Denimhunters is a digital denim destination. Since 2011, we’ve helped denim lovers make educated buying decisions in the pursuit of timeless and adaptable wardrobes stocked with well-made essentials.
With our Raw Denim guides, The Rebel Essentials, and our Well-Made Essentials, we will help you find the best of raw selvedge jeans, leather boots, denim jackets, heavy flannels, and much more. Start your hunt with the guides below.
RAW SELVEDGE JEANS
Looking for the bar-none best pair of selvedge jeans? You’ve got options. We’ve cut it down to a dozen makers of the best men’s selvedge jeans.
DENIM SHIRTS
A well-faded raw denim shirt is a grail for most denimheads. But it’s tougher to fade than your jeans. Here’re 20 shirts worth the work.
DENIM JACKETS
If you need a jacket that can stand the cold and look great for decades, this buying guide is the perfect place to start your hunt.
Battleready Blues: Denim Shirts That Are Made to Fade
A well-faded raw denim shirt is a grail for most denimheads. But it’s tougher to fade than your jeans. These shirts are worth the work.
Small-Dollar Selvedge: These Jeans Are Worth Every Penny
Selvedge jeans don’t have to break the bank. We’ve rounded up the best budget raw denim—perfect for your first pair or your next daily driver.
Raw and Ready: The Ultimate Selvedge Denim Jacket List
Whether you’re an expert or a first-time fader, you need a made-to-fade raw denim jacket. This list of 20 fade-primed jean jackets will get you started.
Ready to Wear: One-Washed Unsanforized Jeans
Get the best of unsanforized selvedge without the sizing risks with these brands that specialize in one-washed unsanforized selvedge.
Tellason Jeans Explained: Fits, Fabrics, and What to Choose
Choosing Tellason jeans comes down to denim weight and fit. This guide breaks down the brand’s Kaihara selvedge fabrics, key cuts, sizing, care, and buying details.
A Little Bit Extra: Big John XXXX-Extra Review
Big John have done it again! The Big John XXXX-Extra jeans prove that the Japanese pioneers do middleweight selvedge denim better than most.
Iron in the Fire: 500 Days in Iron Heart’s IHSH-33 Denim Shirt
Is Iron Heart’s iconic IHSH-33 selvedge western shirt the best denim shirt in the game? In this review, we put it to the test to find out.
Why Piger Works Are Masters of Their Domain
Piger Works Master of Fades is the Thai brand’s claim to fade fame. Does the 20MF live up to its name? We review the pair.
The Magnificent Seven: Iron Heart’s Best Made-to-Fade Shirts and Jackets
Iron Heart fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to made-to-fade shirts and jackets. These seven well-made pieces should be at the top of your list.
Exploring Nudie’s Jeans Fits and Japanese Selvedge Denims
Thomas takes a look at the best Nudie Jeans in essential fits and Japanese selvedge denim. This guide is for both newcomers and enthusiasts looking for quality jeans from the influential Swedish brand.
Bay Area Beauties: Five Iconic Pieces from Tellason
In this Tellason buying guides we look at five of the brand’s definitive pieces: Their jeans, fatigue pants, Coverall jacket, chambray shirt, and their Type III jacket.
Unsinkable Style: Who Makes the Best Peacoat, N1, and Duffel?
Naval jackets like the peacoat, the N1, and duffel coat offer the best (and most stylish) protection you can find against the elements.
Flannel Roundup: The Best of Heavy and Well-Made Flannels
Up your cold-weather fashion game with one of the best flannels that money can buy. This list guides you to our favourite well-made flannels.
Anchors Aweigh! The Best Naval-Inspired Outerwear of 2024
The falling leaves bring with them a host of new serious cool-weather and cold-weather outerwear from some of our favourite rugged brands.
Sailor’s Iron: A Salty Assortment of Seaworthy Sweaters
Fishermen know a thing or two about how to keep the wind and water at bay. Here are our all-time favourite versions of the classic fisherman’s sweater.
Knit Picking: How Samurai Has Revived Japanese Cotton
Starting with a single pair of $10,000 jeans in 2013, the Samurai Cotton Project is taking Japanese workwear back to basics with a line of sweats, tees, and denims made with Japanese cotton.
The Best Work Boots and Engineers Money Can Buy
Boots make or break the outfit. If you’re looking for the best heritage boots from the world’s best bootmakers, you’ll find them on this list.
Black Friday Is Now Black November—and I’m Torn
A discount doesn’t make something worth buying. With November’s sales underway, I’m keeping track of the denim and menswear deals worth considering—and thinking about what makes a good purchase in the first place.
The Best Denim Jackets for Every Style and Budget
A good denim jacket can stay in your wardrobe for decades—if you get the fit and style right. I’ve picked raw and selvedge jackets across three budgets, with practical sizing advice, retailer links and alternatives.
How Iron Heart Makes Military Jackets Work for Today
From the N1 to the M-65 and L-2B, explore how Iron Heart adapts classic military jackets through fabric, fit and practical details.
The Stories Surface When the Indigo Wears Away
KATO’s brown-core teacore denim and Iron Heart’s 12 oz. heavy flannels lead this issue, alongside five picks, The Fade Off winners and why indigo fades.
