Seven ways you can make your denim last longer
Denim is a staple in many wardrobes due to its longevity and wearability. However, knowing how to look after it can be difficult, especially if it’s customised, fringed or embellished.
With rising UK Pinterest searches for ‘Embellished Denim Jacket’ and ‘Embroidered Denim Jacket’, Gap has revealed their top cleaning and maintenance tips for prolonging the life of not only custom denim but intricately detailed and embellished clothing items, so that your perfect jeans can be worn again and again.
1) Avoid washing your denim too often
Over-washing can damage embellishments like sequins and beads, so we recommend only washing clothing with these details when an item is truly dirty – and always following the instructions on the care label.
In most cases, giving clothing a small spot wash, or a good airing out by hanging on a washing line for a few hours, will give clothing the boost it needs to be worn again.
Despite denim being a hard wearing fabric, it’s also recommended to wash this fabric as little as possible, even as little as every 10 wears. Spot treatments are recommended as the first point of call, rather than a full wash and if they simply need a freshen up, we stand by the jeans in the freezer trick to kill any bacteria and eliminate any odours.
2) Hand wash your denim if possible
Whilst we know handwashing clothing can be laborious, if you want to it looking its best, then this is the only way to protect any delicate details and embellishments from damage. Cold hand washing helps to prevent damage to any adhesives and can reduce chances of shrinkage, not to mention it’s a much gentler option on embellishments that could loosen or shed in a washing machine cycle.
The process is as simple as submerging your outfit in cool water with detergent but to keep your soaking time to a minimum to prevent damage to beading and embellishments. If there’s a specific stain to get out, gently massage the area but be mindful of more delicate fabrics and avoid ‘scrubbing’ motions.
When it comes to denim, whether a trusty gig jacket or pair of jeans, denim is best washed by hand, as this method gives the best chance of retaining both the colour and the shape of your denim, prolonging the overall life of your garment. This is even more true of black denim.
3) Place your denim inside a bag when washing
Certain embellished and delicate fabric clothing will be labelled as being washing machine safe. In this instance, it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry and place your clothing inside a clothing wash bag or a pillowcase works just as well. This allows for an additional layer of protection for any sequins or beading and can prevent fabrics with a sheen from losing their shine.
4) Machine wash denim inside out
If you’re time-poor, or if your denim is really in need of a wash and a hand wash won’t cut it, a cooler wash cycle in the machine will also do the trick.
If you are going to machine wash, the best thing to do is turn your denim inside out, wash alone and remove from the wash straight after the cycle is finished – all of these things will reduce creasing, and help to prevent colour fading.
5) Close zips and buttons when washing
When putting your denim in the wash, zips and buttons should be closed on denim when washing to avoid any snagging on other clothing or any damage to the zips and buttons themselves.
The rules for more delicate fabrics are slightly different though, zips should be done up but buttons should remain open to avoid causing potential strain on the delicate fabrics which could cause buttons to become loose, or elastic loop button holes to detach from the fabric.
6) Avoid fabric softener
Whether it’s a custom denim number or a delicate sequin design, the rules are the same when it comes to fabric softener – do not add it to your wash if you’re washing custom-made designs.
Fabric softener can change the texture of denim and damage the surface of velvets and satin, so best to avoid this in your washes.
7) Never tumble dry denim
You should never tumble dry your denim as it could cause shrinkage and loss of shape. The best method is to lay your denim flat or air dry outside. In fact a top tip is to peg your jeans upside down at the bottom of each leg, so the water runs down to the waistband, helping them dry quicker and reducing wrinkles.
Avoiding the tumble dryer is also true for more delicate fabrics as well as embellished clothing. The fast spin of a tumble dryer is just asking for embellishments to become loose and damaged, plus the heat can cause shrinkage and fading.
For more details on cleaning and maintaining your denim’s colour, shape and essentially prolonging its lifespan, check out Gap’s Denim Care Guide.
