Nudie is slightly vanity sized, so the sizes are usually bigger than that of what appears on the tag. (Size 30 actually measures 32 inches around the waist) This is just a general trend of most clothing you come by so don�t be alarmed but just take into account that the tag size does not equal actual size.
The best way to pick the size of your Nudie Jeans is to go to a store and try them on, although if this is not an option in your area you may have to consider measuring the jeans you currently own and comparing them to measurements of the jeans you want to buy. You also though must take into account stretching and shrinking. These aspects are covered in greater detail below
If you are looking for measurements of any particular size or cut then its best to search the forums or to maybe start a new topic and just politely ask a member to take some for you. You will find that most members are very friendly and will happily oblige so long as the question hasn�t been already covered very recently or possibly in this guide.
Additional notes:
Prewash jeans have already been through the washing processes before you have bought them and are not raw therefore they may be a half or full size smaller than the dry nudie in the same size. Not all nudie cuts have the same waist measurement; you may not be the same size Baggy Bjorn as you are in a Slim Jim. This obviously varies as to how the sizing of your jeans are in the first place but please take this into account when buying new nudies.
Notable differences would be that the BB runs very large, sizing of the SS and RR being almost identical and the skinnier cuts (SSK, TF, SJ, TLJ) being even tighterstill, almost a full size smaller in the waist.
Stretching.
All jeans stretch. The amount of stretching that can occur varies between how active you are in your jeans and the type of denim the jeans are made of. As a rule of thumb its safe to say that all jeans will stretch out at least an inch, so about one size above the tag size of your nudies. (size 30 will stretch to be 31) This is pretty much the least it will stretch and more stretching can occur from longer periods between washing and also how low you wear the jeans and basically how much stress you put on the various parts of the jeans. If you want to in future wear your jeans without a belt you must ensure the jeans are quite tight on your waist when they are new. It should be noted that you should not buy the smallest size you can button as that is probably too small. Safe to pick the size between what you can tightly (yet somewhat easily) button and the desired waist size you want after stretching.
So if you can button up a 28 but it hurts and a 30 is how tight you would want it to be after 2 or 3 months of wearing them then choose a size 29.
Also, if you are planning to go on extended periods of time without washing (1 year or never) then sizing down twice may be recommended depending on how you want them to fit. Longer periods of not washing your jeans will cause them to stretch more than say if you washed your jeans every 4 months as washing in pretty much any temperature will bring your jeans back to the size you bought them when new this includes shrinkage on the inseam which is discussed belowwww
Additional notes:
If you want to stretch the waist of your jeans faster consider dipping the waistband in water and wearing them very low on your hips and possibly doing squats or anything active to help stretch the denim.
Shrinking
All natural fibers shrink and stretch. That is the nature of the material but there are many varying attributes which determine how much shrinking is possible and how to reduce or increase the amount of shrinking.
Nudie Jeans are sanforised meaning they are preshrunk and relatively true to size from when you buy them in the shop to when you put them through the washer for the first time. Sanforisation attempts to somehow preshrink the cotton fibers in the denim material before the jeans are made, this also decreases the chance of leg twists.
Sanforisation is not a means of 100% pre shrinking the jeans, there will obviously still be a small degree of shrinkage which can occur after the first few washes. Nudie lists it as 3-5% but its simpler to say that it will shrink back roughly to the size when new and before stretching. This includes shrinkage in the waist, hip and thigh and anywhere the denim has been under stress through the wearing of your jeans.
It has also been discussed on the forums about possible inseam shrinkage, Its impossible to say there will be none because there usually always is. It�s the amount that is hard to judge, although washing in colder (20-30 degrees) temperatures will decrease the amount of shrinking and washing in hotter temps (40 or 50 degrees) will provide more shrinkage.
From personal experience my inseam of my RRDS shrank about half an inch with a cold wash and it has been said that SJ�s or BO�s shrink as much as 2 inches in the inseam length after a hot wash. I honestly believe this is a varying figure and that most inseam shrinkage can be negated by pulling on the inseams when they are still damp after a wash.
Other possible ways to reduce inseam shrinkage is to never wash them! Although some choose to just dry clean them.
Additional notes:
The Regular Ralf Veggie Indigo was the only nudie jean to not be sanforised or preshrunk in any way. If you are planning on purchasing a RRVI in the future please take into consideration that they will need to be soaked before you wear them (to avoid shifting of creases and fading) and that they will shrink around 2 sizes everywhere incl. 2 inches in the length.
