Care instructions

We recommend that you wear your jeans for as long as possible without washing them. The advantage of this is that they retain their characteristic dark blue colour and any wear and tear is much more noticeable. In this way, your jeans can develop the “patina” or “fade” that gives each pair of jeans their unique look. 

If you would prefer not to wear your jeans for the first time completely untreated, you should soak them in cold water for approx. 10-20 minutes in lukewarm or cold water (no warmer than about 30°C). The jeans should be completely submerged. Then hang them up wet, without wringing them out and allow them to dry. The drying process will take some time but it is best not to dry them on a rack or a radiator. 

The first machine wash (after about 6 months) should be no hotter than 40°C, without washing powder and without spinning. This will prevent stripes developing. Don’t forget to turn your jeans inside out before washing!

Our recommendation 

is that you don’t wash your jeans at all but have them dry cleaned instead. The advantage to this is that there is no shrinkage at all and a much more attractive patina or fade can develop over time. After a heavy night out you can always air your jeans on the balcony. Most important of all is to keep your jeans safe from eager launderers while you are breaking them in. There is almost nothing worse than coming home to find that your new jeans project has been through the machine at 60°C with the rest of the dirty laundry and a full spin cycle. Many have cried at such scenes. Allegedly.

There are, of course, plenty of different opinions on the subject of caring for your jeans. Everyone has to make their own journey; we can only give you tips and recommendations. Denim is a natural product and each jeans company has its own secrets, starting with the selection of the cotton, through dyeing and weaving. In general though, the best advice is always to wear your jeans for as long and as often as you can without washing them, for at least 6 months!

All our jeans are made of Selvedge Denim; the fabric is woven on old looms. The woven edges (selvedges) give this fabric its characteristic look, the colours and widths of the selvedges vary. 

„Shrink to fit“

Jeans that are made from shrink to fit denim are completely untreated, such that the pants will shrink by around 10% on first coming into contact with water – around one full size at the waist and 7-10 cm in length. For example: size 33x36 will shrink to a size 32x34 following its first contact with water. We thoroughly recommend that before you wear your shrink to fit jeans for the first time, you soak them in lukewarm water for 10-20 minutes as we describe above, so that they shrink first. Thereafter, you should wear them for 6 months before washing. The other possibility is to buy your shrink to fit jeans in the correct size and never to wash them. If this is your chosen method, you can always take them to the dry cleaners if absolutely necessary. 

Pre-shrunk or sanforised

This process exposes the freshly woven denim to heat before it is cut, such that the denim no longer shrinks, or at least it shrinks only slightly. The amount of shrinkage after this process varies according to the manufacturer. Please see the relevant shrinkage notes on each item.

So, have fun breaking them in and if anyone turns round and sniffs when you pass them, maybe the day has come when you can finally wash your jeans!


All prices incl. value added tax.
Strikethrough prices equate to previous prices at Burg & Schild