Raw denim for women

[Liane]

Shalim, any advice for a girl's first pair of raw/dry jeans? I am a little scared to jump on the bandwagon for fear of getting the wrong size and them not shrinking or stretching enough...

[Shalim]

Alot of the issues I see is that there is not alot of options for girls/women who want to get into raw denim. Due to different shapes and fits for women combined with some of the limited production of quality denim this creates a problem.

Almost all raw denim will shrink once washed so this is something that people do have to keep an eye out for. Normally you will see anywhere from 2"-3" of shrinkage in certain areas. There are a couple of different companies that offer a good range of denim for women. One that I would ike to point out is Evisu, They tend to have some good quality denim and also on ocasion run some limited edition pairs. Mizra is another less known brand from Japan. They tend to experiment with different textures so all their styles might not be raw but still good quality denim. Acne is a good brand from an American brand. They carry plenty of different styles. Uniqlo is also another brand making its way to big cities. They are a Japanese company but they are growing and spreading through the globe.

And finally back to the whole shrinking issue. When shopping try something on with some room. not tight, it will shrink and you might be upset if you get that way. Always ask a staff about the pair in mind. My personal opinion is to wear them and dip your whole body into a bath tub full of cold water (I'll double check that statement to make sure) this allows it to shrink to your shape and will allow you to "break" them in.

Ok, sorry for the long reply but I hope that this helps all you future Raw enthusiast to enjoy them more. And I will keep an eye out for more denim brand and tips to help you girls find that perfect pair.

[Bogidk]

Acne (http://www.acne.se) is a Swedish brand and they have some very cool styles. In Scnadinavia / Europe Acne Jeans are very high fashion. They even have styles for kids. You can see them here (http://www.kidsofluxury.dk/shop/en/acne-mini-generic-343p.html)

[Shalim]

Yeah Acne is a Swedish brand. Sorry about that. Lol.

[DenimBarJeff]

hey guys, this is Jeff from The Denim Bar in Washington, DC area. I thought I'd lend a bit of help on the raw denim questions.

(1) First fitting wise; you're going to want to get them as snug as possible. About 90% of denim on the market is "sanforized (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sanforized)" so you don't have to worry about them srinking at all. the most shrinkage you'll see is about 2% of the inseam, which averages out to be about 1/4"-1/2" in the length. Actually, they will stretch out about one size or so.

(2) DO NOT WASH THEM AT ALL FOR AT LEAST 4-6 MONTHS! The longer you wait, the better they would look.

(3) Be prepared for bleeding. Try not to wear white shoes, white shirts tucked in, or white underwear for the first month. Also, watch out for your furniture. It will dye it. Try washing your hands as often as possible for that first month.

(4) A few brands that I personally back and think are super rad to break in include:

Nudie Jeans - Swedish - Tight Long John, High Kai
Acne Jeans - Swedish - Hex, Hep, Kex
Kicking Mule Workshop - American - Rocker
WeSC - Swedish - Tight, Eve, Medium
Naked & Famous - Canadian - SkinnyGirl
APC - French - New Stanard, Cure, Hipster
J Brand - American - All Cuts In The Ink (yes they will break in like a raw)
Rockabilly - American - Rocker Skinny
Good Society - American - Straight
45 RPM - Japanese - All Cuts
Pure Blue Japan - Japanese - All Cuts
Earnest Sewn - American - Decca, LC, Harlen
PRPS - American - Dart

(5) Remember, just because it's not starched doesn't mean it won't break in. The process lives in all jeans but the darker, heavier and more starched you can get them, the cooler they'll look. Also, if you have some darker rinsed denim you can always starch them to get that awesome look everyone wants.

Please let me know if you need any further details at all about it. It's all i wear haha.

[Jessie]

I wanna break in my own jeans!