Dry denim fad..?

[Get Smart]

just curious what folks' thoughts were regarding the current trend of "dry denim" being the flavor of the moment....

do you think that people will eventually get tired/frustrated of having to wait 6-12 months before washing to get their patina effect (and perhaps never getting the effect they want)...?

personally, i've always been into dry denim and i do the sacrilegious practice of washing them (or dry cleaning) almost immediately so that they *won't* distress as much and stay "dry looking"

seems that there is a big upsurge in dry denim interest, and esp selvage denim....which is cool, but odd for me since for years the only folks i'd seen who wore dry selvage were 50s rock n roll guys and now a lot of regular guys are into it as well.

 

[Fuuma]

It's a natural reaction to the overwashed denim that was popular the years before, and still is the denim of choice for most high-end buyers.

 

[Nick M]

I don't think the trend will ever hit the mainstream proper.

Those who wait 6 or more months, wash, and get a good effect might buy more pairs, those who are underwhelmed won't. That's my plan. I bought a pair because, hey, I may as well try it.

For most people, it's probably way too much work. For starters, even though, say, dry Nudies are the cheapest of the bunch, they're still pretty expensive, and most people would rather go to the mall and get a cheaper pair, rather than go to some boutique to track them down.

One of the reasons I think pre-distressed denim has been so popular is that, not only are you wearing something trendy, but they're worn-looking, so it makes you look like you jumped on the trend so early that you've worn it out. With the dry denims, you actually have to put some effort in to achieve the same effect. Most people would rather wash their jeans once a week, thank you very much.

 

[Brian SD]

Agreed, I don't think that it's really that much of a trend. I have seen a total of like 4 people wearing unwashed jeans. It's too particular to ever reach mainstream.

 

[montecristo#4]

It's definitely not a fad. When dry selvage denim shows up at Neiman Marcus, then you'll know it's a fad. Incidentally, I just ordered my first pair of APCs today. New Standards -- with vintage wash. I know, I'm a tool.

But I've got the opportunity to wear jeans maybe two days a week, eight or nine months a year (summer is too hot in DC). By the time I could break in a raw pair, I'd be 40.

 

[Get Smart]

i see dry jeans at Bloomingdales....it's not selvage but that's not the issue. i also see a good amount of dry jeans now at more local "hipster" stores. so i'd say it's on its way to being a fad, if not already. i was at Traffic the other weekend, wearing Nudies RR selvage and the older (about 50ish) guy working there started a conversation about my jeans and began his spiel on the whole "not washing for 6 months" almost word for word of what is written for Nudies...to my surprise

btw, they sell the Nudie RR dry selvage for $270 (.......) holy geebus

 

[Nick M]

personally, i've always been into dry denim and i do the sacrilegious practice of washing them (or dry cleaning) almost immediately so that they *won't* distress as much and stay "dry looking"
...
for years the only folks i'd seen who wore dry selvage were 50s rock n roll guys

So before Nudie and APC, what was the brand/model for dry jeans?

 

[Charles Rogers]

Levis, Evis(u), other japanese repos- but A.P.C. did alot for their popularity.

 

[Get Smart]

exactly...the Levis and Lee dry selvage repros, along with early Evisu.

i just recently "discovered" APC selvage jeans thru this forum....i only knew about that label for its more tailored wear that seemed to get a lot of attention in the early/mid 90s.

 

[Luc-Emmanuel]

I don't think there is a dry denim fad. There is however probably some epidermic reaction to the overdistressed denim fad. Most designers sell dry jeans, which counts towards dry denim fad. But as far as I remember, dry denim look has always been "in" for the last 20 year I have been wearing jeans (dry, preshrunk or one wash). I think it's too much of a hassle (itches, shrinkage, rigidity...) to really become a fad though

.luc

 

[sbbbjm]

i haven't really seen any predistresed jeans that i liked with the exception of the old paper denims (the current line is kinda crappy), earnest sewn, and diesel's 796 (yes, i know those totally look predistressed but i have a weak spot for those).

. . . so in my quest to find the perftect faded jean i decided to make my own. i always had heard about selvage denim being the better, old fashioned denim, but i had never heard of the high contrast fades it could produce till about 3 years ago when a couple swedish frinds of mine had come to visit me and one was wearing some selvage levi's and the other was wearing nudies. i remember thinking, that's kinda gross, why are they wearing the same jeans everyday and i asked and thus was enlightened.

plus alot of the designer denims come in lighter weight fabric that doesn't drape right on me. i've always liked diesel (before the weird fits) bc alot of their washes used heavier denim than say seven or paper denim.

i wouldn't say its a full blown out fad yet. i live in a pretty trendy part of town and their are still many, many fools that walk around with sevens and what ever designer denim is hot now, thinking there better than my 'weird, logoless' APC's

weird thing though -- i live in a small texas college town during the year and i saw one guy wearing regular ralf's. granted he was probably one of those ultra-hipster japanese exchange students probably.

 

[drydenimgirl78]

for everyone who said that dry denim is not mainstream, soak it up while it lasts. I live in a suburb of Chicago and just about every person's butt pocket is the infamous 3 swirl lines that indicate that they're wearing Nudies. It's ridiculous! And most people don't buy them because they are dry, but because it's a brand, and yet they go on and on about how they're stylish because they own a pair of dry denim jeans. This happened mostly within the period of last October until now, where about 50 kids (theres about 4000 kids in my highschool) have bought them and have made them extremely mainstream. I've been wanting a pair of Nudies since last April but never collected enough money to get them... sooo now I've been looking for some raw jeans that still relatively cheap (less then 120). Cheap Mondays are pretty sick, and I'm looking at James Jeans as well as Eastern Sewn. Anyone wanna throw me some links? I'm a size 24 and I'm looking for some dark wash skinnies or bootcuts (tight until knees, then a flare at the end)

 

[chronoaug]

I haven't really read all the posts but will put in a few cents:


I don't think darker, clean denim will really go away. I don't think prefaded stuff will go away or anything and even i want some nice light washes (acne has one i like i think). I do however think the whole "raw denim are living breathing creatures like us" kinda mentality where you have to wait 6-12 months to get personalized fades will fade somewhat. Same may be with japanese repro stuff (some people will still keep with it obviously).


I already see this in stores like pacsun, american eagle, express and other mall brands. They aren't necessarily advertised as "raw" so i don't know if it fits this thread as much, but i think some people are starting to look for dark, clean denim more. Brands like apc could be a cool present for someone nowadays since a few years ago the concept of paying over $100 for jeans seemed ludicrous for most, same with jeans that aren't super baggy (can just get someone rescues or apcs only sized down 1).

 

[Ludeykrus]

I've seen some raw denim around. A considerable amount. Mainly in the urban fashion clique, but a lot in women and even some in 'normal guys' since some cheaper common retailers have started putting out jeans made with raw/undistressed denim.

Damn peasants finally came to their senses.

 

[chronoaug]

True. Hip hop crowd was on this before all the wannabe ranchers/miners the past 2-3 years. I've seen raw looking or black raw looking baggy ass jeans for a long time. Some 7th grader today changed into his sandals because his new jeans were bleeding on his nikes. **** like that been happening for awhile though and isn't really connected to the new fad. Just sayin'