Since its birth in 1873, no garment has managed to unseat jeans (also called jeans, jeans, jean or denims, depending on where you read us), as the essential item in a closet. They were conceived as work clothes for miners during the California gold rush, due to their durable and resistant fabric. In 1853, the German Levi Strauss emigrated to San Francisco and opened a haberdashery where he sold fabrics imported from France, including the famous serge de nimesknown today as denim.
At the same time, Jacob Davis, who was a tailor in Nevada, received a commission to make pants that would withstand mining work, so he reinforced the stress points with metal rivets, thus preventing them from tearing easily. The design was a success, both teamed up under the Levi Strauss & Co brand and patented the garment.
Many years later, more than 150, dozens of myths have emerged around jeans to try to extend their useful life, as they have also arisen around all clothing: using white vinegar to remove stains, hanging coats in the bathroom during showers to eliminate wrinkles, iron wet clothes…. Since finding the perfect jeans has never been an easy task, finding a way to make them last for years becomes the most cherished wish in any wardrobe. Let's review all those myths we have heard to achieve this.
Myth 1: Bathe with them
In the seventies and eighties, jeans were made with shrink fabrics, a type of fabric made with cotton, which has the ability to shrink in heat. Jeans were bought without having gone through a washing process, which is why people filled their bathtubs with hot water to soak in and wear the garment until it dried, thus managing to fit it to their figure. A common practice followed by devotees of the jeans.
“Nowadays, it doesn't make sense to continue doing it, not because the compositions have changed (the fabric was 100% cotton and today, although elastane and polyesters have been introduced, many 100% cotton are still used), but because the fabrics have other treatments to finish them and, in addition, we buy the jeans already washed,” says Amor Cardona, textile sustainability consultant and marketing specialist manager at Jeanologia, the Valencian company that is a pioneer in the production of sustainable denim, which produces for Levi's, Zara and Chanel. .
Later, in the eighties and nineties, they began to produce jeans with elastic fabrics, specifically lycra, which shrank and deformed the pants. “Nowadays these fabrics have been improved. In 100% cotton, longer and more refined yarns are used so that they are not so coarse, and they are mixed with Tencel or linen to give them special touches. In lycra fabrics, tighter and more resistant yarns are used, and the use of T-400 has been introduced, a fiber that provides what we call recoverymaking the lycra return to its place after wearing the pants for a long time,” explains Mario Sifre, product manager of Lois Internacional.
The jeans They are still made without washing, but as they pass through industrial laundries, they are already subjected to a shrinking process, which makes it unnecessary to continue putting them in the bathtub to shrink them. Myth discarded.
Myth 2: Put them in the freezer
The journalist John Hodgman published in 2018 in The New York Times an article which described a woman's confusion when she found a pair of jeans in her partner's freezer. Was she cheating on him with Marie Kondo? The theory says that by subjecting the garment to low temperatures, bacteria are killed and the bad odor they can cause is eliminated. However, this process does not get rid of stains or dirt. Thus, putting jeans in the freezer does not extend their useful life, but according to this myth, reducing the number of washes does make the garment last longer.
However, Xin Jing, owner of the store specializing in second-hand Levi's Friperie Madrid, makes a note of reality: the refrigerators we have at home are not suitable for this. “A domestic refrigerator does not reach the cold level for that function, plus I don't want to put the clothes next to the food! Maybe it does work to refresh the fabric, but I have never tried it,” she confesses. So this myth will have to be left doubtful.
Myth 3: Spacing washes too much
It is common knowledge that jeans feel better when we put them on fresh from the washing machine. However, the color of the denim fabric fades with washing, either due to the type of pigmentation used in the fabric, the quality of the dye, or exposure to the sun. So fewer washes, less wear and greater durability. The myth holds that the garment should be washed every six months, but far from reality, “everything will depend on the use we give it,” says Amor Cardona. If you wear your jeans every day of the week, it is not necessary to wash them every day, “once every two weeks is enough,” he says.
“Many people wash their pants almost every time they wear them and it is a mistake because where cotton degrades the most is in the washing machine,” explains Mario Sifre. Confirmed myth.
Myth 4: bathe on the beach with them on
Putting your jeans in salt water causes the worn effect to accelerate in the areas where they wrinkle. The salt of the water and even the sand pronounce this process, often sought after by lovers of jeans, which, although in the past it was more difficult to achieve, today it can be imitated through increasingly environmentally friendly processes. “There is a subculture centered on wearing jeans, which is known as raw denim. The idea is to buy pants whose fabric has never been washed and wear them for as many days as possible. Then the garment is washed and all the marks of use that have been given appear on it,” says Mario Sifre.
In this process, the jeans are purchased in their purest version of the fabric (when they still retain an intense indigo blue and a much more rigid finish) and it can take more than four months until their first wash, so that the adjustment process of the garment on the body and the original tone is preserved, except in the parts where the pants are worn.
Just the opposite effect that is achieved with acid wash, a color abrasion technique, by washing with acids such as bleach, chlorine, sodium hypochlorite or potassium permanganate. What to say about this myth? Don't try it at home.
Myth 5: rubbing your pants with paraffin
Surfers use it on surfboards to help them maintain balance. It is a waxy substance, derived from petroleum, that becomes sticky upon contact with water, providing a better grip. Also in search of the worn effect, rubbing paraffin against the denim fabric creates a waterproof layer that helps repel water and makes the fabric more rigid. “The pants become harder and thus the wear and tear produced is more prominent,” explains Amor Cardona. Confirmed myth. What makes this technique special is that each one wears them differently with use, turning the most universal piece of all into a very personal garment.
What should be done to improve the care and extend the life of jeans?
The first thing: invest in jeans with a good quality of fabric, which does not only depend on the composition, but also on the density, weight and the treatments to which it has been subjected. Some examples of brands at different prices? Levi's, the Spanish brand Lois, Wrangler or Lee. “The latter are also two of the most authentic and classic American brands in the world. jeans”comments Xin Jing.
Next up: Wash your jeans inside out to protect the color and prevent fading. Jing recommends using powder detergent and, very important! Do not use fabric softener, because it greatly worsens the resistance of the cotton.
Reduce the number of washes. Once a week or even once every two weeks, depending on use. Dry them in the shade, to avoid damage from the sun's rays. “You have to keep in mind that the cowboy has life and it is a very special life, since it is your life. A jean never gets old like any other garment, it becomes vintage, which is a way to grow old alive, with your life. We wear our jeans differently, adjusting them until they become our second skin. So, the best care is to treat them with care,” concludes Amor Cardona.
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