Levis 505 Cone Mills Selvedge Straight Fit Jeans - Thoughts/Experience?

[ABL_in_MD]

Morning Dappered Friends.

So I bought my first pair of selvedge jeans, a pair of Levis 505 Premium Selvedge (Cone Mills) Straight Fit jeans. My pair should be #360 of 505, but not sure for which year's edition (2010, 2011, 2012?)


I appreciate a good pair of jeans, and this being my first pair of selvedge, I am not sure what my expectations should be.


I know that there a lot of selvedge fans out there, so I am looking for some first hand experience with them.


Questions such as: when/how to wash them?; tub rinse before first wear?; will the indigo dye rub off on to other fabrics?; do I wear them as much as possible, and for how long before I wash them?; etc.


Yeah, I know there are infinite websites/blogs and what have you about all this, but I figured I would look for firsthand knowledge as well.


For the record, I picked them up for $67, so not a huge first time investment.

[tomservo]

Congrats on the purchase. Caring for denim is like making a Martini, every one has a different method and most of them are correct. (for the record a martini is not made with Vodka and I stand by that)


The general guideline is wear often, wash infrequently. If it's raw denim then the indigo will bleed so watch that. If you bought it with a wash then you should be okay.


Only tub rinse before first wear if you need to shrink them down. Otherwise just wear the hell out of them and handwash/line dry every 4-6 months or so.

[ABL_in_MD]

@Tomservo,

thanks for info.

100% with you on the Martini stance!


I like mine extra dirty & extra dry!


The future sees a lot martinis while wearing my new jeans.

[ngdoms]

i got my first pair of selvedge about 6 months ago, just did the first wash last week.


i use woolite dark and washed them inside out, air dry


not a lot of color fading but the jeans will naturally start to fad no matter what you do, embrace it! they will fad naturally and look great as long as you keep to washing every 4-6 months they will look great and last forever! (depending on how often you wear them, i only wear mine 2-3 times a week, some people beat their jeans into the ground 7 days a week, results as always, will vary)

[risingstars]

Generally cold wash inside out, hang dry, and avoid detergent if you really don't need it. I like to wash mine every 6-12 months or when I feel they are really dirty. Hand wash your jeans by themselves.


If the jeans you bought are raw, then i would assume you sized up a good 2" inseam and 1" waist. What i do with new raw jeans is to give them a good 15-20 minute HOT water soak. You do not need to flip them inside out for this. This will help bleed out a lot of the extra dye (not all of it), and shrink the jeans to your appropriate size. Some people are crazy about wearing their jeans right after the soak, but that's just wear to me. Let your raw jeans hang dry. Wear them for a good 6 months, then do another hot water soak for about 15-20 minutes. Now, just wash hand wash them inside out with cold water whenever you feel the need to.

[Jeremy B.]

I've been thinking about picking up a pair of raw denim or selvedge. Anyone out there with some experience know of some good mid range brands to look at? I know there is a whole sub culture around raw denim and I have no interest in diving into it, just think it might be cool to break in my own jeans.

[risingstars]

I'm not very experienced with various brands but i have a pair of WESC raw denim that i picked up at a thrift shop for around $20. I'd say the WESC brand is of lower quality but it holds up well and is definitely fun to break into as my first pair of Raw denim. I hear APC's and Nudies are pretty good, though a bit on the pricier side ($100+).


On the higher end of the denim spectrum would be stuff like Tellason, Roy, and Iron Heart Jeans.


I can however say with great confidence you should stay away from Cheap Mondays

[ABL_in_MD]

Hear Ye, Hear Ye...


So I received my Levis 505 Selvedge jeans.... not what I thought I was getting.

These are not the Cone Mills/Made in the USA line, but the Levis 505 Straight Fit Premium Selvedge Made in Mexico jeans.. Darn!


My fault for misunderstanding the wording from the seller.

He said these were number 360... Which I took literally as #360 of the #505 limited edition Cone Mills jeans when I Googled the jeans for more info. He maybe should have said style or model number to clarify the description.


These are 0505-0360 model jeans.


None the less, these are absolutely great fitting, great feeling selvedge jeans.


I ordered my normal size of 36X34, and they fit perfect.


These are part of the Water-Less line from Levis, so they are pre-shrunk to a point, and can be soaked and shrunk more if needed.


I have decided not to soak mine, and just got the dry route until they need a first wash.


The indigo dye on these are amazing, and I really don't mind if they retain a darker finish.


However, the seller has a 2nd pair of these same jeans that I may buy and do the whole soak and wear thing just to see the difference in the two.


The length is spot on for me, with just enough in the inseam to cuff rather than stack.


They are definitely a heavier denim than most of my other jeans, and are stiff but not like cardboard. They move well, and the quality exceeds my expectations.


And based on the compliments I have received so far this morning, I may never wear any of my other jeans for quite some time.


Cheers.