Selvedge Archives - Coffee & Denim

Sometimes, while breaking in a pair of new raw denim jeans which can last 6 months or so, something terrible happens where you may have to clean them. This has happened to me with my Edwins ED-71’s. They were bought in Feb of this year and have been pretty much my go to jeans since purchase.

Check out the latest denim collection at Liberties

Bearing in mind these jeans had a very quick rinse when purchased to help remove the excess indigo die that very quickly started to collect on my shoes and underwear. This was done wearing the jeans and standing under a cool shower for 5 mins until the worst of the die had ran off. The jeans were completely unaffected by this so I was confident that another rinse would not harm the fading process.

Whilst on a flight to Marrakesh, my baby son spilt a cup of coffee on my lap. Luckily this was a very weak and insipid airline coffee so with a number of paper napkins and some fresh water, I managed to clean them off with no problems. They were dry by the time we landed.

However, sometimes you are not so lucky. The other day while feeding my son in Starbucks, I knocked a full, strong double macchiato all over myself and in exactly the same place! I stayed calm and remembered the airplane incident so just dabbed them down and allowed them to dry out. However, this time for two weeks after, whenever I was in a confined space, the car or the office for example, all I could smell was stale coffee!

So today I finally cracked and rinsed the jeans out for a second time.

Here’s how I did it…

First run a lukewarm bath and placed the jeans in. (In my case the water went brown from the two cups of coffee!)

Try not to agitate the jeans too much as we want to preserve the rawness of the cotton. DO NOT USE ANY DETERGENTS. We are only freshening the jeans up of heavy soiling, not washing them.

Once the worst was out I drained the water and gently squashed the jeans of excess water and reran the bath.

The rinse out was very swift and purely to prevent the jeans from drying in diluted coffee. I folded them about in the bath to help remove any residue.

Once you are happy with the final rinse out, lift the jeans out of the bath and just allow the jeans to drip dry. I used my shower door but you can hang on a washing line or over a radiator. Just allow them to drip dry slowly and naturally. Do not use a tumble dryer or an excessively hot radiator or aga.

Hopefully, if you have been gentle, not used any detergents, the jeans should be fine and ready to continue their breaking in period once they have dried out.

The jeans here are the (affiliate) Edwin ED-71 Slim Red Selvage Denim 14oz so you can check them out. They are my favourite pair right now. I have just written a post on the Edwin fades 6 months in here.

Check out the latest denim collection at Liberties

Have you had any raw denim disasters? Let me know!

Latest Purchase Review: Edwin ED-71 Slim Jeans

I love raw denim jeans but finding new pairs that are both a good fit and made from decent denim can be hard these days. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you’ll know I am an aficionado of Red Ear denim which unfortunately are no longer readily available, meaning I have to look elsewhere when purchasing new jeans. My journey so far has taken me to try Natural Selection and A.P.C., both of which are ok, but I just have not fallen in love with them.

Lay your hands a on a fresh pair of raw Edwins here

The A.P.C. Standard’s stretched way too much around the thigh to retain a good fit and the (Chinese) denim is way too soft for my liking. I am not sold on the cut either. The 35″ come with a standard inside leg of around 36″ which is way too long for me, even after a first wash and I loath getting jeans hemmed.

With the Natural Selection (Italian denim) I washed them a little too soon. They are OK and have started to fade nicely, but again the denim is very soft, which some may like, but for me it disfigures too easily losing the original cut that was originally purchased.

So last February, whilst doing some last minute shopping before a family holiday to Marakech, I nipped into Liberties to see what was on offer. After a careful browse through the usual offerings I was drawn to particular pair of Edwins. I have only ever owned an Edwin denim jacket, as all the jeans I had tried on previously where always a little too relaxed a cut for me.

The Edwin’s that caught my eye were the (affiliate link) Edwin ED-71 Slim made from red seamed selvedge denim. The denim was a lovely dark indigo and stiff but not overly waxy as some raw denim can be now. A quick glance at the label said that they were saniforized which means that the denim had undergone treatment to minimize the shrinkage on the first wash/soak. This helps getting the size right knowing the jeans won’t shrink 5″ around the waist when you first wash them.

I went for the w34 32l costing £130 – it’s refreshing to still be able to buy jeans with good options on for an inside leg. They felt great trying them on, the 14oz denim felt snug and strong enough to hold the cut over time without becoming too distorted.

For the first time ever, I gave the jeans a soak, as to the manufacturers recommendations. Normally I do not bother with the soak, and just try to wear new jeans for 6 months before a wash, but these, due to the organic dying process, started to bleed indigo die over my suede shoes and white boxers straight away!

To soak them I wore them for 10 minutes whilst under the shower. The jeans bled huge amounts of die so if you value your undergarments and shoes, I suggest that you do the same if you buy a pair. Letting them dry and putting them on again showed that they had shrunk very little and had stopped bleeding – just as the instructions said they would. Fortunately the raw look remained.

The build quality is excellent and they are incredibly well put together using good quality 14oz selvedge denim. Although the only thing I am not overexcited about is the ever-so-slightly excessive back pocket stitching – the double U effect. It is a take on the Levi stitching and has been executed well. Personally I would prefer a little less stitching on the back pockets as I prefer a more understated look.

Nevertheless, these have become my new go to jeans, I love them. They have been worn most days since purchasing, during which they have been worn in Marakech, around the dusty souks and side streets, Provence in France ,where they were used to chop firewood and mow lawns plus a quick trip skiing to Norway. Despite this, they have hardly stretched or disfigured.

Here is how they look after one soak and two months hard wear:

As you can see, the jeans are breaking in exceptionally well, with some nice fading and whiskers forming in the places you’d expect them to.

Overall these are a great pair of well made Japenese jeans and if you are thinking about buying a pair and are just having a read around to help make a decision then these jeans come highly recommended by me. I paid full price on the high street but if you already know what size you need , then grab them from Amazon here and save over £20 (affiliate) Edwin ED-71 Slim.

Either way, if you do get a pair let me know how you get on with them or if you have discovered some great mens selvedge denim, please let me know.

Check out the latest Edwin denim collection at Liberties

Update: 6 months have past since I wrote this review. Edwins after 6 months wear and no wash here.