I Gave In to Raw and Selvedge Denim

You’ll often see the terms “raw” and “selvage” (or selvedge, the spelling common in the UK) right next to each other — so much so that as a novice, I thought they were basically interchangeable. “They’re totally different,” says Kiya Babzani, the co-founder of Self Edge, a purveyor of high-end denim known for carrying hard-to-find Japanese brands and stocking a wide selection of raw and selvage denim. In short, “selvage” refers to how the fabric was made, while “raw” refers to the treatment (or rather, lack thereof) that the fabric has received since coming off the loom.

“‘Raw denim’ just means it’s never been washed,” explains Babzani. “Any denim can be raw.” Before industrial washing facilities existed, all fabrics would shrink upon the first home wash, and people shopped with that in mind. Since denim was solely workwear, it didn’t get industrially prewashed until much later than other clothing items. “Nobody needed the luxury of denim jeans that didn’t shrink,” says Babzani. “You would buy them a size up, and you would shrink them at home.” Nowadays, he says, most raw denim gets sanforized, which is an industrial treatment that uses steam and compression to shrink fabric without washing it.

It’s denim made on a shuttle loom, which is an older, slower type of loom than today’s standard, the projectile loom. The difference has to do with the way the threads are woven together. Denim made on a projectile loom will have frayed edges, while a shuttle loom creates a denser weave and a rounded edge, with no threads sticking out. “Think of it as a self-sealing edge,” explains Tiffani Goddard, the head tailor at denim brand Imogene + Willie. (That’s also where the word itself comes from: self + edge = “selvage”.) “The integrity of the fabric is preserved a little bit better because there’s something holding that entire weave together. It creates a tighter weave, which makes for a longer-lasting fabric.”

Most, though not all, raw denim is also selvage denim, since they both represent the earliest iterations of a classic pair of blue jeans. Originally, people wore selvage denim because projectile looms didn’t exist yet, and they wore raw denim because industrial washing techniques didn’t exist yet. People interested in what Amy Leverton, author of the street-style book Denim Dudes and founder of a consultancy firm by the same name, calls “heritage denim” are usually looking for both. Selvage, especially, usually indicates high quality. “If you are the kind of mill that’s got the narrower looms, then you’re going to be picking nicer cotton and you’re going to be spinning it in a more beautiful way,” says Leverton.

In short, the selvage weaving process makes for sturdy, durable fabric that breaks in and molds to your body over time, while leaving the dyed denim “raw” allows the color to age and evolve in a one-of-a-kind way. There’s a barrier to entry with this type of denim because most of the time, it’s not immediately comfortable to wear. Taylor Johnston, the founder of Gamine Workwear, first started wearing raw, selvage denim because, working as a gardener, she needed pants that would hold up to hard work. Her options were either women’s styles that quickly wore out or men’s workwear that was sturdy but unflattering. After a chance meeting with the photographer Bill Cunningham, she decided to start her own brand of workwear that’s reliable and stylish. The brand’s signature offering is its raw, selvage denim dungarees, made to be lived in. “It’s the only thing I reach for,” Johnston says now. “Absolutely nothing compares to the highs and lows and wear of a pair that has been worn by you and no one else. That’s your life.”

When you first put on a pair of raw, selvage jeans, they should feel a touch too snug — not so overly tight that you can’t move or need pliers to button them, but you might not want to spend too much time sitting in them at first. Ideally, you don’t want any gapping at the waist because that’s where the material will stretch the most as you wear them. The fit will change over time as they break in, and if there’s anything you remain unsatisfied with, there’s always the tailor. “Jeans hold some kind of holy grail thing where you’re looking for a perfect off-the-rack fit,” says Johnston. But that perfect fit is only a fairly recent concept, she explains. “I had always looked at things through this lens of Damn, back when people bought 100% cotton clothes, they actually went home and tailored them and made them fit perfectly. We actually took good care of our clothes and we didn’t treat them as disposable objects.”

There are infinite ways to break in and tailor a pair of raw denim jeans over time, Johnston says, and few other clothing items can feel so customized. So it’s not about looking for the perfect fit; it’s about looking for great potential. “Day one is the worst you’re ever going to look,” says Johnston. While there isn’t one correct way to break these jeans in, it does require patience — and the heavier the denim, the longer the wait. With high-quality denim, retailers will often include the weight per square yard, which usually ranges from 10 ounces to 16 ounces. The weight is influenced by both the thickness of the yarn and the density of the weave. A 16-ounce denim will take a lot longer to break in than a 10-ounce, but it will also be more durable. Ultimately, you should just go about your regular life. I like to start with wearing the jeans for a few hours at a time, not an entire day. Once I can comfortably sit down in the pants for an entire dinner, I consider them broken in.

Absolutely not. In fact, says Babzani, please don’t. “We’ve always bucked the trend with this,” he says. “There’s a lot of crap out there about putting your jeans in the freezer and doing an ocean wash and never washing them — I’ve heard all of it. I’ve always wanted to demystify the stigma around washing your jeans.” At Self Edge stores, customers receive a magnet with simple, straightforward instructions: Turn them inside out and wash them in the washing machine with cold water and any detergent — and wash them at least once a month. “Unless you have a flame-retardant suit or something, denim is the most hard-wearing fabric you have in your closet,” explains Babzani. The only way you’re likely to ruin your jeans is by shrinking them; so to that end, avoid the dryer at all costs and always let your denim air-dry. “The dryer is where a lot of the damage happens to your clothing, especially if you’re using fabric-softener sheets,” he says.

If you’ve heard anything about raw and selvage denim, you’ve probably heard that you should avoid washing it at all costs. That’s simply not the case. In fact, says Babzani, the buildup of dirt and grime over months and years of not washing your jeans actually damages and degrades the fabric, making the cotton threads brittle and more likely to break. How often you wash your jeans will depend on how often you wear them, but if they look and feel dirty, don’t be afraid to clean them. Leverton and Goddard both wash their jeans inside out in the bathtub, and Johnston recommends the bathtub or sink, too. If you wash them this way, you shouldn’t wring them out. Instead, you can stop them from dripping everywhere by laying them on a towel, rolling it up, and applying some pressure to squeeze the water out before letting them air-dry.