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Levi's CEO Agrees: Don't Wash Your Jeans
- Thread starter Rookje
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That statement disgusts me more than a decade's worth of unwashed jeans.
If you do anything remotely taxing physically, e.g. running around playing footy in a park etc, doesn't matter how clean you are, you're going to sweat and smell. And it isn't about germs, it's about smelling fresh and having clean clothes.
Junior Mint
Member
The people in here crying about it being disgusting probably wear walmart jeans and chain wallets anyways
radios shipping overview
Member
No shampoo, no deodorant, no soap, and no washing my means. I'm on my way to being an all-natural, slow-hygiene, slow-clothing, earth-friendly kind of guy. The internet tells me it's the right thing to do!
SmackDaddy
Member
my ass and inner thighs dont sweat enough to warrant monthly washes. Except for when I eat burgers
I have a really good quality pair of selvedge denim jeans.
I got them last August and they have only been through the washing machine once. That may sound nasty, but they categorically do not smell, they are not dirty or anything. If I gave them to you, you would not know.
I got this advice from the manager of the brand.
I got them last August and they have only been through the washing machine once. That may sound nasty, but they categorically do not smell, they are not dirty or anything. If I gave them to you, you would not know.
I got this advice from the manager of the brand.
Mammoth Jones
Member
I bet if I smelled the asscrack of those jeans they'd be funky as fuck. A lot of people get used to their own BO and can't tell. But others can.
Not once in my life have I been told I smell bad outside of just finishing playing a competitive sports game and haven't taken a shower yet.
I never wear the same shoes two days in a row. I wear clean undershirts, socks and underwear every day. I dry clean most of my button downs. Clean and iron my chinos.
I shower at least once a day, twice if I am doing any physical labor or play sports. I wear gold bond on my feet, odorless deodorant and a small spray of cologne.
I often get compliments on my clothes, hygiene and yes, smell.
The only thing is I treat my expensive jeans like I do a suit or sport coat. I don't clean them after every wear, I don't do high stress activities in them, I don't wear them on consecutive days, I hang them to air and I make sure in clean when I get into them.
I also suspect that I am the norm for people that love denim and not the exception.
BTW the Levi's guy saying this is Levi's -> Internet -> Levi's. They stopped producing high quality unwashed denim, selling only their shitty shrink-to-fit 501s, then when the trend of getting raw denim and wearing it in started taking off in the mid-late 90s with APC and Evisu, they started capitalizing, as they were the originals, after all.
Here is what my jeans, 13.25oz of some of the best denim I've handled, look like after about 2 years. I wash them every couple of months. I have long since moved on but I googled the jeans and found my pair that I photographed years ago, and they're the best jeans I've ever owned (and I own a shit load of nice jeans)
man those look fantastic. My selvage is relatively new so I still have a long way to go.
That's because you're doing it right.
It's for fades on selvage (raw) denim. The vast majority of denim sold is already pre-washed. Real faded denim on raw/selvage denim (APC, LVC, Naked and Famous etc.) comes naturally when the indigo dye is faded during normal wear. The more you wash your denim, the more indigo will be lost. The longer you hold out, the better fades you can get. Pre-faded denim gives you a comparable effect, but the fades won't be "in sync" with your body... for example, the "knee" fade may be off from where your knee naturally lies.
Not to mention your denim will last longer the less you wash them. I almost never wash mine and they don't smell at all. I just hang them in by bathroom when I shower.
I only wash them when I'm given hell for not washing them. I'll wear usually one pair a week unless I fall in mud or something, but more than a few of my favourite jeans look like crap now, much like the ones above. Which, of course, leads to the argument they're already dirty and need to be washed more
fuck irons, get a steamer
i used to like high contrast fades, now i think i prefer a lighter, more even fades
eh i threw 300+ denim in the washer. cold, inside out, woolite dark, on low setting = fine. soaking shit just takes too fucking long
I can assure you that most people aren't living and working under those circumstances.
And that's not true either, but let's make fun of people. yousofunny.gif
Expensive denim jeans that are worn for fade are a whole different discussion.
no on the contrary. prewashed jeans lose form, fibers get damaged and the luster fades if you wash them. with raw jeans it depends on how you want them to look.
i have quite a few prewashed japanese denim jeans that would get ruined by washing.
criesofthepast
Member
Yeah but I mean wearing jeans to play footy in the park? That's what track pants and shorts are for.
I wash my jeans after every 2-4 wears. It works well. Keeps them fresh and not so worn down from washing.
Why in the world are you guys playing soccer in jeans, spraying cologne on your legs, and how disgusting are your balls to be leaking smells straight through your underwear and in to denim?
I am in no way a dude that's in to fashion (I have no idea what I'm looking at in the pics of faded jeans people are posting here), but I have 2 pairs of jeans, and I wash them maybe a couple times a year. Not because they ever smell, but just when I accidentally get something on them, like spilling some food or something.
