How to take care of your jeans

Did you know jeans come from mine workers? They were used as work wear because of their strong, durable character. Looking back, that might just be what makes a woman in jeans so rad.

They have represented rebelliousness and served as a means for freedom of self-expression since the 50s and have gone along the punk, rock, grunge and many other subcultures during the 80s & 90s.

As of today, they've become such a part of our everyday life we can't imagine a world without a good pair of jeans anymore.

Here are a few helpful tips to make sure you give your favorite pair the right care and longevity it deserves, so you can get the most joy out of your jeans as long as possible.

How to wash your jeans

At Fresh Vintage - our Belgium based vintage clothing webshop - we always make sure to wash every single item before we sell it (hence the name). Therefore you can have the pleasure of trying on or buying secondhand items that are already fresh and clean. 

Since we are dealing with vintage clothing, we don't have to worry about the first few washes (if you just bought a new pair of jeans, make sure to wash them separately the first couple of times to prevent the dye from bleeding onto other garments).

Jeans Jackets

Preferably, your jeans jackets are to be washed as little as possible. If the fabric does get musky over time or you've attended a bonfire and the smell won't completely air out for instance, you can consider washing your jacket.

Make sure to always wash your jeans inside out though, since the rubbing of the fabric can increase wear and tear and speed up color-fading. 

Wash on a cold, gentle program (20° at 800RPM should do) if your washing machine allows to, otherwise it might shrink due to hot temperatures.

We prefer using liquid detergents over powdered ones, since they are a little milder on the fabric, but this is entirely up to you.  

Never use a fabric softener however, as it will completely manipulate the essence of your denim - which is meant to stay sturdy and strong as long as possible. 

Never put your jeans in the dryer - this is the worst thing you could do. If you do own quality jeans, make sure to always turn them inside out after washing again (as you would normally wear them) and the buttons are tightened so they can dry into their natural shape properly. 

The easiest way to do this is to hang your jacket on a coat hanger. We like to steam our clothes afterwards, alternatively you can put a towel in between ironing but usually wearing the jacket for a few days should lose any sign of wrinkles or stiffness and the fabric will sit nicely into your bodily shape again. 

Fresh Vintage Art Wear

Our Fresh Vintage Art Wear consists out of a home-made paint mixture, giving the fabric more or less texture where desired and adding some extra personality for ultimate self-expression.

Woman-wearing-90s-jeans-jacket-with-painting-on-the-back-fresh-vintage-art-wear-collection

Every item is unique and to be handled with care to preserve the lifetime, even though the painting's evolution along the vintage of the jeans has its own kind of charm going on. 

The washing instructions are very much the same:
- Wash as little as possible
- Always wash inside out
- Cold temperature, gentle program 
- Use a small amount of liquid detergent
- No fabric softener (!)
- Air-dry into its natural shape (don't put the material in the dryer)

Depending on which paint mixture is applied, the paint might break a little over time, this will only set in to the vintage concept and will add a little extra character to your garment. Remember that our clothes are already washed prior to selling. We recommend not washing our art wear jeans upon arrival. 

Preferably hand-wash or use a mild, low-temperature program. It's important not to use any fabric softeners on our art wear items, since they might bite into the paint (which could alter the colors).

Lastly, it kind of speaks for itself, but be sure never to iron onto the painted areas. 

Drying your jackets on a coat hanger and wearing them for a few days should do the trick. 

Regular Jeans 

Washing instructions for regular jeans (pants) are quite the same as your jeans jackets and there's no harm in washing them together. 

We do recommend sorting darker and lighter jeans separately and never to over-stuff the machine.  

Always wash your jeans inside out. As mentioned before, this will counter wear and tear and fading of the denim.

Use a liquid detergent, preferably one that is aimed at keeping color intensity and don't over-use the substance.

Put the washing machine on a cold, gentle program (20° at 800RPM should do).

Never put your jeans in the dryer. If you do have quality jeans, make sure to turn them inside out after washing again (as you would normally wear them) and the buttons are tightened so they can air-dry into their normal shape. You can easily do this with some clothespins or a dry rack. We recommend not ironing your jeans.

There are some jeans-gurus out there that advise to never (ever) wash your jeans, but given the reality of our everyday life, we like to prioritize clean clothes as well as their durability.

We are working on bringing out a new line of jeans, which will appear on our Fresh Vintage Design page once made available.

I hope this article made you consider giving your jeans a little extra care in the future. Take a look at our freshly washed vintage jeans section if we rekindled your curiosity for some good quality jeans.

Lots of Love,
Lise 

Fresh Vintage