Get the Size Wrong, and There’s No Fixing It
I love shrink-to-fit jeans. Most of the one I’ve worn fit brilliantly. But I’ve also made mistakes.
In the early days of Denimhunters, I convinced Levi’s to send me a stack of LVC 501 jeans—different years, different fabrics—that I had readers wear them for months to see how they shrank and broke in.
Why? I wanted to understand how shrink-to-fit works.
Because even when you think you’ve got it figured out, unsanforized denim doesn’t behave the same from one pair to the next. And that’s where most people get it wrong.
In this Issue of the DH Weekly
I have a soft spot for shrink-to-fit jeans. It can so rewarding to wear and fade, but it can also be a disaster. To help you choose the right pair from the start, we’ve put together a guide to shrink-to-fit selvedge.
The Problem with Shrink-to-Fit
“Just size up, and they’ll shrink to fit.” That’s how shrink-to-fit is often framed—including by Levi’s Vintage Clothing: buy ‘em big, and they’ll shrink down to fit.
But it’s not that simple. Some pairs shrink down to the tagged size. Others start oversized, so you need to size down. And some even require you to size up just to get a comfortable fit.
So when Bryan suggested we should do a shrink-to-fit selvedge guide, I didn’t have to think twice. Because if you don’t know how a specific pair behaves before you buy it, you’re just guessing—and with shrink-to-fit, there are no second chances once they’ve been soaked, you can’t return them.
We’ve rounded up more than a dozen of the best shrink-to-fit selvedge brands—and, more importantly, broken down how each of them shrinks and whether you need to size up, down, or go true to size. This guide helps you get that right the first time.
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The Challenge of Getting the Right Size
Tagged size used to match actual measurements—what’s known as true-to-size (TTS). So a size 34 would measure 34 inches in the waist.
That changed with vanity sizing. Today, a tagged 34 often measures 35, 36 or even 37 inches, depending on the brand. Heritage selvedge brands—especially Japanese repro makers—tend to stick closer to TTS, but there’s no universal standard anymore.
With shrink-to-fit, it gets even trickier. Now you’re not just dealing with whether a brand uses TTS or vanity sizing—you also need to know whether the tagged size refers to the jeans before shrinkage or after.
With that little explainer out of the way, I wanted to share my two cents on a few of the brands in the guide that I’ve actually worn myself.
Indigofera’s No. 2 “Shrink-to-Prima-Fit” Selvedge
This is one of those cases where the “size up one” rule actually works—if you know your size in the first place.
I’ve owned several pairs of Indigofera’s No. 2 denims—Clints, Kirks, even the Burg & Schild collab. It’s a 16 oz. selvedge with a lot of character; natural slubs and small imperfections. One of my first pairs has two clear weaving flaws, and it’s that kind of detail that makes it even more special to me.
In terms of sizing, you should size up one and expect them to land where you want. I wear a 31 in Indigofera’s sanforized jeans, but I go with a 32 in their shrink-to-fit pairs, and that’s worked consistently for me.
That said, this denim isn’t something you’ll always find in stock. Indigofera doesn’t offer it as a permanent part of the collection, so you need to catch the No. 2 when it’s available. And at this price point, you also want to be sure you’re getting it right.
Iron Heart Ultra Heavy Raw (UHR)
After wearing Indigofera more or less exclusively for 4–5 years, I got into Iron Heart in 2018—and, of course, I had to try their unsanforized UHR too.
I got mine in the same size as my other Iron Heart jeans, and that turned out to be the right call. Even though it’s loomstate and supposed to shrink, I didn’t find that it changed all that much in practice.
So rather than sizing up and relying on shrinkage, you’re better off starting close to where you actually want them to end up.
That’s worth keeping in mind, because this is one of those pairs where you might expect a dramatic change after the first soak—but don’t necessarily get it. The denim is incredibly dense, and whatever shrinkage happens doesn’t fundamentally change the fit.
It’s also worth noting that Iron Heart calls this “raw” for a reason. Most of their jeans are rinsed, so if you want truly unprocessed denim from the brand, this is it.
Other Pairs from the Guide I’ve Worn
While Indigofera and Iron Heart have been my main rotation for more than a decade—until I launched my own brand, Weirloom—I’ve also spent time with several of the other denims in the guide along the way.
Warehouse’s Banner Denim and Studio D’Artisan’s SD-101, both in their unwashed versions, are good reminders that even when you think you’ve got shrink-to-fit figured out, different denims still behave in their own ways.
Mister Freedom is another case, where the jeans are designed to shrink down to your tagged size—which sounds straightforward, but still depends on getting the starting point right.
And then there’s Big John. I had the chance to pick up a pair of their RARE jeans more than a decade ago, when Brund first stocked the brand—but I didn’t pull the trigger. I’ve regretted that ever since.
Getting Shrink-to-Fit Right
If you’re getting into shrink-to-fit—or coming back to it—it’s worth taking the time to get it right.
Because when it works, it’s hard to beat. The fabric, the fit, the way it fades. But when you get the sizing wrong, there’s no fixing it after the first soak.
To avoid the guesswork and find a pair that actually works for you, start with our shrink-to-fit selvedge guide.
The post Why “Just Size Up” Doesn’t Work with All Shrink-to-Fits appeared first on Denimhunters.
DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site