Denimhunters Guides to Raw Denim and Well-Made Rugged Menswear

Slim Pickings: The Best of Slim-Fitting Selvedge Jeans
If you’re looking for the absolute best-fitting pair of jeans that can also fade beautifully, these pairs should be at the top of your list.

The Selvedge Masterlist: Our Ultimate Jeans Guide
Looking for the bar-none best pair of selvedge jeans? You’ve got options. We’ve cut it down the best we can, but this list still has more than 20 makers of the best men’s selvedge jeans.

Small-Dollar Selvedge: These Jeans Are Worth Every Penny
Selvedge jeans don’t have to break the bank. We’ve rounded up the best budget raw denim—perfect for your first pair or your next daily driver.

Battleaxes in Blue: The Ultimate Raw Denim Jacket List
Whether you’re an expert or a first-time fader, you need a made-to-fade raw denim jacket. This list of 20 fade-primed jean jackets will get you started.

Ditching Heavyweight Denim? Guide to Lightweight Selvedge
Discover comfort in true denim style with the best lightweight raw denim jeans. Ideal for all seasons and styles, and primed for great fades.

Brave Star: Heavyweight Jeans Without the Hefty Price Tag
Brave Star makes raw selvedge jeans in Los Angeles, blending heavyweight fabrics with straightforward fits. This guide covers their best denims, fits, and what to know before buying.

Thinking About Getting a Pair of SOSOs? Read This First
First time buying SOSO jeans ? Learn how to choose the right fit, fabric, and features—and why their made-to-order denim is worth the wait.

Realign Is Built for Fades and Made in Japan (…where else?)
Realign is a small-batch denim brand born from Robin Denim’s fade obsession. Made in Kojima with Collect Mills fabrics, these jeans deliver modern fits and fades worth chasing.

Iron in the Fire: 500 Days in Iron Heart’s IHSH-33 Denim Shirt
Is Iron Heart’s iconic IHSH-33 selvedge western shirt the best denim shirt in the game? In this review, we put it to the test to find out.

Peachy Jean: How Momotaro’s 15.7 oz. Selvedge Conquered the World
Momotaro’s flagship 15.7 oz. selvedge denim has been a pillar of the fade scene for the better part of two decades. We’re taking a closer look at the legendary denim.

Bay Area Beauties: Five Iconic Pieces from Tellason
In this Tellason buying guides we look at five of the brand’s definitive pieces: Their jeans, fatigue pants, Coverall jacket, chambray shirt, and their Type III jacket.

Slice and Dice: Samurai’s Best Made-to-Fade Shirts and Jackets
Experienced faders know that Samurai shirts and jackets fade like nothing else. Here are six made-to-fade and rally-ready Samurai shirts and jackets.

Why Piger Works Are Masters of Their Domain
Piger Works Master of Fades is the Thai brand’s claim to fade fame. Does the 20MF live up to its name? We review the pair.

The Magnificent Seven: Iron Heart’s Best Made-to-Fade Shirts and Jackets
Iron Heart fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to made-to-fade shirts and jackets. These seven well-made pieces should be at the top of your list.

The Best Loopwheeled T-Shirts Money Can Buy
The best loopwheeled T-shirts: With expert advice from Thomas, this guide helps you find the perfect high-quality basic for your wardrobe.

The Best Work Boots and Engineers Money Can Buy
Boots make or break the outfit. If you’re looking for the best heritage boots from the world’s best bootmakers, you’ll find them on this list.

Unsinkable Style: Who Makes the Best N1, Peacoat, and Duffel?
Naval jackets like the peacoat, the N1, and duffel coat offer the best (and most stylish) protection you can find against the elements.

Knit Picking: How Samurai Has Revived Japanese Cotton
Starting with a single pair of $10,000 jeans in 2013, the Samurai Cotton Project is taking Japanese workwear back to basics with a line of sweats, tees, and denims made with Japanese cotton.

Best of the Blue Collar: Two Chambray Shirts Rise to the Top
After looking high and low for the perfect chambray shirts, Bryan’s made his choices: These are the chambray shirts he’s bringing home.

How Lost & Found in Toronto Blends Denim and Streetwear
Toronto’s Lost & Found is a menswear destination for Japanese denim, heritage workwear and contemporary style. Start with this shop guide.

Realign Is Built for Fades and Made in Japan (…where else?)
Realign is a small-batch denim brand born from Robin Denim’s fade obsession. Made in Kojima with Collect Mills fabrics, these jeans deliver modern fits and fades worth chasing.

This Menswear Icon Belongs in Every Denimhead’s Wardrobe
From polo fields to jazz clubs and punk stages, this classic shirt has carried more attitude than you might think. This review explores why and how Tellason made their own.

Getting Some Iron Heart Jeans? Read This Before You Buy
Iron Heart sets the standard for heavyweight selvedge denim. This guide walks you through the brand’s signature fabrics, fits, and details so you can choose the right pair.

