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.
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.
Denim and Sashiko Chore Coats That Are Up to the Task
If you haven’t added a chore coat to your collection yet, this list of our favourite denim and sashiko chore coats will get your train engine running.
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.
Best Lightweight Selvedge Jeans: A Denim Expert’s Guide
Everything you need to know about lightweight selvedge denim—from true lightweights under 12 oz. to borderline fabrics that wear easier than the spec suggests.
Getting Some Iron Heart Jeans? Read This Before You Buy
Iron Heart sets the standard for heavyweight selvedge denim. This guide walks you through the brand’s signature fabrics, fits, and details so you can choose the right pair.
Pocket Rocket: Tellason Coverall Review
In a world of reproductions, Tellason go their own rugged way. Their iconic Coverall Jacket is a stylish and rugged true-blue original.
Big in Japan: Big John’s RARE and Their Surprising Legacy
A brand with a truly exceptional legacy, Big John has a string of firsts to their name that might surprise you, likle these RARE R009 jeans.
So So Good: The Best Fade-Primed SOSO Denim
Fans know SOSO denim delivers on the brand’s promise of well-made made-to-measure at reasonable prices. Here are their best-fading denims.
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.
Gustin Time: The Selvedge Brand Worth Waiting For
Since 2013, Gustin’s low-cost crowdsourced model has drawn crowds of denimheads. Patience is expected, but we think these jeans are worth waiting for.
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.
The Best Loopwheeled T-Shirts Money Can Buy
The best loopwheeled T-shirts: With expert advice from Thomas, this guide helps you find the perfect high-quality basic for your wardrobe.
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.
Unsinkable Style: Who Makes the Best N1, Peacoat, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Got Fades to Show? Join the DH15 Fading Competition
An idea from Denimhunters’ early days is making a comeback for the 15th anniversary. There’s also a Copenhagen get-together at Brund, and some new Weirloom jeans launching soon.
GIVEAWAY: Win an Iron & Resin Wardrobe Worth Over $850
Seven pieces from Iron & Resin, enough for two denimhead outfits. I break down the raw selvedge and workwear looks, and how you can enter to win the whole lot.
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.
4 Raw Denim Care Myths That Aren’t All Busted
With raw denim’s spread from niches to masses, several myths about raw denim care have taken hold in the public conscious. As a result, you might be getting really bad advice about how to best take care of your jeans.
This member resource discusses why these 4 raw denim care myths aren’t totally busted: soaking in vinegar, tumble drying, dry cleaning, and the bathtub soak.
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 the Japanese Pioneered Heritage Fashion
In this 4th part of my series about the history of jeans, you’ll learn how the Japanese built a cult around Americana, which evolved into heritage fashion.
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.
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 Branded Defining Features That Differentiate Makers
In this second episode of the series about the defining features of jeans, I look at how small, yet iconic elements have made the jean what it is today.
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.
