When spending so much money on designer jeans then it makes good sense to look after them to get the most out of your jeans. By following a few simple rules you can get a longer life from your jeans and help stop them fading and getting worn. It’s not as simple as just throing them in the washing machine and job done. Men and women alike need to take proper care of their favourite jeans to make sure they last the way they should.
Jeans you buy today are far from what jeans used to be like thirty years ago, denim isn’t as durable as many of us still think it is. These days designer denim is a suprisingly delicate fabric and while it looks and feels great it doesn’t have a very long shelf life these days. All it takes is one rip or hole and it’s bye bye to your favourite pair of designer jeans.
Now the first rul may come as a bit of a suprise, but the first rule is to stop washing your jeans! Not altogether just not after every wear, the more you wear your jeans befe each wash the better they will last and the better they will fit. The ideal wash wear timing is wash after every five wears. This may not be to everyones taste but this will allow fo maximum comfort, shape and shelf life of your denim.
However, women if you are wearing stretch jeans, you need to be washing them alot! After every other wear, this won’t be ideal for their shelf life but it means they will stay fitted like they were intended to, most stretch jeans are roughly 3% spandex so they can stretch and lose their shape very easily. The whole point of stretch jeans is a tight but comfortable fit which looks like the old 70′s – 80′s style without needing pliers to pull up the zipper. If you want to keep the snug fit this is a must.
When it comes to washing your jeans be sue to turn them inside out and dont use any abrasive detergents or stain removers unless you absolutely have to. Try to favour liquids over conventional washing powder as well if you have to wash your jeans on a low temperature, powders can have trouble disolving at such low temperatures so you may get a powdery residue left on the jeans.
If it’s a pair of brand new jeans you’re washing then add a pinch of salt to prevent the colour from bleeding out, once the jeans have naturally faded there’s no need to carry on with the salt.
One of the golden rules is to never wash light jeans with dark jeans as the colours will run and distort the styles, and always wash jeans seperately from the rest of your washing!
Now they’re all nice and clean it’s time to dry them but don’t even think about popping them in the tumble dryer! The only exception would be stretch denim that needs to be reshaped.
heat doesn’t do much to help the lifespan of any of your jeans regardless of style. Whenever possible let them air dry as this also helps them retain their shape you’ve worked so hard to break in.
Don’t hang your jeans in a manner which causes a fold, instead hang them by the belt loop so they hang as if they are upright. The folding isn’t a sin, but it will cause a crease and most people just don’t want that as a horizontal crease looks unnatural. Likewise when they are dry, it is best to hang them with a pants hanger which pinches them so they are stored without folds.
Finally when you first identify small holes forming patch them up right away. Make the repair to the inside of the jeans using a heat transfer patch. If that is the look you are going for however just forget about patching them up, it’s your choice afterall as to your style. If however you want to make them last just a bit longer, start exclusively hand washing your jeans and only air drying them until they expire. Follow these tips and you and your jeans can have a long happy future together that looks and feels great!