I am in no way a dude that's in to fashion (I have no idea what I'm looking at in the pics of faded jeans people are posting here), but I have 2 pairs of jeans, and I wash them maybe a couple times a year. Not because they ever smell, but just when I accidentally get something on them, like spilling some food or something.
richardhawk
Member
Had a pair of APC's a few years ago that only got washed twice in the 3 years I owned them. The pair of 3sixteen denim I have now I've had for a year with zero washes. I ride a motorcycle daily and pretty much work doing manual labor for the most part. No man / woman has ever complained about my jeans smelling. Including exgirlfriends.
Yeah, those that he posted a photo of were lovely.
user8503492
Banned
I dont wash mine to often, but to be honest I only wear them for a handful of hours.
Figure 8-10 pairs...home from work by 6pm, shower and dressed by 7pm, out to dinner/shopping etc.. till 10pm then home and re-folded and placed back in the drawer.
So maybe wear each pair 3-6 hours a month if that.
Sometimes Ill throw them in thr dryer with a dryer sheet.
Figure 8-10 pairs...home from work by 6pm, shower and dressed by 7pm, out to dinner/shopping etc.. till 10pm then home and re-folded and placed back in the drawer.
So maybe wear each pair 3-6 hours a month if that.
Sometimes Ill throw them in thr dryer with a dryer sheet.
Washing raw depends on the use and abuse you give them. If you're wearing them everyday and getting sweaty in them and all that jazz, you'll have to wash them to prevent a crotch blow out. If you're just in the office not doing much, you can wait longer. I doubt any denimhead worth their salt doesn't do a smell check.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
all the 'oh god that's fucking filthy' comments are a bit... I dunno.
Jeans seem to not need washing that much. has anyone ever tried not washing em for a while and actually determining how reeky you get? I'd imagine the people screaming that it's dirty haven't.
I remember when not washing your hair became a thing. I tried it, no difference in smell, no comments from the wife. Score saved myself a shit load of money. she tells me if I stink as well.
I'm going to try this with an awesome new pair of jeans, see if she figures it out.
Jeans seem to not need washing that much. has anyone ever tried not washing em for a while and actually determining how reeky you get? I'd imagine the people screaming that it's dirty haven't.
I remember when not washing your hair became a thing. I tried it, no difference in smell, no comments from the wife. Score saved myself a shit load of money. she tells me if I stink as well.
I'm going to try this with an awesome new pair of jeans, see if she figures it out.
badcrumble
Member
Putting your jeans in the freezer for about a day once a month is a good way to keep them from getting gross. Soak, scrub, and dry them if they get stains, but don't apply heat or a great amount of mechanical stress to them.
Gentlemen Demon
Member
yeah, definitely agree. i've had a pair of raw denim for about two years, but i mostly just sit around in the office doing nothing when wearing them - i only washed them once, because i was told that's what i was "supposed to do". in reality, i probably could have let them be and still be wearing them til this very day.
PairOfFilthySocks
Member
After a few days and a night out, my jeans always smell of sweat, farts, and alcohol. I really don't have no choice but to wash.
dr3upmushroom
Banned
^ I swear the world keeps getting bitchier and ignorant.
Blood Red Sky
Banned
Amen.
Random Painted HIghway
Member
Like any real college kid I would go way way too long between washings and man, my jeans smelled to high heaven. Walking in the daylight in summertime Midwest or south in jeans and those things reek after a week or so. Man. Grosses me out to think back on that.
Who the hell washes jeans. Just put them into the freezer for 1 night every now and then. Kills all germs and takes away the ball sweat smell.
*I mean expensive jeans. Cheap jeans, yeah I wash them too because I don't care if they get ruined. I can just buy new ones. But washing expensive jeans... what a waste of money.
*I mean expensive jeans. Cheap jeans, yeah I wash them too because I don't care if they get ruined. I can just buy new ones. But washing expensive jeans... what a waste of money.
Same here,
MWS Natural
Member
There was a thread about this too.
Auron_Kale
Member
I wash my jeans every few months and usually rotate them with different pairs. As soon as I get home, I hang them up and air them out.
They smell fine and I only spot clean when needed.
They smell fine and I only spot clean when needed.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Levis guy knows whats up. Besides I hate the way jeans fit after a wash. It's like they lose their comfortable "broken in-ness".
Karak
Member
The tailor who prepped me for my wedding informed me that the single worst thing about his job was dirty crotch smell in mens pants when they come in to get tailored. I got to figure a good number of those were levi's like I was wearing, and other pants as well and even had somewhat regular washes.
I think I will continue to wash mine. I love asking people what the worst part of their job is for some reason but that one made me a little sorry for him.
I think I will continue to wash mine. I love asking people what the worst part of their job is for some reason but that one made me a little sorry for him.
How does that benefit him?
We all are.
Cloth has a longer life, becomes more premium since quality of the jeans keeps being high for a longer time. Reputation rises, people like to buy wear luxury, that's why.
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