Raw Denim Care: How to Wash, Store and Keep Japanese Selvedge for Years
Raw denim asks more of you than ordinary jeans, and it gives more back. A good pair of Japanese selvedge will outlast a decade of fast fashion, but only if you treat it properly. This is what we tell customers in the shop, distilled into one guide.
How long does selvedge denim last?
A well-made pair of Japanese selvedge jeans, worn a few times a week and washed sensibly, will typically last between five and ten years before it needs serious repair. We have customers still wearing pairs bought in 2021.
Three things drive that lifespan. Fabric weight is the first: a 17oz denim from Samurai or Full Count will simply take longer to wear through than a 12oz. Fit is the second, because jeans worn too tight abrade at the thigh and crotch far faster. The third is care, which is the part you control most directly.
Repairs extend that considerably. A crotch blowout or a worn knee is not the end of a pair. Most denim can be darned or patched several times over, and many people consider the repairs part of the character.
Should you wash raw denim?
Yes. The old advice about never washing your jeans, or freezing them instead, has been thoroughly debunked. Freezing does not kill the bacteria causing odour, and unwashed denim accumulates body oils, salt and grit that grind away at the cotton fibres from the inside.
What is true is that early washing softens the contrast of your fades. If you want sharp, high-contrast whiskers and honeycombs, hold off on the first wash for roughly four to six months of regular wear. If you care more about comfort and longevity than dramatic fading, wash whenever the jeans feel like they need it.
After the first wash, every three to six weeks of regular wear is a reasonable rhythm.
How to wash Japanese selvedge denim
Hand washing in a bathtub gives you the most control and is what we recommend for a first soak.
- Turn the jeans inside out and fasten the fly and any buttons. This protects the outer surface and stops hardware catching.
- Fill the tub with lukewarm water, roughly 30 degrees Celsius. Hot water accelerates shrinkage and indigo loss.
- Add a small amount of a mild, dye-free detergent. Avoid anything with optical brighteners, bleach or fabric softener.
- Submerge the jeans and agitate gently by hand. Leave them to soak for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Drain, then rinse with clean lukewarm water until it runs clear. Expect the first few rinses to run blue. That is normal.
- Press the water out rather than wringing. Wringing sets permanent creases in heavy denim.
- Hang to dry inside out, away from direct sunlight, ideally by the waistband. Never use a tumble dryer.
Machine washing is acceptable once the jeans have settled. Use a cold, gentle cycle, inside out, on its own or with similar colours, and always line dry afterwards.
Sanforized or unsanforized, and why it matters
Sanforized denim has been pre-shrunk at the mill and will move very little after washing, usually one to two percent. Unsanforized, sometimes labelled loomstate or shrink-to-fit, has not been treated and can shrink five to ten percent on its first soak, mostly in the length.
If your jeans are unsanforized, soak them before wearing and size up accordingly. If you are unsure which you have, ask us. Getting this wrong is the single most common sizing mistake we see.
How to store raw denim
Storage matters more than most people expect, particularly for pairs you rotate seasonally.
Always store denim clean and completely dry. Body oils left in the fabric oxidise over months and can set permanent stains or attract insects. Damp denim in a closed space will mildew, and the smell is very difficult to remove.
Hang jeans by the belt loops or fold them along the existing creases rather than crushing them into a drawer. Heavy denim holds whatever shape you leave it in, so a hard fold across the leg will still be visible months later.
Keep them out of direct sunlight. Indigo fades under UV whether or not anyone is wearing the jeans, and a pair stored in a sunny window will develop an uneven, patchy lightening that has nothing to do with wear.
For long-term storage, breathable cotton is better than plastic. A garment bag or an old pillowcase works well. Sealed plastic traps moisture against the fabric.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Fabric softener coats the cotton and interferes with how the denim breaks in, flattening the texture you paid for. Bleach and optical brighteners attack indigo directly. Tumble drying is the fastest way to shrink, warp and weaken a pair of jeans, and it is very hard to undo.
Sitting on abrasive surfaces, carrying keys loose in a pocket, and wearing a heavy wallet in the same back pocket every day will all wear holes long before the fabric would otherwise fail. None of these are forbidden, but they are worth knowing about.
A note on breaking in
The first two weeks in a pair of heavyweight raw denim are genuinely uncomfortable. The fabric is stiff, it holds its shape, and it does not want to bend where you want it to. This passes. By around thirty wears the denim has moulded to you, and from there it only gets better.
Wear them as much as you can early on. Consistent wear is what creates the fade patterns that make each pair specific to its owner.
Questions
If you are unsure about sizing, shrinkage or how to handle a specific pair, message us. We have fitted hundreds of customers into their first pair of Japanese selvedge and we are happy to talk it through.
Browse our Japanese denim collection, or explore individual makers including Samurai Jeans, The Flat Head, Pure Blue Japan, Studio D'Artisan, Full Count, TCB Jeans and UES MFG.CO.
