Hiya,

People are often curious to know as to what extend does the Japanese denim fade and shrink? Majority of the brands are talking about great vertical fade as a result of deep indigo blue dye and organic cotton. But all there is to really say about it is that, yes the color does fade after every wash. Different brands have different fading qualities and naturally one can affect the fading process with number of washes and by how they wash theirs jeans. Due to the higher cost of the Japanese denim, many people are hesitant to wash their jeans due to fear of damaging the jeans in the washing machine or they are simply afraid that the deep indigo color will run.

If one wants to achieve a great, personal vertical fade it is advisable to avoid the washing machine. The first wash will already wash away a great deal of the indigo dye and as a result the jeans do not express the lifestyle of the wearer to the same extend. There are stories of individuals wearing their jeans on daily basis, not washing them for months or even year(s) and in order to keep their jeans from getting smelly, they have actually frozen their denim in a freezer. I guess this would not be a problem in Scandinavia during the winter though, heh.

Another aspect closely related to the fading of the jeans is the shrinking. Most of the  Japanese denim jeans sold at Nordic Denim House are in raw/unwashed state which means they will shrink little after initial few washes. For instance Momotaro’s jeans are made shrink to fit. In layman’s terms this means that the jeans are an inch or two bigger in the beginning. But the more you wash them (with higher temperatures) the more they shrink. The attached pictures give a good idea of how much the jeans shrink and fade after washes.

The first pair on the top is at an unwashed state with no washes, the second pair has been soaked once but worn on daily basis for about six months. And the third pair has been worn on daily basis and washed weekly in a washing machine for almost a year. You can see that the jeans have lost several inches in length. This is important to remember before you bring your jeans to be chopped and shortened.

Hope this answers some unanswered questions some might have had and to conclude all I have to say is; do take care of your jeans. Avoid bleanch, hand wash if you have the patience and preferably wash them in temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius and your jeans will grow together with you becoming like a second skin.