The Anatomy of a Pair of Jeans – Levis 501 Shrink to Fit

I have never really been a SuperFuture-status crazy denim head, but I have long been aware of the raw denim obsessions of many people. I am a simple dude when it comes to jeans – Levis 501 Shrink to Fit are my favorite, and there is no need to even consider another brand. I don’t do skinny. I don’t do boot cut. I don’t do designer. At $35, 501s are perfection. As I prepare to retire a pair of 501s, I thought I would take the opportunity share how one truly owns a pair of jeans.

So you start with a blank canvas. Notice how the jeans above are perfectly flat, as if they were just pressed and starched at the dry cleaners. This is what they look like brand new.

There is nothing really rewarding about wearing a pair of jeans like the ones above. You need to break them in by wearing them. Keyword: WEARING.

Forget the whole shink-to-fit part. There will be no shrinking. There will be no shrinking, because there will be no WASHING. That’s right. The jeans you are about to see below – don’t hold it against me – are 10 months old and have never been washed once. They have been exposed to wind, water, dirt, subways, airplanes, pavement, park benches, strippers, dogs, cats, food, groupies, money, keys, phones, and who knows what else. But it is well worth it…

Because when it is all said and done, you have something money can never really buy: a 100% unique pair of jeans molded to your every joint, bump, crack, moose knuckle, etc.

Click any photo below to enlarge

Notice the wrinkles behind the knees. People pay extra for new jeans that look like that, and it is not even custom-created for you. That’s just silly. Unfortunately, those wrinkles are likely from hours and hours of sitting at a desk.

Some details:

Notice how the bottom of each pant leg is now permanently creased to hang over my carefully selected footwear just right. You could not iron out those creases if you wanted to. I am a big fuckin’ dork, I know. But there are others that are way worse than me, I think.

As a young kid growing up in West Texas, I always thought it was cool to see the old guys with a Skoal Ring circle worn into their back pocket from their can of chewing tobacco. You can still see that influence on me today:

It is a little embarrassing to reveal my laundry habits when it comes to my jeans, but I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Cool thing is… my next pair may very well last me to 2010!