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What is Selvedge Denim?
Selvedge denim is a premium denim. It is woven on old shuttle looms. This is how the original denim was made.
It is named after the finished edge of the denim, which is made on old looms and finished with a white and red line to stop the fabric from unraveling.
Why does it cost more?
The shuttle looms are half the width of modern looms. And because the way the jean is cut so that the 'Edge' goes neatly up the inside of both legs, it takes twice as much denim in terms of metres to make a selvedge jean.
Plus it takes longer to make, and so it ends up being a lot more expensive to produce. But one thing everyone denim geek agrees on, it is a more beautiful jean.
Why do I have to break them in?
Most selvedge denim is sold as raw denim. Raw denim means unwashed denim. That is how we sell it.
So there is a 3-6 month breaking them in process. We recommend that you try and not wash them for as long as you can because when you do, all those wrinkles and creases you have put by the way you sit and walk are then imprinted when you wash them. Yes, it is worth it.
At the start, selvedge jeans are difficult to love. They are stiff. They feel like wearing a cardboard box. Some people don't ever get past this stage.
But it's an investment that will reward you over time. They get better with age. And better.
Why Japanese Selvedge?
They lead the way. Their ethos is all about Kaizen -The art of continuous improvement. The Japanese have a beautiful obsession with denim. Selvedge denim in particular.
Sold in underground markets, the very first jeans were brought over to Japan after American soldiers left them behind after World War 2.
They started copying what the American mills were doing, focusing solely on their technique and kept getting better.
They saw no great honour in mass appeal. Only in being the best.
The Japanese bought the old shuttle looms off of the mills that went mainstream, so they could keep making the best denim.
The old way.
Using the same methods as they did 50 years ago. The best way. The human way. No automatic button. No simple on switch. There is a person besides these looms at every step of the way.
And that is why these old shuttle looms make the best selvedge denim.
And the Kuroki Denim mill make the best in the world.
Kuroki is located in the textile rich area of Okayama, Japan. Okayama is seen as the Mecca for the source of high-quality denim. Denim is at the heart of the community. Where the streets are even painted with a white and red selvedge.
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