Jeans are the most durable thing in most wardrobes and the thing most often ruined by kindness. Almost every pair that goes baggy, patchy or faded early was washed too hot, too often, or dried in a machine. Here is what actually matters, in rough order of importance.
Wash them less
The single biggest one. Jeans do not need washing after every wear — every five or six is plenty, or whenever they genuinely need it. Airing a pair overnight does most of what you wanted the wash to do. Every cycle takes indigo out of the denim and works the fibres, and there is no putting either back.
Inside out, cold
Turn them inside out before they go in. It cuts the friction on the outer face, which is what causes the pale wear lines across the thigh and seat. Wash cold, or at 30 — hot water fades the colour, shrinks the cotton and, in stretch denim, destroys the elastane that gives the jeans their recovery.
That last point is worth dwelling on. Once stretch denim loses its recovery, the jeans go baggy at the knee and stay that way, even though the cotton itself is perfectly fine. A hot wash is usually what did it.
Skip the fabric softener
Softener leaves a residue on denim that breaks down the fibres and takes the crispness out of the fabric. Use a gentle, colour-safe detergent and nothing else. Spot-clean small marks with a damp cloth and a little mild detergent rather than putting a whole pair through for one stain, and dab rather than scrub — scrubbing lifts the dye and leaves a lighter patch.
Never tumble dry
Heat shrinks denim, fades it and warps the shape. Hang them or lay them flat, reshape them while they are damp, and keep them out of direct sun — UV dulls the colour faster than washing does.
New jeans
A new pair of rigid denim feels stiff and that is normal. Wear them in rather than washing them in; a week or two and they will have moulded to you. There is more on rigid versus stretch, and which fit suits which build, in our guide to men's jeans fits.
Repairs and alterations
We have in-house tailors at the Ennis store who will shorten a leg, replace a button or repair a seam. A good pair of jeans is worth mending — it is usually cheaper than replacing them and it keeps the pair you have already broken in.
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