Your guide to buying the perfect pair of selvedge Japanese denim jeans.
Let’s start with what selvedge denim is (also called raw denim) and why Japanese denim is so unique.
Japanese denim is woven on vintage looms which are slow, rare, take great skill to maintain and repair, and produce unique and interesting fabric. Typically, the rolls of denim produced are half the width of those produced by modern weaving machines which greatly adds to the time required to make a pair of Japanese jeans. These looms can be up to eighty years old and require a very skilled craftsman to operate and repair them. These old looms also can produce beautiful, irregular textures in the denim (called slub).
Weaving denim in this way produces what is called selvedge denim, which means that the edges of the denim are not left frayed and unfinished as in modern production, but are wrapped securely with a coloured thread, often red. This is the “selvedge line” seen when you roll up the cuffs on your jeans.
As Ireland’s leading denim store, Genius Clothing & Footwear have a wide selection of selvage denim and are especially excited about the latest selection of Made in Japan Edwin black and selvedge denim.
Since 1963 Edwin has produced recognizable selvage jeans by using a colourful rainbow selvage edge easily visible on the jeans upturned cuffs. The rainbow selvage is from one of most famous mills and towns in the world for making denim. Edwin jeans also use Turpan cotton, which is renowned as one of the best in the world due to its long fibres, smooth texture and strong white appearance. Their textured denim is not mass-produced but is made from fabrics that are carefully dyed one by one with vegetable and indigo dyes in the tradition of Bigo Kasuri.
Because of the intricacy in making these jeans in the traditional way from start to finish, production numbers are low so you can be assured that you’ll be wearing something unique. And as you’ll discover, nothing else fades quite like raw Japanese denim.
However, it’s important to remember a few things when buying selvedge denim jeans. If your jeans are unsanforized denim (not pre-shrunk) will shrink around 10% after a few washes – but frequent washing is not recommended. The first days and weeks in your new jeans might be a little uncomfortable, especially if you’ve chosen a tight fit or a heavier denim. But just hang in there, even the stiffest raw denim will eventually get soft as you break it in.
As we all know, buying jeans is one of the trickiest purchases, period.Trying on is essential to ensure you’re getting the right fit, especially for unsanforized jeans so we advise against buying online.Visit us in Genius to get the best fit and style Edwin denim, beyond perfection.
