Levis 514, raw

I bought them when the price dropped to $21, it was too good to pass up. I didn't even know they were raw at the time, but I'm pleased to find out from this thread they are. I'm a 32x30 usually but I got these in 31x32 and they were tight at first but fit great now. I haven't been wearing them very hard, but they're already whiskering well. I'll take them for a salt-water swim once summer gets here.

About the color, it is very cool. They have a green sheen to them that has gotten me positive comments when I wear them.

They stretch out to ****. Mine are way too baggy on me now(bought my true size 32). If i could do it over again i'd get a pair of 31s. I don't wear them much anymore as i bought them back in october as my intro into slimmer/darker denim. A very worthy experiment though. However, i'm not a huge fan of the color on them now. The Soft Rigid 511s have a much much better color to them in my opinion but is skinnier than a lot of people probably want.

best advice in this thread is not to wash them. A cold soak/hang dry every few months or dry-cleaning if you please

Yea, i only soaked and hang dried, never machine washed. You get what you pay for as the denim looks pretty cheap, but it's a great pair if you're curious about raw/dark/slim denim. These are definitely not that slim as far as internet standards are concerned but definitely slimmer than other mall brands.

I'm going to start bleaching mine out as I hate the color now. They'll probably look horrible but I don't wear them anymore so it's worth the experiment.

using a straight up white bleach? haha if it looks cool I'll do that should they start to fade badly. post pics!

edit: did I hear that if you dry clean it, it will prevent the dye from fading in the first place?

eh it was a ok color too bad the green tint is gone now

Yes, I would try dry-cleaning if I were you. I cold washed inside out and they are too bright now, also too green for my taste.

This is my first pair of "raw" denim,, so excuse the questions. I meant if you dry clean it the first time, you can wash it cold afterwards and it wont fade (or nearly as much)? Since this pair seems to get light and the color is bad afterwards, would a salt-water bath give the same negative results?

it wont fade like other denim cause its too soft

Originally Posted by Eason

Click to expand...

This is my first pair of "raw" denim,, so excuse the questions. I meant if you dry clean it the first time, you can wash it cold afterwards and it wont fade (or nearly as much)? Since this pair seems to get light and the color is bad afterwards, would a salt-water bath give the same negative results?

You'd need to dry clean it *every* time. Even then, eventually portions of the jean will develop an overall fade--like the thighs, for example. Washing with water just accelerates the fading process. However, ino is right that they'll fade a bit slower than, for example, APCs, because of the softness.

I wore them almost every day for about 3-4 months and didn't even begin to see fading. I don't where them as often now, so i'll probably never know how long they take to crack. Salt water bath would be the same. You don't have to wash them every week. I wore mine every day and hung them up when i wasn't wearing them to air out and they didn't smell one bit after 3-4 months. I am unusually non-smelly though. I'd just wear them for a few months until you like them enough you want a nicer looking, fading, quality and fitting pair and then perhaps jump up to a pair of APCs. These jeans are cool for expiriments and people nervous about darker/slimmer jeans who don't want to drop $100, but i personally wouldn't reccomend it to anyone else. If you had a pair of APCs or a nice japanese pair next to you, you'd see why people are spending more. I was the same way until i went to barneys in boston while on vacation and tried on and saw APCs while wearing my rigid levis and the color, stitching, fit and everything just looked better. They're definitely a gateway drug. Enjoy.

Interesting... I barely ever wear mine (maybe two or three weeks worth of total wear?), but there's some slight fading, mostly at the knee and a little bit of whiskering. They certainly seem to be very slow to fade, though, and it's not dramatic.

Well, i saw a bit of whiskering and stuff, but when i washed them after 3-4 months, nothing really showed. Also, mine stretched out to a slightly slim but relaxed fit compared to sf/sufu standards. That might also be the culprit.

Originally Posted by chronoaug

Click to expand...

Well, i saw a bit of whiskering and stuff, but when i washed them after 3-4 months, nothing really showed. Also, mine stretched out to a slightly slim but relaxed fit compared to sf/sufu standards. That might also be the culprit.

Yeah, in any case they're definitely not jeans to buy for fading. Mine, probably because I haven't worn them often, or even on multiple days consecutively, haven't stretched out too much, so I just wear them when I want a slim pair of jeans that looks pretty much totally raw. Though now I've got my new APCs for that, so who knows when I'll wear them again....