Sharing photos of my last 20 or so years of denim. Big shout out to Gordon at BIG, SENY, and the sufu community who helped me out a lot in the beginning. Bottom 3 are my current rotation with another pair of Okinawas coming soon.

More or less in order:

• Sugar Cane Okinawa
• Pure Blue Japan 003
• Samurai 610
• Flathead 3009
• Samurai 710
• Iron Heart 633s
• Full Count 1108
• Iron Heart Self Edge x Indo
• Warehouse 800
• Samurai 520 21oz.
• Stevenson Overalls Encinitas 150 Black 
• Denime 224

What I've learned: Don't count days or washes. Wash when they get dirty. All denim shrinks over time. Platonic ideal fades usually happen right before you have to stop wearing them.

Posted some recent comments on others’ posts suggesting frequent washing of their denim, so I thought I’d make this post as a reference note for related discussions.

I’ve had these for about a year now, and almost exclusively wear one of the three pairs of jeans posted to my account. I wear these to the office, parties, dates, and on a rare occasion, steel mills, paper mills, coal plants, bottling and canning facilities. Worn almost daily, washed every week after about 3 months.

You can see the before and after, they have shrunk to a slimmer fit and taken on some vintage fades from the frequent washing. I’ve also added a pic of the Jean Ball. I throw them in the washing machine as a dense ball of fabric and let it dry in the same state to get the most surface area for agitation.

Currently moving and found my old E5 from many years ago. Unfortunately gained 30lbs and can’t move my arms in it that much anymore so can’t keep fading it.

Beautiful denim def one of my favorites from NF from a visual standpoint, but not the softest for sure! It has around 1.5 years total of days of wear.

Got these on a whim at the denim store last weekend. For the price tbh not sure why anyone would buy the NF Strong guys over Unbranded’s Wide cut. Maybe for the type of denim but the fit seems identical. I’m 6’1” 175lb and these are a size 32 full inseam.

Also a lot of people knock NF’s fit on the top block/waist/butt area. I think these were meant to be worn a little lower compared to a more traditional high rised heritage style brand. I’m a true 31-32” and got these in a tagged size 32 even with the vanity size is a true 34” waist. To contrast, I have a pair of 3sixteen RS-100x in a 31 and they fit me like a glove, I just don’t think that good of a fit/traditional high rise compliments my build. I digress - if a cut fits you wonky try wearing it an inch lower.

Ironside I got 3 years ago that's had one soak and one wash, I wore it off and on, sometimes not for a few months at a time. It was listed as a 22 ounce but I read someone say the Bravestar owner Mik told him the jacket was closer to 23 ounces in reality, it was tough to wear at first maybe comparable to cardboard for a while but has since eased up and is a little easier to wear

The MAR‑014 Natural Indigo Regular Straight is one of Studio D’Artisan’s most exclusive offerings, available only through select stores in Japan. This limited edition denim represents the pinnacle of heritage craftsmanship, blending traditional dyeing techniques with the brand’s iconic SD‑101 silhouette.

Rocking full inseam on these. Might hem 0.5” off or try a presoak for the first time before I get more wear out of them.

So thats all folks. 1 year of wearing these jeans every day for the Indigo Invitational Y5 and they are finally free to take a well deserved break.  I have enjoyed the experience but I've also missed wearing other pairs of jeans! It has been really hard sticking to just one pair. 

Occasionally I'd try one of my other pairs on and then change back in to these, and when I did I always thought "what a ridiculous pair of jeans these are" . 25oz is no joke, Ive worn the crap out of these and they're still stiffer than anything else I own! I remember briefly trying on my 20oz Elephant 11s and thinking they felt like silk pajamas.  I think this is because I've only done a couple of washes to keep the fades as high contrast as possible.  Having said this, they're very comfortable despite this and you just get used to the weight/stiffness. The 555 cut from IH is solid, a nice classic slim cut but I'm looking forward to wearing a wider straight cut next. 

I thought my wife was finally getting on board with my fade project this week when she said she noticed my back pocket wallet fade but she followed up with "I guess its because you never take your wallet out". Savage. 

I pretty much wore these 24/7 so fades from work on dusty demolition sites, countless miles between jobs, underneath CSI style coveralls when carrying out quality inspections, working out in my garage gym and everyday walks with my Labradoodle doggo.

June 24-Sept 1, two countries, over 3,000 miles, 4 plane trips, countless zyn grabs. This is my fade update with 0 washes after about two months of wear. The first month was only weekend wears because i work in an office. The second was lots of manual work. (I am a student & work on cars in my free time). Excited to see the first washes.

Was lucky to grab this pair from Dant, but didn't realize how lucky until I actually held them for the first time. The hand feel and visual of this denim screams heavyweight, but they're only 15oz and are incredible comfortable right from the start. I also feel like Samurai nailed the cut and fit with the Wide Straight model, good blend of both casual and smart!
Looks like Blue In Green just dropped a killer collab with Samurai using this Seigaiha denim, but with an Overdye and Super Wide fit. Definitely worth a look if anyone is interested in these.

Been wearing and washing these for about 6 months, and I’ve gained some weight since I first bought them. Curious what yall think about the fit. Feel like I could maybe have gone up a size, or maybe a slightly roomier fit would be better on me now. These are supposed to be a “wide straight” but really just look like a regular straight to me now. For reference about 6’2” 180lbs and these are a size 33.

I Have been user this denim in 1 year 2 mont. With 4 time hand wash with liquid detergent. And some detail of crotch reinforcement darning.

