Taking care of your jeans

Are you particular about how you take care of your jeans? Well here are some thoughts from a guy who is an expert and works for Levi Strauss.

Carl Chiara is director of brand concepts and special projects for LS and was interviewed in the September 2, edition of the Wall Street Journal

Some of Chiara’s thoughts on jeans:
o Says he wears jeans every day to work and in social situations
o The less people wash their jeans, the better their jeans become
o He doesn’t like to put his jeans in a washing machine
o He avoids using hot water on his jeans or throwing them in a dryer
o He doesn’t dry clean his jeans
o He says jeans should take on your personal day-to-day life and look like you


Here is one way he takes care of his jeans.
‘After six months of wearing a pair of jeans, Mr. Chiara does a comprehensive cleaning; his method could also be used by those who like to wash their jeans more often. Usually, he fills a bathtub to about six inches with room-temperature water and adds two tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's Magic Liquid Soap, which he likes because it is mild. Then, he immerses the jeans in the tub, laying them flat.’

Sometimes, with dark jeans, he'll add 1/8 cup of white vinegar to the water. "The vinegar sets the indigo and keeps it from fading," he says.

Mr. Chiara is careful not to scrub the jeans or move them around vigorously. He just lets them soak for 20 minutes before hanging them by the belt loops to drip dry. While letting the jeans air-dry, he may slip a "woodsy" scented sachet of potpourri into the jeans as he lays them flat.

If it's sunny out, Mr. Chiara sometimes likes to wear the jeans when they're "almost completely dry" and sit in the sun. "This final phase of drying them out on my body helps the jeans take on my shape," he says.


Me, I just wear my jeans 'til I think they need a washing. It can be a short time or a long time. But I know when they need it.