Welcome to the No Wash Club.
As a company, we know we have a silent shareholder called Planet Earth. Yes, we can make our products in the lowest impact way we know how. But for jeans, the biggest impact comes from us all washing them. The enemy is indeed the washing machine.
So, at Hiut Denim Co. we encourage people to try and go as long as they can without washing their jeans. Not everyone agrees with that, but for us it makes sense for lots of reasons. So we formed a club around it.
Running a marathon entails 26 gruelling miles, so joining the marathon club has a barrier to entry: Pain. Likewise for an Iron Man: Even more pain. The reason we set 6 months as a timeframe to go without washing was because it was hard to do. It was a challenge. And, we love being put to the test.
The best clubs are the ones that are the hardest to join.
Raw denim is best given a good six months before washing. The longer you can leave them, the better they will look. The indigo will have worn off in places where you make natural creases. When it comes to the big day, the indigo will fade to reveal the contrasts that give it the well worn jeans look. If you wash them too early, the indigo will wash off uniformly so it will give an even, dark indigo colour which means the magic will have gone. Like anything in life, there are no short cuts. At the start, unwashed jeans are difficult to love. They are stiff. They feel like wearing a cardboard box. Some people don’t ever get past this stage. But don’t give up. To those who persevere, there will be a reward. Like a Guinness, it just takes time to reveal its quality. You and your jeans will go everywhere together. They will be the first thing you reach for of a morning. And the last thing you take off at night. And along the way, they mould to you. Every crease, every mark, every rip, every splash of paint is put there by you. There will be a moment in this Wear-to-Fit process where they become your jeans. You will have broken them in. The pain will have been worth it. Easy doesn’t make great jeans.
You can’t get to wonderful without passing through alright. – Bill Withers