw denim shrinks because it hasn’t been sanforized or pre-washed. And you have to make very complicated calculations when choosing the right size. It’s all part of the game. But the thing is that it continues to shrink over time. Even after all these years the waist still shrinks after every wash, so I have to wear the jeans in before they become comfortable in the waist again.
I grew so afraid and tired of shrinking that I started to put the jeans on right after washing them to stretch them while they were still wet. As you might imagine putting on and staying in a wet garment for a prolonged period of time is not exactly the most pleasant experience. I mean, for me, it’s part of the journey. It’s so ridiculous it becomes fun. The last few times I even wore a wet pair over sweatpants: they keep me warm longer and help stretch the jeans throughout their length.
To give you an idea of the amount of shrinkage, here are the measurements in cm and inches (before the first wash / after the first wash / after the 6th wash / after the 17th wash, all washes done in a washing machine at 30 °C):
Waist: 40.5 (15.94) / 39 (15.35) / 40,5 (15.94) / 40,5 (15.94)
Front rise: 30 (11.81) / 28 (11) / 28 (11) / 28 (11)
Inseam: 96 (37.8) / 90 (35.43) / – / –
Leg width at crotch: 31 (12.2) / 31 (12.2) / 30,5 (12) / 30,5 (12) / 31 (12.2)
Leg width at 10 cm below crotch: 28 (11) / 26,5 (10.43) / 27 (10.63) / 28 (11)
Leg opening: 23 (9.06) / 22 (8.66) / 21 (8.27) / 21 (8.27)
The numbers don’t look dramatic at all. Some of them even grew over time! But bear in mind that the measurements were taken after a few days of stretching the jeans back. Sure, I gained around 4–5 kg over 4 years. Together with shrinkage, that does dramatically affect the fit.
Some would say I should go for a bigger size. I did. I bought the very same pair of TCB 50’s regular in three different sizes (31, 32, and 34). But they all fit pretty much the same over time. Luckily, size 34 is still a bit wider throughout the leg.
Fades
Fades are probably the number one reason most people turn to raw denim. That’s the beauty of raw indigo fabric. You get a pair of jeans full of dye that will gradually fade over time (staining all the light items from t-shirts to plastic chairs with indigo along the way). The resulting fades hugely depend on lifestyle and washing routine and therefore, are unique to the owner. In theory, there are no two identical pairs of faded raw denim.
I love faded denim. I love observing how quality pieces change over time, and raw denim shows some of the most drastic evolution. I used to strive for high-contrast fades on my jeans but learned to appreciate more uniform fades, similar to those seen in photographs from the mid-20th century.
So what’s wrong with fades? There is this assumption that everyone loves faded denim. The internet is full of romantic passages about how you buy a pair of raw denim, wear it forever while it only gets better with age, and get complimented along the way. Well, the latter hasn’t been part of my experience wearing raw denim for over 12 years. The first time somebody took notice of my jeans was last month from a dude who was clearly into clothing himself.
I am not saying it won’t happen to you cause it doesn’t happen to me. In fact, people have been choosing faded denim over raw since the industrial distressing was introduced in the 1970s. But there is a difference between pre-distressed denim and faded denim. Where denimheads see authenticity in naturally faded denim, regular people see grossness. Fades do not signal wear to most people. It’s more of a style, like a print on a t-shirt. And no, arguments about 19th-century miners don’t help.
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Blowouts
Another popular argument supporting raw denim is longevity. A good pair of jeans will last you a lifetime, that’s what they say.
I remember buying a pair of mass-produced jeans from Zara in 2008. I stopped wearing them 3 years later — not because they fell apart but because I purchased a pair of Levi’s (still mass-produced but at least rigid) which I wore to pieces in 2 years.
Does raw denim last longer than that? Yes. Does a $250 pair of raw denim last longer than 3–5 pairs of mass-produced distressed denim? Probably no.
I have three pairs of TCB 50’s Regular jeans (that’s just how much I love them), and I know exactly when they start to tear. At 200 wears mark, you see the first rips in pocket stitching. By 250 wears, the pocket bags need a replacement.
It’s worth recognizing that longevity is not the main priority of TCB. The brand is best known for its careful reproductions of early- to mid-20th-century garments, even if it requires opting for materials that are less strong than their modern counterparts (e.g. cotton threads instead of synthetic threads). There might be other brands out there making longer-lasting raw denim jeans. But will they beat several pairs of mass-produced distressed denim in longevity? I doubt so.
That’s not to say the quality is not there in raw denim. It’s just that there are different components of quality, and longevity is not the strongest of them.
Conclusion
I still love raw denim. And there are a whole lot of wonderful reasons for that. More than that, I am a strong advocate for some of the drawbacks mentioned in this article. If you are a seasoned denimhead you know what I am talking about.
The point of this article is to give people who are just thinking about tapping into this game (of spending money on clothes no one except you cares about) of raw denim a sober view on the topic backed by real examples of what to expect beyond the bells and whistles of buying a new pair.
What are your thoughts on raw denim in 2024?
If you have any questions or feel that something is missing, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments section below. I'm here to help! 🙌
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And if you would like further reading, here is a selection of some of my favorite articles:
I am still looking for that lifetime x perfect cut x comfy pair of denims. I recently tried these from a brand that aims at doing things right https://www.patine.fr/products/brenda-curvy-vintage-bleu-medium?variant=19012779442249... but it’s been less than two years and they are already falling apart (?!) My old Zara denims were sadly the most resistant of all. https://objet.cc/mathilde/jean-curvy-brenda