6 ms·
I would like if some of my 21st-century jeans would hold together for more than a year or two.
by neogodless 4y ago
I would like if some of my 21st-century jeans would hold together for more than a year or two.
- soperj 4y agoAny jeans I've had that are actually made the same way they were in the early 20th century last. Levis on the other hand.
- dillutedfixer 4y agoLook for Levi's with 100% cotton (well really like 60/40 cotton/hemp), or 99% cotton. These last far longer. All this stupid stretchy synthetic fabric wears out differently than natural fibers and then jeans start to fall apart. The all natural ones feel more stiff at first, but they break in and are super comfortable. I just shopped at the Levi's store at the mall in San Jose, and the jeans I mentioned were hidden on bottom shelves under all of the horrible synthetic crap. The good stuff is there, you just have to look for it.
- rekabis 4y ago> Look for Levi's with 100% cotton (well really like 60/40 cotton/hemp), or 99% cotton. These last far longer. This. I get only the natural, non-stretch fabrics (Leviticus 19:19, FTW!) and mine typically last up to a decade or more with decent care (turning them inside out before washing, washing only when visibly soiled, etc.). Now granted, this is also a problem now that I’m losing weight, as they’re too loose to use without a strong belt, but too good of a condition to justify replacing.
- munificent 4y ago> All this stupid stretchy synthetic fabric wears out differently than natural fibers and then jeans start to fall apart. For what it's worth, I wear mostly pretty cheap American Eagle jeans with stretch and they have lasted years on me. And that's despite basically wearing only four pairs of them in heavy rotation. A big part of it is that I don't wash them every time I wear them. If I don't do anything to get them actively dirty or sweaty, I'll wear them a few times before they go in the wash. My understanding is that washing machines are, by a very large margin, the largest source of wear in clothing.
- ksherlock 4y agoSerious denim folks stick them in a freezer to get rid of odor and if washing is absolutely necessary, hand-wash in the bath tub.
- dekhn 4y agoIt me quite some time to recognize just how much wear washing machines were causing to my artisinal collection of nerd shirts. It pokes holes in them!
- hilbert42 4y ago"washing machines are, by a very large margin, the largest source of wear in clothing" ...And the sodium percarbonate used as a stain remover in washing powders rots the fabric and also attacks the metal in zippers.
- kevin_thibedeau 4y agoThe non-stonewashed fabrics will also last longer.
- soperj 4y agoI have got those before, no wash levis 501, they last me about 2 years of (very) regular wear before they get a hole in the crotch area(in addition to other areas I don't care as much about) and are not really usable. I've had a pair of unbranded brand (14.5 oz selvedge) for about 4 years with not nearly the wear.
- yamtaddle 4y agoLooked for but couldn't find prices for, say, 1920s Levis. Wouldn't be surprised if they're not too far off from what you have to pay for actually-good jeans today, adjusted for inflation or as a fraction of median income.
- dekhn 4y agoHuh? I buy 505s every decade or so. I think they are 100% cotton (and it's a robust weave) the only problem I ever see with them is the knees eventually wear out, which iis a simple patch-job.
- soperj 4y agoI used to buy 501s every boxing day when they were on sale. They'd last 2 years before they'd start getting holes, which I didn't really care too much about, except when they got them in the crotch, which is when I'd toss them.
- somedude895 4y agoGet a pair of Iron Heart 777s
- JohnJamesRambo 4y agoFor $300-400 they better walk for me.
- pessimizer 4y agoIt's easy to find $400 jeans that last a very long time, they're just normally marketed under the description "10 pairs of $40 jeans."
- aczerepinski 4y agoIron Heart is the high end of quality denim. The lower end would be something like Unbranded. In either case though quality fabric manufactured in first world countries is going to cost a lot more than the stuff you see at shopping malls.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- giantg2 4y agoI tried Duluth fire hose cool max a couple years back. They are so much better than jeans if you live in a humid region - they won't stick to you and they breath more when you're doing sweaty work (like checking bees in the summer). They seem to be generally more comfortable too. They are a bit on whe expensive side, but so are most jeans these days.
- blacksmith_tb 4y agoAnd they have a gusseted crotch, which combined with the 3% lycra makes them easy to climb and crouch in them (I bike in mine, and climb at the gym).
