My denim jacket took 8 years to actually feel right

I bought this raw denim jacket in 2016 and it was so stiff I could barely move my arms for the first year. After wearing it through 4 winters and washing it twice, it finally softened up to where it actually feels like a real jacket. Has anyone else spent years breaking in a piece of clothing and wondered if it was worth the wait?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy8d agoTop Commenter

...and honestly, that first year is pure misery but it's like a right of passage. I've got a pair of raw denim jeans I bought back in 2018 and for the first six months I thought I made a huge mistake. They were so stiff they'd stand up on their own if I took them off. But after wearing them every day for a couple years and only washing them maybe three times total, they finally molded to my legs perfectly. The fades and creases are all mine, you can't buy that off a rack. I think the whole "break in period" thing is what makes it special, because by the time it feels good you've earned it through all that discomfort. Fast fashion can't give you that.

erickelly8d agoMost Upvoted

Man I went through the exact same thing with a pair of boots I bought in 2019. That first couple months of breaking them in was brutal but now they fit better than anything I've ever owned.

miles_robinson208d ago

Did you ever try putting them on while they were still damp from a soak? Honestly, that was what finally cracked the code for me with my raws. I remember my first pair of unsanforized denim, I thought I'd never get the waist to stretch out. But after a hot soak and wearing them around the house while they were still wet, they molded way faster and the fades came in way more even. You're right about the break in being the whole point though. The way the denim creases right at the knee hinge when you're sitting at a desk or walking just feels like it's reading your body. Fast fashion could never duplicate that because it's literally your body's blueprint.