Thread: levi's 501.. how do you shink to fit?

so many people have said that levis are not what they used to be.. i'm wondering if you guys are getting the same stuff i'm getting..

i buy the 501xx original button fly.. shrink to fit.. they are stiff as heck and really last.. the same kind that will stand up by themselves..

These days, I think Levi's ARE designer jeans. They come in all the silly pre-faded and semi-dirty looks, and to me, that is designer. (What happened to just plain, new looking jeans?) But maybe designer means different things to different people. My dad bought me two pair I think a year ago (I by Carhartts myself), and they were definitely not the way I remember Levi's feeling. They are stiff, sure, but they feel much thinner. No idea how they'll last, since they are still young.

Anyway, I started the breakin by wearing them straight through a week. I took them off to shower, but slept in them.

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

so many people have said that levis are not what they used to be.. i'm wondering if you guys are getting the same stuff i'm getting..

i buy the 501xx original button fly.. shrink to fit.. they are stiff as heck and really last.. the same kind that will stand up by themselves..

Levis are as good as any other...and while I hate shopping I don't think I've ever seen button-fly Levis that needed the stiff knock off of them them like Carrharts...heck there's some Carrhart stuff now that doesn't the stiff knocked off of them.

So original 501's may still be 501's but they aren't widely available.

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

Nope... I couldn't afford the leather Nike Hightops after buying 501's... So I settled for the White Canvas Nikes w/the Red or Black swoosh... Laces un-tied and tounge sticking out... That was the style back in "my" days...

You and I must be from the same era. I would look a fool trying to pull that look off these days. I was also able to pull off the Miami Vice look once too...Long white jacket, white trousers, white dress shoes, skinny black leather tie and belt and a coloured button up shirt...Gives me the shivers just thinking of how stupid I looked putting it into todays fashion perspective. Then I think about the 'Pirate' shirt look too...I can pull that one off because it hides my spreading paunch. Unfortunately they are not in fashion anymore, so...Lucky for me I'm far from fashionable these days and just don't care.


Mick

Yeah, i know how you feel. I used to date an extremely hot girl who was way too into heavy metal. She got me into a pair of leather pants, but that was only because I was able to frequently get her out of hers. I can't imagine wearing leather pants now.

Originally Posted by Utopian

She got me into a pair of leather pants, but that was only because I was able to frequently get her out of hers.

Beautifully put Ron

You've gotta watch the shrink to fit 501s. I wear a 34 X 36, but have to buy a 35 X 40 to allow for shrinkage. I was in a store a few years ago, and the stock they carried of 501s wouldn't fit a skinny 12 year old after washing.

I wear shrink to fit 501s.

Originally Posted by MickR

You and I must be from the same era. I would look a fool trying to pull that look off these days. I was also able to pull off the Miami Vice look once too...Long white jacket, white trousers, white dress shoes, skinny black leather tie and belt and a coloured button up shirt...Gives me the shivers just thinking of how stupid I looked putting it into todays fashion perspective. Then I think about the 'Pirate' shirt look too...I can pull that one off because it hides my spreading paunch. Unfortunately they are not in fashion anymore, so...Lucky for me I'm far from fashionable these days and just don't care.


Mick

I to had the Miami Vice thing going... That's another story.... I wasn't able to have the 2 day beard... I was only 16 or 17...

Now days it Wranglers, T-Shirt work boots and a ball cap... (That is if I'm not working)...

I also go for bibs once and awhile... Those are sooooooo comfortable...

I'm the nerd that my dad once was...

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

maybe a silly thread idea.. how many of you out there live in a pair of jeans?.. being in los angeles my entire life.. designer jeans are a big thing.. however.. i'm a purist and will never stray from my beloved 501's.. anyone else out there? how do you get them broken in.. i know people who've sat in bathtubs and worn them till they've dried.. people who wade around in the ocean..

personally, i wash hot and dry hot.. then i stretch them back out as i wear them..

if it's not the 501... which jean do you chose?

501 are my favorite.

Shrink to fit... it is a pain to find what fits
but they are sized to match the label AFTER
a run through the washer and dryer. Levi
does make preshrunk if you do not know the
size....

I wash my hot and dry hot. The first couple
washes should only be washed with other 501s.
It helps to use a handful of salt to set the dye.

I was "taught" that you buy new 501s in the early winter
and by July-August they have worn enough to be cool.

In Arizona I used stretchers to dry my jeans
but it was dry and hot as heck....

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

I to had the Miami Vice thing going... That's another story.... I wasn't able to have the 2 day beard... I was only 16 or 17...

Now days it Wranglers, T-Shirt work boots and a ball cap... (That is if I'm not working)...

I also go for bibs once and awhile... Those are sooooooo comfortable...

I'm the nerd that my dad once was...

Replace that ball cap for a flat cap, add any cheap pair of jeans as well as Wranglers and do away with the bib's (although, I have been eyeing those off for a while too...) and that would be me as well.

My dad was nerdier though...


Mick