When my clothes are dirty, I wash them.
When they smell funky, I wash them.
If they’re delicate, I wash them like this.
If I really, really don’t want to wash something, I use this.
Outside of that, I don’t really have any special laundry rules. On several occasions, though, I’ve heard about the religion of washing your jeans. (Sidenote: Do we know how we feel about wedges & skinny jeans yet?) (Can you remember the times when we didn’t know these things?)
Then I came across this image at OutsaPop. I’ve heard from a few different sources through my life that jeans needn’t be washed frequently. I’ve heard urban legends about “Japanese Denim” that comes un-washed so you can wash it how you please (or something similar), and have met people who went 2+ years without their dirty denim seeing any detergent.
Are these “no wash jeans” a real thing?
I’ve always just thought, “Oh. Jeans. Smell. Ew. Laundry. Wash.” Is this not good denim care? Paging Denim Debutante! Enlighten us about this mythical beast of potential laziness! Do you guys spritz your jeans with Dryel, Febreze or something different?
Jen just sent me this article at the Huffington Post regarding jean care, after I told her about this post (to which she replied “OH THE LEVI’S GUY!” – There is a Levi’s guy!?). Apparently, even the Director of Brand Concepts at Levi Strauss is on board with this “wash rarely” business.
He doesn’t like to put his jeans in a washing machine because agitating the denim makes the fibers on the cotton fabric swell and “bloom.” That in turn causes the yarns to tense up and actually get shorter, shrinking the jeans. This also mars the “open” look of the denim, Mr. Chiara says. The color may fade or change as well.
He also suggests that you hang your jeans on a hook in your bathroom when you take a shower, as the steam helps “freshen” them without messing with the fibers. Lazy? Budget-friendly? Genius.