By Roxanne Buffone Google
Your favorite jeans, there’s nothing quite like a comfortable pair of jeans. Repairs and maintenance can help you get the longest life for your favorite jeans. Some alterations and repairs will help and sometimes it’s just time to say goodbye.
When your favorite jeans are new the most common problem is that they are too long. Ignore it and you will be walking all over it, grating the fabric against the floor, concrete, gravel, etc. and eventually wearing it away beyond fixing. Length is easy to fix right away, and inexpensive. A skilled tailor will have the new hem looking much like the original. The only difference may be some jeans have a worn faded look and the hems have frayed and faded spots. Your new hem will not have that worn look. It soon will as you wear them, or you can use sandpaper and a bleach pen to get the effect now.
Some of us have a hard time finding a good fit in both the hips and waist. Often the hips fit but the waist is loose. If you like to wear belts you are all set, but most of us girls want to be able to wear our jeans without a belt. This is more of an investment, it’s a complex alteration. It can be tricky to get it to look like the original, so be sure you use a skilled tailor and be sure the jeans are worth it. Is everything else about them comfortable? Do they look good? Will another brand fit at the waist?
How you wash your favorite jeans will affect their lifetime. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s washing instructions. You may also want to take the following precautions. Wash jeans inside out especially if they have embellishments, embroidery, or special coloring and fading. Wash your favorite jeans separate from heavier jeans. Do a load of stretch jeans and then a load of work jeans. Some people like to hang dry their jeans. That will save them some on shrinking and some time bumping around in the dryer. My family doesn’t like the stiff feel they get when air dried and time is usually a factor. They need their jeans now. I put my jeans in the dryer on low, takes longer but the lower heat helps them last longer. Most washing instructions on mine say to dry on low.
Once you have your favorite jeans and wear them awhile some things can go wrong, most can be fixed. Don’t despair your tailor can let you know if it can be fixed. For a pair of favorite jeans it’s worth it.
Zippers can break, fray, stop locking, etc. Zippers can be replaced and a good tailor can have it looking just like the original. Zippers are not a problem! It’s worth the investment unless the jeans don’t fit well anymore or have other issues.
Ripped jeans? People pay good money for ripped jeans, so if it’s in a fashionable spot enjoy the new look! If it’s in a bad spot check with your tailor. Rips around pockets and belt loops are often fixable. Rips in the fabric next to the crotch wont look decent and a repair may not be strong enough to hold it for long. Even with a fashionable rip, it’s time to keep an eye out for a new pair of favorite jeans, eventually rips get bigger.
Do you use the pockets? The lining of the front pocket will wear thin after long use. The pocket lining can be repaired or replaced. I fix the pockets on my husband’s work jeans all the time. For worn back pockets creativity is needed, but they usually last longer than front pockets.
When to say goodbye? When the jeans don’t fit or when repairs wont look decent. If they don’t fit you could store them away in case some day they fit again, but don’t be a hoarder let go if the style is not modern or they’re also very worn out. Repairs not looking great but still comfortable? Wear those favorite jeans around the house until they completely fall apart!
