Question re: RRL (Double RL) Jeans - Page 14

Older gen slimfit first worn around July '06, daily wear through July '07, and then worn on occasion after that. One soak, one machine wash. Throwing them in the machine, by the way, was the best medicine for these jeans.








In short, please buy RRL.

How do you know when to soak vs. machine wash (first pair of raw denim here) I've been wearing them almost every day since the second week of december and I am thinking about turning them inside out and soaking them for an hour or so in the tub with the hottest water that comes out (get them to shrink back as much as possible). Should I skip the hot soak and just do a hot machine wash? Should I use detergent with either method?

There's nothing wrong with either but you're going to get varying results. Leaving them in a tub with hot water for an hour is overkill in my opinion. Even a pair that is soaked for 10-20 mins in a cold wash will shrink a bit. The "advantage" of soaking is that it minimizes agitation which helps to conserve the indigo. This is pre/post soak at six months: Not much change. I wore them for eight more months and threw them in the washer with the rest of my darks. Here's the post: You can see how much more exaggerated the contrast was but they turned out that way partly because they were worn another eight months and partly because the machine sucked out quite a bit of indigo. Notice that the entire color of the jeans has changed. What I'm trying to say is that don't throw a pair into a washing machine and expect them to come out well-faded like magic. You have to do the work yourself.

Yeah, I don't expect magic, I just wondered if the washing machine would pull out too much indigo too soon. I'll go with the soak sometime soon

have you washed them yet? Same happened with my APC NS' until I dry cleaned them.

What effect did the dry cleaning have on the jeans? Did the process remove much of the indigo?

And thanks for posting those pics Whodini. I hope my RRLs look like that in about a year or so.

I"m now in my 4th month of RRL ownership (slim fit, indigo). Fantastic jeans. I've only washed them once, no fading that I could notice (cold water, delicate cycle, tumbled low to dry because I was too lazy to hang dry them). Heavy denim, slight "wear" fades on some belt loops and around my wallet and key points. Near daily wear (maybe a total of 2 weeks of non-wearing)

At ~$250, I'm still not so sure these are that much better than a pair of $150 crates/apcs, but I'm not bitching.

I do not like the pocket stitching, though, but I really don't feel like trying to pick it out.

I'll get the exact name when I get home (not going to strip down to my undies at work). And yes, ~$250 after taxes.. I think they were $225. Got em at the RRL store on Melrose. Just went to the can and checked. Cut #20512, Low Straight Leg Rinse So, not slim, straight, which is cut slimmish, I suppose. (slimmer than my 514s but not as much as my Nudie Slim Jims). Sorry for any confusion. These are about as slim as I want to go, really.

Low Straight is my favorite cut and it feels similar to my slimfit. When I go RRL again, that's definitely what I'll go to.

I don't know about that... That's like saying a non-washed sanforized pair is going to fade faster than one-washed STF pair.

And what soaking them in water has to do with the amount of contrast is beyond me.

Where in chicago could I try on the low straights?

How much lower are they? the straights I have are a little higher than I would like but I don't want to go too low

The main reason people think raw fades faster than one washed or rinsed denim is because the starch does help in setting creases and making those creases fade a little faster. I tend to think the starch aids in this a bit but I think a lot of people are misled into thinking that you can't get great fades on denim that has been one washed, rinsed, or even washed.

I have a pair of straight legs but I'm also not sure if they are rigid or rinsed (checked everywhere inside and don't see it). I think mine are fairly old because they had the medallion on the coin pocket instead of the "RRL".

How much should I expect these to shrink lengthwise after the first wash? They are already a little short for my tastes so I've been afraid to wash them.

RRL doesn't have a store in Chicago and I don't know any of the big boutiques (Hejfina, Jake) that carry them. Rough estimate, the Low Straights felt like a 10~" rise based on the 32 I tried on which was exactly what I liked. FWIW, those older gen RRLs are the softest SF-brand jeans I've ever seen. Even notoriously-soft rag&bone jeans feel crisp in comparison. It can be hard to tell without looking up the model number if you're unfamiliar with the feel of rigid vs. rinsed jeans. Shrinkage in the inseam is minimal. Even if you're afraid you should know you can always stand on the hems and stretch them back out while they're still damp.