- claudiulodro 4y agoWranglers have been the way to go in my experience. They're an extra-thick denim that really holds up through years of hard use. Affordable too! (Just the classic ones; the "fashionable" ones are made of worse material)
- mythrwy 4y agoAgreed. Old school Wranglers are tough. Only problem is you feel like you are wearing pants made of plywood for the first several months before they break in.
- toast0 4y agoI've had good luck with LL Bean's Double L jeans. I do wear them out, but I wash after every wear and with that the service life seems pretty good, much happier than the last several pairs of Levi's 505 I bought. I've got one pair of a higher line which will hold together for a long time, because I don't like the cut of the pockets so I only rarely wear them.
- richiebful1 4y agoI wore my heavy weight Carhartt carpenter jeans about every other day for a few years until I started using them for house work. I would've thought the knees would have holes by now (5 years in) with the recent crawlspace work I've been doing.
- prionassembly 4y agoAre they comfortable in warmer weather though.
- simlevesque 4y agoNo good quality jeans is really comfortable in warm weather in my experience.
- dekhn 4y agowell, except for daisy dukes
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- richiebful1 4y agoI have a lighter weight pair I bought more recently. They're okay up to about 80 degrees in an Appalachian summer. I can't testify to durability yet
- the-printer 4y agoGreat taste. I was formally introduced to Carhartt deep in the aisles of an Ace Hardware store by a man who explained how he could fit his firearms in a pair of coveralls.
- alar44 4y agoStop washing them every time after you wear them.
- speed_spread 4y agoAnd when you wash them, hang them dry afterwards. That fuzz in the dryer lint trap is your clothes disintegrating slowly.
- Finnucane 4y agoI have to agree with this--a few years ago I started getting into the habit of putting more of my clothes on a rack (esp. anything cotton) and less through the dryer, and no question clothes last longer that way.
- hilbert42 4y ago"That fuzz in the dryer lint trap is your clothes disintegrating slowly." Right. Always impatient, I have worn out far too many clothes in the dryer instead of waiting for air drying (dryers are a conspiracy by manufacturers to sell more clothes). ;-)
- neogodless 4y agoYou made an incorrect assumption! I wash them after about 2 weeks of wear, or when they get pretty visibly dirty. (The drool from my mastiff doesn't count, or they'd be washed every 15 minutes.) I will say, "a year or two" is an exaggeration for some of my jeans. But I usually only have 2-4 pair with no holes that I rotate between, and most develop wear in the knees if not outright holes by the end of 2 years.
- bluedino 4y agoProject Farm did a jeans test https://youtu.be/sU6Y1FH6Ssk https://youtu.be/sU6Y1FH6Ssk
- tomcam 4y agoBut of course
- mtalantikite 4y agoFor years I used to buy the Levi's Vintage Clothing jeans (specifically the black wash 606s), which were made in the US, felt sturdy and would last. They discontinued them a while back and I bought dead stock for years until I just couldn't find them anymore. Lately I've been wearing the Oni "secret denim" collection [1][2] and they're amazing. It's only been a couple of years, but they break in beautifully and feel like they'll last years. It's worth spending the extra money for something high quality that will last. [1] https://www.denimio.com/brand/oni_denim https://www.denimio.com/brand/oni_denim [2] https://denimhunters.com/oni-secret-denim-review/ https://denimhunters.com/oni-secret-denim-review/
- germinalphrase 4y agoCan’t bring myself to pay full freight, but I covet an Oni type 3 with handwarmer pockets.
- mtalantikite 4y agoI bought a 3sixteen type 3 (in shadow indigo) before I discovered Oni and sort of regret not having known about Oni then! It's nice, but the denim is a little thin and the stitching at the sleeve came undone after minimal wear. I say just buy it, you'll wear it for decades! Denimio has some discount codes and the shipping is free (took less than a week to get it here in NYC from Japan).
- germinalphrase 4y agoWhere can a discount code be found?
- hilbert42 4y agoAt that price are they lined with gold thread? At ten times the cost do they actually last ten times as long? (I have some Levis that are ≈20 years old and are still wearable!)
- mtalantikite 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]