Managed to buy a pair of 13mwz US version from Europe (eu version is pre washed and much different), what do you guys think? I really like the straight fit since I have quite big thighs/butt compared to my waist so can’t usually pull off the omnipresent slim fits. Used to daily Levi’s 502 but I might become a wrangling man from now on lol

Ps: ignore the loose belt, I want them to stretch a little bit but I never were jeans without belt

I can’t believe it’s already been a year in these. They’ve become my favorite pair I own and almost like an extension of myself. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy wearing them as much as I did. Kudos to Samurai for a great fitting pair.

No rips or tears (not even the pocket bags where my knife rubs surprisingly). The only issue I had with these jeans was the gold plated button popping off within the first few days. I managed to re-attach it and just went with the top button undone so it wouldn’t come off the prongs again.

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting fade wise. I was going for high contrast and washed these a total of 4 times. I think they turned out ok given Im a work from home dad. I definitely will be wearing these in more after I give them a break. I’ll miss them for a few weeks but I’m happy I can finally wear some of my other pairs (I’ve got some Kurozome SDA denim I’ve been looking forward to fading).

I’m not sure if I’ll do Indigo Invitational next year or not. I think it’ll depend on if I can find another special pair. To anyone on the fence about entering, go for it. It’s been fun.

I will not be winning the Indigo Invitational with these, but I wonder what do people think of my fades? I mostly sit at a desk with these. Tell me what you think!

Been wearing since early January. I’d say I got a good 4 wears per week. Currently on my 6th wash I believe. Tried my best to repair the knife blowout. So far so good imo. Looking to get my hands on the mij18 coming out!

Welcome to the Daily Questions (DQ) thread for all things related to raw denim.

(Although we strongly suggest checking the sidebar (for mobile users, go to the top of the subreddit front page, click the three dots and select "community info") and the wiki before posting!)

Fit checks and "Help me find a pair of Jeans that has X, Y, and Z" questions are a great use of this thread.

(Help figuring out what size you wear is also permitted here but it is recommended you check out one of these tutorials on how to size before asking.)

• Our wiki on sizing

If you have questions about how your jeans fit, about a particular fabric, when is this jean coming out, where can I find jean X to try on in state Y, what jeans have this fit with these measurements, what jeans fade the fastest, and what jeans fade the slowest are great uses of this DQ thread.

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Be Helpful!

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No clue on the wear period maybe one soak?

Shoot the shit here.

Be civil.

Well here’s my pair of Wingman after 1 year of wear for the Indigo Invitational. It’s crazy to see how much they’ve faded since the first day. They were so dark. I’m super happy with how they turned out. I think out of all the stages, my favorite is month 7 (pic 6)

Not much else to say. I love wingman. Thanks for everyone who showed love and followed me on this journey. I had found out after the Indigo Invitational literally a few days before it started, I’m so glad I joined. Don’t really care too much about placement, I of course hope to get maybe like top 50. Even if I don’t get anywhere near the top I’m just happy to be apart of this comp.

Fade on!!

Hi everyone! I’ve been out of wearing quality denim for a long time but used to browse here a lot like 10ish years ago (I still have my 2x sized down APC somewhere back when they were around $180 retail lol). It’s great to see fades again and also see many familiar brands are still around as well as the interesting new options.

I wanted to get back into it and try some Iron Hearts in a more relaxed cut than my old NF and APC. I typically wear size 32 pants which are a bit oversized in the waist for me, and I chose a size 32 in these based on the measurements provided by SelF Edge’s website and comparison against my favorite pants, knowing they would stretch out. I also had them pre hemmed to 31L.

The measurement tool from Self Edge is spot on and I’m quite happy with the fit, as I don’t like to feel super constricted in movement. It was perfectly snug around the hips/ waist area on first try on and after two days i can fit around two palms worth in between the stomach and waist band (self edge says up to 1.5” stretch is normal for these which is a little more than I have after a few days of wear. Sitting was a little tight at first but on day three of wearing it’s feeling good (I did do a few squats just for old times sake).

As everyone says, the denim is softer than I expected out of the box (I have an NF elephant 5 jacket which never got very soft). Within a couple days it’s noticeably comfier overall as I expected.

Overall I like the slight taper of the cut and the extra room in the top block and thighs is a nice to have. The collaborative stitching on the pockets is very cool. I tagged this as a fit pic instead of a check since I’m confident in the sizing but since there aren’t many write ups on this exact cut I figured it may help someone in the future.

Stats: 5’8”, 155lbs.

Happy to be back!

Had these FCs for a year now. 13.7oz. Probably worn on average 3 times a week. Wash and dryer regular hence not much contrast going on. Still I think they are showing a lot of character.

Extremely comfortable and light. I don't there's a denim out there more comfortable than Fullcounts

Finally, my first Indigo Invitational journey has come to an end.

I still remember very clearly the first day I started wearing these jeans. I was so excited to feel the fabric, admire the details of the slub, and even take photos to show them off whenever I had a little free time.

These jeans have been absolutely incredible, and taking part in the Indigo Invitational has been such an interesting experience for me. I was truly pushed to wear these jeans every single day.

I’ve done countless activities in these jeans, although most of the time, I wore them to work. After this, I’ll probably wear them much less often because I don’t want the indigo to fade away too quickly.

According to my tracking, I managed to wear these jeans for 344 out of 365 days, with a total of 6 soaks and washes.