Why We Can’t Get Enough of Iron Heart’s Heavyweight Flannels
These shirts last for years, which ought to make repeat purchases unnecessary. Yet the soft feel, evolving patterns and unexpected textures make a persuasive case for another.
The Fade Off: 7 Winners and the Stories They Wore
I left celebrating Denimhunters’ 15th anniversary until the last minute. More than 150 entries, 2,600-plus votes and a packed evening at Brund later, I’m glad I did.
What’s Beneath the Indigo in KATO’s Teacore Denim?
Most indigo denim fades from blue towards white. Teacore changes what sits beneath the indigo: the warp yarns have a brown core. Here’s how that affects fading, how it relates to redcast and greencast, and how KATO puts the idea into practice with its Japanese selvedge denim.
The Fade Off Has the Prizes—Have You Got the Fades?
I’ve finally lined up the prizes: Indigofera jeans, a Tellason belt, gift cards and more. Meanwhile, my selvedge guide got the update I’ve wanted for years.
How to Wash Raw Denim and Why You Should (S01E15)
In this episode, Jake and I talk about denim care and how to wash jeans. We discuss the pros and cons of never or at least very infrequent washing, as well as the different washing methods we recommend.
3 Popular Raw Denim Care Myths That’re Totally Busted
When it comes to raw denim care, there’s no shortage of false assumptions and myths. In this member resource, I bust three of the most common ones; freezing your jeans, washing them in the ocean, and waiting six months before you wash.
How To Make Raw Denim Last Longer [Video Guide]
When you wear raw denim for months without washing it, you often wear out the denim much quicker than what you might expect.
After a lot of trial and error, I discovered that I could make my raw denim last longer AND get great fades with this super simple denim care trick.
How Denim Is Made: Fabric Finishes
This final episode of my “how denim is made” series discusses how the two kinds of fabric finishes impact the way denim looks and behaves. The trick is to use this knowledge to your advance a make it part of the story you tell.
How Denim Is Made: Weaving
In this fourth episode in the series about how denim is made, you’ll learn how denim is woven and why denimheads prefer shuttle-loomed denim.
How Denim Is Made: Indigo Dyeing
In this third episode in the series about how denim is made, you’ll learn about natural and synthetic indigo, and the differences between rope dyeing and slasher dyeing.
How Designer Jeans Broke Through the Mainstream
In this part 2 of my history of jeans overview, you’ll learn how ‘designer jeans’ broke through the mainstream, plus how to tell the story when you’re selling.
How Denim Went From Workwear to Fashion Statement
Storytelling is a great way to get your customer excited about what you’re selling and to demonstrate your competency. The hard part is not telling the story, it’s how you tie it together with the specific features and benefits of what you’re selling. That’s what this article helps you do.
An Overview of the Four Eras Jeans History
When you’re selling jeans, you’re selling history! That’s why it’s crucial to know at least the key facts of the history of jeans when you work with denim and jeans. And that’s what this blog post teaches.
The Reason Why Jeans Have Rivets [Video Guide]
Rivets are a key defining feature of blue jeans. They were introduced in the early 1870s as a simple and durable solution to an urgent need for durability. In this video guide, I explain the origins of rivets.
The Defining Features That Help Us Keep Our Jeans Up
In this free guide, I will look at all of the features that jeans makers use—and have used—to make our jeans fit right, and more importantly, not fall down while you’re wearing them.
Purchasing Power: Labels That Highlight The Pedigree of Your Jeans
When we look for new jeans, there’s much more than the colour and fit to take into consideration. In this article, I’ll be looking specifically at the labels that appear on premium denim, and the semiotic and semantic power that such labels carry.
The Denim Encyclopedia by Denimhunters is a knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions about denim and jeans, as well as explanations of how denim and jeans are made.
The Encyclopedia is divided into sections, each with its own homepage where its entries are listed with brief descriptions and links to read more. The Encyclopedia is continuously updated with new entries.
DENIM EXPLAINED
This section of the Encyclopedia is home to everything that relates specifically to the denim fabric. You’ll find answers to all your questions about denim and how it’s made.
JEANS ANATOMY
Many of the features that define blue jeans started as pragmatic solutions to the problems. Here you’ll find answers to questions about the details of jeans and how they’re made.
VOCABULARY
Every business has its own vocabulary. This section lists and explains the most common and frequently used terms from the world and jeans and denim.
A-Z
Here you’ll find all entries of the Denim Encyclopedia in alphabetical order. Each entry is explained briefly – you can read more by clicking the link.
Cuffing is not only a practical way of making your jeans shorter without having to cut and sew, it also looks great.
This guide explains the eight most common ways to cuff your jeans.
If you need to wash your jeans, but you don’t want to change the way they look, wash them by hand.
It’s the most gentle way you can wash your jeans because there is less agitation, which less risk of unwanted creases.
In this section of the Denim Encyclopedia, we investigate and debunk the myths about how to wash raw denim, including not washing for 6 months, ocean washing, dry cleaning and more.
