Get the right fit ! Soaking the Unsanforized Levi’s Vintage Clothing 1890 501 jeans: Part 1

I am finally getting round to soaking these Levi’s Vintage Clothing 1890 501 jeans. But first, there are a few bits and bobs to do.

Let’s start with looking at the advice that Levi’s give us when starting a journey with a pair of their raw denim jeans.

They give us a little of the lowdown on the denim.

“This garment was made in the USA from Cone Denim loom state fabric - the purest raw denim, taken straight from the loom with no finishing treatments. Due to the nature of the fabric, it will shrink if washed. Te 1890 501 jean will shrink roughly two inches in the waist and three inches in length, while the Tripple Pleat Blouse will shrink about two sizes.

Loomstate denim is hairy (as it is unsinged), it will twist (as it is unskewed) and it will have a high amount of cracking when washed. Basically it is beautifully unstable! Most fabric was sold loom state until the 1930s when sanforization was created by Sanford Lockwood Cluett.”

They give us a handly little info card with the jeans telling us the three ways to treat our new jeans.

Method 1

What they say:

Keep ‘Em Rigid

Buy ‘em small. If you’re not going to wash your rigid Levi’s 501® jeans, buy one size smaller in the waist and buy your true size for length.
Don’t wash ‘em. After the first few wears of your new jeans, the waist will stretch to your size.
The worn look. The wear effect on a true rigid jean will always give the most dramatic look.

What we say:

True, you will get the most dramatic look, but skipping the soak is terrible for your jeans! Unsanforized (loom state) denim needs to be soaked. The shrinking that occurs when you soak the jeans tightens the yarns that make up the denim and strengthens the jeans overall.

Method 2

Dip In the Tub

Measure up. If you plan to shrink your rigid Levi’s 501® jeans in the bathtub, buy your true size in the waist and two sizes bigger in the length.
Relax ’n’ soak. Shrink your jeans in a warm bathtub for at least 30 minutes.
A snug fit. A tub shrunk jean will shrink to fit snugly to your body shape.

What we say:

This is the method I will be using. But I won’t be wearing the jeans in the tub, this is uncomfortable, impractical and will mess up your jeans. If you soak your jeans while wearing them and they let them shrink and dry on your body, then you will just end up shrinking them in places and overstretching them in other places. The knee scrag is the worst result of this. No one wants knee scrag!

Wash ‘Em Good

Buy ‘em big. If you plan to machine wash your rigid Levi’s 501® Jeans, buy two sizes bigger in the waist and two sizes bigger in the length.
Laundry day. To achieve your size, machine wash your jeans inside out at 86 degrees F / 30 degrees C.
Easy does it. Leave the laundromat with everyday jeans you can wash and wear.

What we say:

Yeah, this will work. If you are going to go a whole two sizes up, you might even want to push the temp up to 40… or if you are brave enough to… 60 degrees celsius. But this is just something I’ve done in the past. Don’t come running to me if your end up with a pair of Ken sized jeans. Thing is, you won’t get the dramatic, high contrast fades. You will end up with subtler, more vintage-looking wear. Which can be super cool if you are into that kinda thing.

Now we have decided on how to shrink these. Let’s cut off the labels and take some measurements.

Waist: 40.5 cm /
Inseam: 79.5 cm / 31.3 inches
Back rise: 44 cm / 17.3 inches
Thigh: 29 cm / 11.4 inches
Knee 24.5 cm / 9.5 inches

Hem: 23 cm / 9 inches

Right, now all we need to do is throw them in the tub, but that is for Part 2. This is already over 10 mins and I know how some of you hate it when I drone on for too long.