the soaking process of my bk

so,


first, fill a container with boiling-hot water and make sure the water level is enough to cover the jeans.


i turned the jeans inside-out to minimize the fading. well, i don't think this is a must.


then put the jeans in the container.


as u can see, the water turned into darkish-blue instantly. a small piece of weight was used to hold the jeans down. then, i covered it for 3 hours. i did add hot water every hour to maintain the temperature.
.
.
.
.
after 3 hours

the water is completely black now.









measurement after the soak.
waist : 28.5" / 30(pre-soak)
inseam : 31" / 33.5
f.rise : 8.5" / 10.5
leg opening : 8.5" / 8.5

i believe the shrinkage hasn't reach its maximum yet, and it's kinda weird that the leg opening measured the same after the soaking.

roughly about 4 hours of hanging dry, i tried it on to stretch it for a good fit while it was still slightly damp. it took me some effort to button up the fly as the denim is still stiff as hell.

here's the fitting picture i took this morning when it's completely dry.





although the denim fabric is still kinda stiff and rough, but it's getting quite comfortable already while i'm typing this. it fits like a dream i must say

Samurai 5000BK

my first pair of japanese denim and it's in black!

after much anticipation, i finally received my parcel from japan. bought this via a proxy i found in the super future forum - mr masataka from zipangu treasurer was more than being helpful, couldn't complain anything at all. the delivery took 4 days from japan to uk, and that's first class. well, you could probably get these samurais directly from the samurai website, it is even cheaper that way. well, due to my zero understanding of japanese, so a proxy would be more helpful.

this sammie is a LOT 10 (tenth years since it's first production) initially, i was thinking of sizing down one. after some research and asking around, i decided to stick to my true waist size instead. (size 29)
for reference.. my esod is size 30 and it is slightly loose around the thigh area, i fit perfectly in my size 28 sjao though. so i'm guessing a size 29 for the sammie should be a good call. im keeping my finger crossed that it won't shrink too much after the first soak.

this is my first japanese denim, and what can i say.. it is definitely another level in comparison to my nudies and volcom; quality wise, the denim itself is superb; the stitching and workmanship = jaw dropping. well i might be exaggerated, but you should be able to get the idea. it is still as hard as a card board now but i think it will be soften up a little after the first soak. the stitching is so beautifully done that words can't even describe it. i guess im just too overwhelmed by it. lol

i got the inseam hemmed to approx 33.5' in length, the initial length was 37' and it is definitely too long for me. so hopefully after the shrinkage ill still be able to stack it for a little. i prefer stacking over cuffing. cuffing is just gay. well that's just me

here's some pictures....


steaming hot package


as you can see, the red tab and arch in grey thread is still there. this is because the levi's suit doesn't affect the japanese market. well the picture is kinda blurry. that's the best i can do with my nokia n95.


look at the badass selvedege.. red + silver thread.


i asked for the remained denim from the hemming so that i can use it for any repair in the future.

here's some fitting pictures. *ignore the beer belly








i'm kinda worry at the moment because the jeans isn't as loose as expected. however, there's still roughly an inch around the waist and some room around the thigh area. taking into consideration of the shrinkage after the first soak, it may be too tight for me. still, i'm just gonna give it a try and soak it with hot water for about 3 hours. after that, i might need to wear it while it's still damp to stretch it for abit. well i'll post some fitting picture after the soak tomorrow.

wish me luck.

Even Steven Organic Dry 20 days 0 wash

this is actually 3-week-old, in fact, i've been rotating it with my sj and volcom, so it's roughly around 10 days of wears. and it's coming along nicely




lower yorke compared to my slim jim

Slim Jim Aged Organic

i found myself a pair of slim jim aged organic when i returned to Urbanoutfitter to exchange my EVOD for a smaller size.

slim jim is a slimmer cut in comparison to my the other 2 raw denims, a very slim fit i must say. i reckon it is one of best cutting nudie has.
anyway, i size down 2 for a better fit (28x32). my actual waist measured between 29 and 30, and most of my jeans are either size 30 or 31.
it was a little tight initially, but after some squats and hopping around, it fits perfectly now.

slim jim is made of 12.5oz organic denim fabric from Turkey and is made in a unique colour,
it's a natural vegetable indigo in the warp and an aged cotton weft to create a deep bright intense blue.

however, both of my nudies are organic dyed and apparently it is harder to fade and really hard to get good contrast in a short amount of time. some said the fading won't be as nice compared to synthetic indigo. well, will see..

i've forgot to take picture when it's new, so here's some pictures taken when it's one week old.


front

back.

sizing down is a good choice afterall, it fits perfectly and it's one of my best fitting jeans i must say.

here's other pictures taken at the same. but the quality is shit tho.

nudie even steven organic dry

like leather, a pair of raw denim will looks nicer after some serious amount of wears as well as the ability to age beautifully from time to time. that's the magic of raw denim.

Bought this pair of nudie after i stumbled across this forum - mynudie.com and saw how amazingly a pair of nudie can turn into after a fair amount of wears. Nudie jeans is a Sweedish based jeans maker that founded by an ex-designer for LEE. Well, i got this pair of EVOD from Urbanoutfitters at covent garden for 75quid, which is actually not a very good deal as some online stores are now offering the same pair of jeans for a slightly cheaper price. oh well, it's just matters of few pounds.

urbanoutfitters ony carries 3 different models of nudie when i was there, which are the RRDS, ESOD and SLAO.
i choosed esod over rrds because i don't really fancy bootcut. obviously the rrds feels better in terms of quality, i'm quite happy with the esod though, the cut is nice, it's a similar to rrds but with a slimmer leg opening. the only tbad point being that, it is not a selvedge one. but heck.



this is quite a good picture to represent the colour.


it came with a booklet attached to the backpocket.


pardon for the lighting, took it with my macbook and it was a little dark in the room. the length seems rather long. i cant really decide whether to get it hem or not since the stacking looks kinda cool. ps. i hate cuffing my jeans.

First ever raw

my first pair of raw denim which i got it from Malaysia for around RM600 which is equivalent to £90

Volcom White Oak Revolver Selvage Denim.

to date, it has been worn about 4months, only 2 months of intense wears though. i have not soak or wash just yet, guess i'll give it a soak with warm water for the first time 2-3 months later.
To be honest, i'm quite happy with the quality of this jeans and I've been wearing it almost everyday for the past two months and it has started to show some fading and creases, also not forgetting the nice honeycomb at the back.

took some pictures with my nokia n95, the indigo seems to be a lot darker in real life though.



some sweet creases and wrinkles around the lap area has becoming obvious.


honeycomb is kinda obvious however no fade can be seen yet. also, the leg opening began to rip.


i personally love the green embroidered Volcom stone


white selvedge = sweet.