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How to Break in Your Jeans

How to Break in Your Jeans
James Merrell
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Even jeans that cost you an extra $100 to look "worn in" still need time to feel that way. But you can speed up the process. The first few times you wash a new pair, remove them from the dryer when they're still damp and wear them for a couple of hours. As your body temperature warms the fabric, it takes the shape of your body, says Caroline Calvin, vice president and creative director of the Levi's Brand. For really stiff jeans, skip the wash and just put them through a dryer cycle, turned inside-out, with three or four pairs of clean sneakers. The tumbling of the shoes breaks down starch that's added to the fabric during manufacturing and softens the jeans, says Calvin. If it's a washed-out, faded hue you're going for, add extra soap in the wash cycle (just make sure it's not color-safe detergent). Or use the cowgirl tack: "I take my Wranglers to the dry cleaner and ask for heavy starch," says two-time world champion barrel racer Sherry Cervi. "In the rodeo world, that's the look. Starch also keeps them clean, especially around a rodeo, because the dirt brushes off easier."
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