Brave Star: Heavyweight Jeans Without the Hefty Price Tag
Brave Star makes raw selvedge jeans in Los Angeles, blending heavyweight fabrics with straightforward fits. This guide covers their best denims, fits, and what to know before buying.
Denimhunters is a digital denim destination. Since 2011, we’ve helped denim lovers make educated buying decisions in the pursuit of timeless and adaptable wardrobes stocked with well-made essentials.
With our Raw Denim guides, The Rebel Essentials, and our Well-Made Essentials, we will help you find the best of raw selvedge jeans, leather boots, denim jackets, heavy flannels, and much more. Start your hunt with the guides below.

RAW SELVEDGE JEANS
Looking for the bar-none best pair of selvedge jeans? You’ve got options. We’ve cut it down to a dozen makers of the best men’s selvedge jeans.

DENIM SHIRTS
A well-faded raw denim shirt is a grail for most denimheads. But it’s tougher to fade than your jeans. Here’re 20 shirts worth the work.

DENIM JACKETS
If you need a jacket that can stand the cold and look great for decades, this buying guide is the perfect place to start your hunt.

How to Wash Raw Denim and Why You Should (S01E15)
In this episode, Jake and I talk about denim care and how to wash jeans. We discuss the pros and cons of never or at least very infrequent washing, as well as the different washing methods we recommend.

4 Raw Denim Care Myths That Aren’t All Busted
With raw denim’s spread from niches to masses, several myths about raw denim care have taken hold in the public conscious. As a result, you might be getting really bad advice about how to best take care of your jeans.
This member resource discusses why these 4 raw denim care myths aren’t totally busted: soaking in vinegar, tumble drying, dry cleaning, and the bathtub soak.

3 Popular Raw Denim Care Myths That’re Totally Busted
When it comes to raw denim care, there’s no shortage of false assumptions and myths. In this member resource, I bust three of the most common ones; freezing your jeans, washing them in the ocean, and waiting six months before you wash.

How Denim Is Made: Fabric Finishes
This final episode of my “how denim is made” series discusses how the two kinds of fabric finishes impact the way denim looks and behaves. The trick is to use this knowledge to your advance a make it part of the story you tell.

How Denim Is Made: Weaving
In this fourth episode in the series about how denim is made, you’ll learn how denim is woven and why denimheads prefer shuttle-loomed denim.

How Denim Is Made: Indigo Dyeing
In this third episode in the series about how denim is made, you’ll learn about natural and synthetic indigo, and the differences between rope dyeing and slasher dyeing.

How the Japanese Pioneered Heritage Fashion
In this 4th part of my series about the history of jeans, you’ll learn how the Japanese built a cult around Americana, which evolved into heritage fashion.

How Denim Went From Workwear to Fashion Statement
Storytelling is a great way to get your customer excited about what you’re selling and to demonstrate your competency. The hard part is not telling the story, it’s how you tie it together with the specific features and benefits of what you’re selling. That’s what this article helps you do.

How Designer Jeans Broke Through the Mainstream
In this part 2 of my history of jeans overview, you’ll learn how ‘designer jeans’ broke through the mainstream, plus how to tell the story when you’re selling.

The Branded Defining Features That Differentiate Makers
In this second episode of the series about the defining features of jeans, I look at how small, yet iconic elements have made the jean what it is today.

The Defining Features That Help Us Keep Our Jeans Up
In this free guide, I will look at all of the features that jeans makers use—and have used—to make our jeans fit right, and more importantly, not fall down while you’re wearing them.

The Durable and Practical Defining Features of Jeans
In this first episode of the series about the defining features of jeans, I look at four features that originally served practical purposes, and how those purposes have changed.
The Denim Encyclopedia by Denimhunters is a knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions about denim and jeans, as well as explanations of how denim and jeans are made.
The Encyclopedia is divided into sections, each with its own homepage where its entries are listed with brief descriptions and links to read more. The Encyclopedia is continuously updated with new entries.

DENIM EXPLAINED
This section of the Encyclopedia is home to everything that relates specifically to the denim fabric. You’ll find answers to all your questions about denim and how it’s made.

JEANS ANATOMY
Many of the features that define blue jeans started as pragmatic solutions to the problems. Here you’ll find answers to questions about the details of jeans and how they’re made.

VOCABULARY
Every business has its own vocabulary. This section lists and explains the most common and frequently used terms from the world and jeans and denim.

A-Z
Here you’ll find all entries of the Denim Encyclopedia in alphabetical order. Each entry is explained briefly – you can read more by clicking the link.
Cuffing is not only a practical way of making your jeans shorter without having to cut and sew, it also looks great.
This guide explains the eight most common ways to cuff your jeans.
If you need to wash your jeans, but you don’t want to change the way they look, wash them by hand.
It’s the most gentle way you can wash your jeans because there is less agitation, which less risk of unwanted creases.
In this section of the Denim Encyclopedia, we investigate and debunk the myths about how to wash raw denim, including not washing for 6 months, ocean washing, dry cleaning and more.