Care

Raw denim

Raw denim is denim that has not been washed, sanded, sprayed or softened after it came off the loom. It is stiff when you get it, darker than it will ever be again, and it still holds dye that has not been rinsed out. Nothing about how it looks has been decided for you.

Because the fabric is untreated, it takes the shape of whoever wears it. The fades land where you bend, sit, carry your keys and push your sleeves up. That pattern is a record of your year, which is the reason I will not fake it before the coat leaves the shop.

How it differs from most denim on the shelf

Most denim on a rack arrives already finished. It is washed, stonewashed, sanded, sometimes resin-coated and sprayed, so it feels soft in the fitting room and reads as broken in on the first day. The wear is a finish, applied by a machine, in the same place on every garment in the run.

Those finishes cost the garment something. They are done to lighter fabric because heavy fabric is slower to process, and abrading the surface up front means the fabric starts its life already thinned. A raw, heavy coat begins at full strength and gets softer without getting weaker.

The first month

It will feel like a board for the first week or two. Wear it anyway. Around a month of regular use the fabric gives at the elbows, the collar starts to fold where your neck is, and the coat stops feeling like an object and starts feeling like yours.

Hold off on the first wash as long as you comfortably can — a few months is common — because washing early rinses out dye before the creases have had a chance to set. There is no prize for waiting a year, and a coat that smells is a coat you stop wearing.

Washing, step by step

Zip it, turn it inside out, and wash it alone in cold water on a gentle cycle with a mild detergent. No bleach, no fabric softener, no dry cleaning. Hang it on a broad hanger or lay it flat, out of the sun, and leave it until it is completely dry. Press it on low if you want the edges crisp, never hot.

Repairs

If something fails because of how I built it, I will repair or replace it free for a year and cover shipping both ways. Ordinary wear — a torn pocket bag, a frayed cuff, a seam that has taken ten years of use — I will quote you and fix. Send a photograph and a note to allen@martystitch.co.