Distressed Denim
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Some wonder why denim lovers often pay a premium for pre-worn jeans. Although purchasing holey and tattered jeans may seem like a bizarre practice, distressed denim, in various forms, has been in style for close to fifty years. In the 1960’s, those hoping for a worn look ran their jeans in the washing machine for a full day or soaked them in the ocean for a week. Some even dragged their jeans behind speedboats to achieve the desired effect. But the love of distressed objects is hardly a product of the 1960’s. Distressing, in various forms, is an age old practice. Take, for example, the ancient Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. This world view holds that imperfect objects are more beautiful than bland flawless items. The bowl below typifies the wabi-sabi aesthetic. Its bumpy texture, uneven glaze, and wobbly shape add to its charm. Now compare this pottery to the 120-year-old jeans below. Despite the differences in materials, the colors and textures are remarkably similar. If you can believe it, these antique jeans sold for $60,000 in an Ebay auction! Most denim consumers do not want to pay thousands of dollars or wait 120 years to achieve the distressed looks they desire. That’s why manufacturers have invented a wide range of techniques—from washing jeans with golf balls to treating them with ozone—to create the looks that we crave. Here at indi, we’re constantly perfecting new washes and finishes, so get excited for our next round of finishing treatment—coming to indiDenim.com next month!
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Worn jeans, distressed jeans, destructed jeans, and holey jeans have gone in an out of fashion, but (whether you like it or not!) they have made their way back to the limelight. Over the past few weeks, we at indi have been working on perfecting our damaged jeans. Oxymorons aside, we are really excited about the holes, tears, wears, and scratches we are about to release. Don’t worry, no jeans were hurt in the making of this blog entry. Well, only a few…
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Friday, June 12, 2009
Humans have worn holey clothes for as long as they’ve worn clothes. Although the first holes were accidental, people have been using holes decoratively for millennia. Today we often associate holey clothing with punk and grunge culture, but we forget that holes can also be opulent and elegant. Don’t believe me? Check out this painting of Henry VIII. His garment has dozens of tiny slits cut into it and he has meticulously puffed his white undershirt through the holes.
Now there’s a man who knew how to wear holes! Here at indi we plan to introduce heavy distressing options for our customers and I think we can all learn a bit from Henry VIII’s fashion sense. (I would not, however, recommend following his marital advice.) So, this brings up the question—when wearing holey jeans, what style would you like to channel? British royalty or British punk bands? Counter culture or haute couture? Grandeur or grunge? These days, the choice is up to you! |
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Since the eighties, jeans off the rack have left some people wondering, “How much distress is too much distress?” Many jeans for sale in the market today, go through numerous abusive treatments from jean manufacturers to get that highly coveted just-dragged-under-a-bus-for-a-mile look. Washing, ripping, tearing, tacking, and sanding… The process seems to stop just shy of riddling entire store racks with bullets - which begs the questions, “Are they charging $200 for the denim, or is it just priced $50 per hole?” Even if you like to buy jeans that are already torn to shreds, you never want to buy jeans with fraying in the wrong places. So, if your next jean purchase is going to involve ripping, tacking, sanding and the like, be prepared to treat this pair with even more TLC. Here at indi, our denim distressing techniques leave the jeans still looking pretty clean. When you do choose to buy distressed jeans, keep in mind that there are ways of avoiding rips and tears in all the wrong places and salvaging your favorite pair when time has taken its toll. Here are a few tips keep your favorite pair distressed denim jeans looking distressed, but not critical condition: Tip #1: Ever heard the old adage, a stitch in time saves nine? Maybe Thomas Jefferson never had to buy jeans, but if he did, the same saying would’ve applied. If your jeans are wearing down in the wrong places, take steps to repair them before it gets worse. Tip #2: If you literally need to patch things up, buy fabric fuse from your local craft or fabric supply store. This product allows you to fuse the fabric without sewing a stitch! To apply a patch as reinforcement on the underside of the fabric, make sure that it covers the entire area affected by the wear and tear. Tip #3: Don’t know how to sew? Wouldn’t be caught dead in a craft store? To avoid the patch process altogether, try www.denimtherapy.com. When your jeans are literally unraveling around you and you feel like your denim is in serious distress, just remember that saving your jeans is simple! If your favorite jeans, even if they’re tattered to all hell to begin with, need a little TLC, just follow our tips to keep your jeans looking tip top. |
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