Too many men don’t take pride in their jeans. Day after day, countless men on campus sport baggy, anti-fit jeans with washes straight out of the 1980s. Though they’re functional, they don’t look any good.
But, my brothers, there’s a solution. Enter the raw denim revolution. You might wince when you spend the money, but you’ll feel proud wearing them and end up scoring those digits.
Made on shuttle looms, raw denim was all you could buy back when jeans were work wear instead of everyday pants. Beginning in the 1870s, every pair of jeans produced was raw. In the late 1960s, manufactures switched from traditional shuttle looms to modern machinery.
“In the ‘60s, all the kids had grown up wearing jeans in the ‘50s that were super stiff,” said Satchel Moore, manager at the St. Paul men’s boutique BlackBlue.
People loved the feel of their broken-in jeans but were tired of having to break each pair in. In response, jean makers began mass producing washed jeans that felt like they were broken-in, with no concerns about quality or durability.
“By the ‘60s, there was enough demand [for washed denim] — it wasn’t just about how long they were going to last,” Moore said. “It was more about the marketing behind it, that these were comfortable, soft jeans.”
Sparked by this change in demand, denim manufacturers sent their shuttle looms to Japan — where raw denim was reborn 50 years later.
Raw denim is unique because it’s not supposed to be washed regularly — or at all. When manufactured, raw denim is not washed after it is dyed; if washed, the dye would come out right away.
Skipping the washing process allows each pair of raw denim jeans to be personalized. They become a fabric of one’s experiences: from booze-fueled mischief to skateboard wipeouts. No two pairs of raw denim end up alike.
Because they’re not washed after the dye process, raw denim doesn’t absorb bacteria as easily as washed denim. But if you find the need to wash your raw denim jeans, feel free to soak them in a lake. Though it sounds ludicrous, it’s tried-and-true by raw denim fanatics.
Raw denim in the Twin Cities
The Twin Cities has no shortage of raw denim offerings. Leading the movement is BlackBlue. Moore is arguably the raw denim king of the Twin Cities, and pairs of his old, broken-in LVC, Left Field and Raleigh jeans adorn his shop’s walls. BlackBlue sells between five and 10 different and diverse brands of raw denim, ranging from Baldwin Denim to French stalwart APC.
MartinPatrick3 is the other big player in the Twin Cities raw denim game. They carry mostly small, artisan brands based out of the U.S. and Japan. Featured brands include Railcar and 3Sixteen. MartinPatrick3 also offers several great pairs of starter raw denim, including $82 Unbranded jeans.
Don’t let raw denim’s high price point deter you. Though entry level jeans cost anywhere from $82 to $185 (APC at BlackBlue), the benefits outweigh the costs. Gap also offers an affordable pair for $90, but you can find them for between $40 and $60 thanks to frequent sales and discounts.
“As much as you put into them is as much as you’re going to get out of them,” MartinPatrick3’s store manager Erick DeLeon said.
Though cheaper offerings are fine if you’re on a shoestring budget, consider putting the extra $100 into a pair of Baldwins or 3Sixteens. As BlackBlue sales associate Andrew Locke said, the investment is worth it.
“One product that you love will serve you a lot longer — and you’ll enjoy a lot more — than five products that don’t do the job as well, that you don’t hang on to,” Locke said.