Washing
When?
Typically as nudie says you should wash your jeans after at least 6 months of everyday wear, this shouldn�t be seen as gospel but more as to a safe �guide� to follow when you want to wash your jeans. The 6 month rule follows certain criteria though, that is that you must wear your jeans every single day for the majority of the day or at the very least 5 days a week of hard wear. Obviously if you are only wearing them 4 days a week instead of the full 7 you may consider washing them at 10 months.
Typically before you wash your jeans they should show a large amount of fading visible before the wash. The best way to see the fadings on your jeans is to take them into the day light and lay them flat on the ground on a sunny day. This is also the best condition to take pictures of them. I don�t know much about photography but from what I�ve seen its definitely the best way to show fadings and contrast.
A lot of people who buy nudies have an expectation as well, this expectation is that after the first wash the jeans will suddenly come alive and be full of contrast and fadings. Yes, this can happen but the jeans must show some contrast before the wash for this to happen. What happens is the wash brings out fading that is already in the jeans to maybe a brighter hue.
So the more you wash the more �blue� your jeans become but they also become lighter with subsequent washings after that.
This picture shows its raw colour and the colour after it has been washed. Notice how there was no �magical� change in the jeans but hue of the jeans has become much more bright and more towards a strong blue colour.
Nudie jeans and European dry denim in particular tends to be less colour fast than that of premium denim from Japan, so what that basically means is that they will be lighter with more washes faster than that of other Japanese denims. So considering this you may decide to wash less frequently and at lower temperatures to retain the dark indigo colour for longer, although this is totally up to your own personal taste. Nudie although recommends you wash at 6 months and then very infrequently after that also, possibly 4 washes within 5 years.
How?
Some people ask how they should wash their jeans and with dry denim there are various ways all of which will produce a different result. Here are some of the most used washing techniques.
Machine wash.
This usually includes wearing them 5-7 days a week for more 8 or more hours more a day and then at 6 months you wash them in your convential top or front loader washing machine at any given temperature. There are some certain guidelines to follow though.
- Wash your jeans inside out to avoid loose threads of the jeans being caught in the washing machine and to prevent unwanted fadings from the actual wash itself.
- Wash the jeans on their own to prevent bleeding onto other garments in the wash.
- Washing in lower temperatures (30 degrees) will keep a darker colour and is more gentle on the jeans although it will bring about the least amount of contrast.
- Washing in higher temperatures (60 degrees) will bring about a higher contrast but is a little more �rough� on your jeans and may shorten their eventual life span.
After they come out of the wash you can should hang dry them in the shade, maybe consider laying them on a thick towel straight of the washer to absorb some excess water before hanging them up.
Washing at lower temperatures will also decrease the amount of shrinkage, if you are worried about a shrinking inseam wash them colder. If your washing machine does not allow you to choose the temperature just choose the �cold wash� function.
Dry Clean
Dry cleaning is usually for those who have spilled something on their jeans and want to get it out without affecting the fading too much. The jeans do change though but not in the same way, its hard to explain but I will try to find pictures soon. An important thing to remember is to tell them explicitly not to press or iron them in any way or all your hard work beating those creases in will be gone.
Some people also choose to dry clean after 6 months and holding off the first wash until the first year, this can work but I haven�t seen any results of it thus far.
Beach Wash
This involves taking your 6 month worn jeans and taking a �swim� in the ocean. The salts in the water apparently help keep more indigo in the jeans. So after being in the water for 30 or 40 minutes you sun bake on the sand whilst rubbing sand on your thighs and ass to create a more distinct fade. This is considered a vintage technique and I have no idea if people actually do this but you can experiment and find out for yourself.
Handwash
This involves taking your 6 month worn jeans and washing them by hand (duh). So fill up a large sink with heaps of hot water and get your jeans in there with some kind of organic soap and massage the jeans from top to bottom. Only real enthusiastic jean lovers will do this in my opinion and its usually done if they want to take very gentle care of their jeans that are already falling apart or are very old and fragile. Although again you are welcome to experiment with any kind of washing you feel is appropriate.
It is often asked if jeans should be washed after certain substances come into contact with the jeans, such as vomit, alcohol, urine, tomato sauce etc�This is a question you can only ask yourself. Do you personally want to have those kinds of snus embedded in your jeans or do you want to wash them out? *needs to finished*
