My Take on Selvedge Denim

In my previous article, Men’s Shoes, I implored the significance of creating an outfit starting from shoes then moving up. My favorite type of bottom to wear is jeans.

 My particular jeans are selvedge jeans. They are my first pair of selvedge jeans. What is selvedge/selvage denim you ask? You might have heard of selvedge or salvage denim, but not necessarily its meaning. They are jeans that are made in a specific kind of loom. Shuttle looms have a certain weave that creates a stronger stitching and leaves the denim with finished edge. Due to modern advancements in the mechanical age, and higher demand for more jeans, the creation of the fabric has modernized. Therefore rendering shuttle looms to be useless for the time being, after years, the notice of shuttle loom produced denim to be better quality.

Wearing raw denim, as selvedge jeans are, shouldn't mean being a part of a trend, but rather telling a more personal narrative. Stories are made from the actions we make, and my selvedge jeans will say a lot about me. For example my front pocket will say I have an iPhone, and right off the bat you can naturally assume I am an Apple advocate. The whiskers and honeycombs say that I move a lot, and that is completely true, if I am not on the train systems or not raining I walk.

The timeline image below shows how selvedge denim uniquely designs itself over time.

Each brand has their signature twist; one brand might have a specified weight, type of stitching, and their choice of indigo color. Current jeans are cut at the edge and woven/stitched together (See Figure 1 below).

Figure 1

Selvedge jeans, as previously stated, are made from shuttle looms and have a finished edge which looks like the red, green, or orange stripes (See Figure 2 below).

Figure 2

There is a trick to keep your selvedge in top shape. The key to having a successful pair of raw denim is to not wash it as frequently as other garments. This helps build the lines you are looking for, but at the same time washing them every few months removes the dirt, but keeps the strength after each proper wash. Good denim speaks for itself; this link shows it off perfectly.

-Danish