Secretly I Wish I could Buy A Pair

I had a random thought pop into my head this morning and thought for indulgence sake I would blog about it. I actually don't remember specifically what the thought was about except for that it had something to do with Jean Boutiques, designer or high-end jeans, and some articles I had once read about them. I feel lame for blogging about something life will probably never allow me to partake of, but because of how much it intrigues me I am going to do it anyways. In fact, it intrigues me so much I was going to buy a pair as a present to myself for graduation last year, but then I forgot or something. Darn it.

First of all as I talk about this keep in mind that I'm talking about jeans that can cost from 150$ to 600$ and up. Imagine spending that much on a pair of jeans? (150 is manageable but I would assume the medium price to be much higher). The articles I read talked to a few people who had said they used to think the idea of spending so much money on jeans was ridiculous. But once they bought one pair they couldn't stop. They loved the jeans, the comfort and style they offered, and had to have more. They had pairs for the day time, pairs of the evening time, and pairs for relaxing around the house.

Imagine the people that shop for them. Many have lots of money so the shops have to cater to them. Thus they have have Jean Boutiques. Nice interiors, good customer service, and perhaps even wine while you make your decision. But if your a new be on the fence, not sure if jeans are worth that much, do not be surprised if your told to leave and come back when you will let yourself indulge in this high quality denim. Who wants to give free wine to those that wont end up buying anyways?

One type of jean popular at these high end stores is called raw denim. Raw denim is denim that is not distressed at all nor torn in any fashion. It is often not washed before leaving the factory, left in its pure after dying form, and thus the shrinkage has not occurred before they are sold. This often making purchasing raw denim, especially Japanese raw denim, complicated for newbies.

What stuck with me the most from the news article, that applies to raw denim, was that some people do not like to wash their jeans for many months (close to 6) because it helps them keep their shape and fit down the road. But of course you can't be wearing smelly jeans, especially if your wearing high end denim. So to keep out the smell and to keep them semi clean, they store them in the freezer at times. This helps eliminate the order without forcing them to wash their jeans. This idea to me was not only slightly gross but also slightly fascinating and slightly ingenious.

I have heard that another reason that raw denim is not to be washed is because it does not allow for the fading that many wearers want. People don't want a fading caused by the dye being washed out. They want a fading due to wearing in the jeans or they wanted their "own unique and natural fading." Wikipedia had the following to say to help your understanding:

Much of the appeal of dry denim lies in the fact that with time the fabric will fade in a manner similar to factory distressed denim. With dry denim, however, such fading is affected by the body of the person who wears the jeans and the activities of their daily life. This creates what many enthusiasts feel to be a more natural, unique look than pre-distressed denim

Now this may seem extreme, not washing a pair of jeans for months but keep in mind two things. First, many raw denim wearers spend lots of money on their jeans and I too would treat my jeans differently if I spent hundreds of dollars on them. Secondly, they bought raw jeans because of their great look and the fascination with the fading. I would not worry about putting your jeans in the freezer, unless you've got a stench that you just can't get out, if you don't wear raw denim.

If you want to read more on the subject and want some great tips for when you next buy some raw denim, I found this blog that goes into a quite detailed explination.

Now in case your wondering, not all high-end are raw denim (just like all raw denim is not high-end). Just like normal jeans, you can buy them distressed. Just look at this short blog entry by David Friedman. I bet many people start out spending hundreds of dollars on jeans because they want nice raw jeans and scoff at the idea of spending that money on distressed jeans. But just like David, something probably always convinces them to accept the idea of spending hundreds on distressed jeans. And I think I too could easily accept it.

In fact, I'm not going to lie. I want a pair of high end jeans, especially a pair of raw jeans. I want a pair real bad. But I know that I will probably never own a pair of said jeans so for now I am going to stick to looking at them googly eyed. I will dream of how good they would look on me, how good they would feel, how cool it would be to put my jeans in the freezer. I promise though, I will not ask or beg for a pair, at least not any time soon. At least not until I learn how to bargain shop for these jeans.