The global demand for denim is growing at a rate of about 5% per year. This means that every year, 5% more denim jeans, jackets, shirts and other denim garments are sold. This statistic shouldn’t come as a surprise given the versatility of denim. Among other things, it’s strong, comfortable, easy to maintain and looks great with a variety of other fabrics. But if you’re planning to incorporate denim into your wardrobe, you should avoid making the following mistakes.
Wearing Jeans With Too Little Space in the Leg
When choosing denim jeans, make sure there’s ample space in the legs so that they don’t restrict your movement. Different styles of jeans have different amounts of leg space. Wide and relaxed fit, for example, have more space than skinny or straight leg. You don’t have to necessarily avoid the latter styles, but you should choose a pair of jeans that aren’t too small in the leg. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to walk or even move while wearing them.
Wearing Light-Colored Denim for Semi-Formal Occasions
What’s wrong with light-colored denim, and why shouldn’t you wear it for semi-formal occasions? Well, there’s nothing wrong with light-colored denim itself. On the contrary, it’s a popular style that looks great and is easy to maintain. You should avoid wearing light-colored denim for formal or semi-formal occasions, however. Generally speaking, light denim is best suited for casual occasions, whereas dark denim works for both casual and semi-formal occasions. If you’re getting dressed for a job interview, for example, you might want to wear a button-up dress shirt with a black blazer and pair of dark indigo jeans.
Overlooking Denim Quality
Whether you’re shopping for jeans or any other denim garment, you should pay attention to its quality. As you may already know, denim is a textile that’s characterized by a cotton warp-faced thread with the weft making two or more passes under each thread. Technical jargon aside, it’s a popular, versatile fabric that’s used to make garments like jeans and jackets. Denim is available in different quality levels, however, and it’s important to choose high-quality denim. If a garment is made with low-quality denim, it will likely degrade and wear down more quickly. Spend the extra money by investing in garments made of high-quality, premium denim materials.
Wearing the Wrong Belt With Jeans
A belt is an essential accessory to wear with denim jeans. Even if your jeans fit and don’t fall off your waist — like high-quality jeans should fit — wearing a belt will define your outfit by adding new colors and textures to it. But you’ll want to choose the right type of belt to take advantage of these benefits. Wearing a belt in the same color as the color of your jeans offers little or no benefit. If they match, your belt will essentially blend into your jeans, in which case it’s not going to define your outfit. A good rule of thumb is to choose a belt in a color that’s slightly lighter or darker than the color of your jeans. If you’re wearing light blue jeans, for example, consider accessorizing your outfit with a dark blue belt. Alternatively, you can wear a belt in a color that contrasts with the color of your jeans.
Cleaning With Bleach
You can wash denim garments in the washing machine using laundry detergent. However, you should avoid adding bleach or laundry products containing bleach. Bleach will cause any fabric to fade, and denim is no exception. Adding just a cap’s worth of bleach to your washing machine load can turn your denim from its original indigo color to a lighter, more faded blue. When this occurs, the only viable course of action is to redye your denim garment. You can prevent this from happening, however, by not using bleach or bleach laundry products to clean your denim garments. Before using any new laundry product on your denim garments, check the ingredient list to ensure that it doesn’t contain bleach.
Washing It Too Much
Cleaning your denim garments is important, but you don’t have to wash them each time you wear them. It’s perfectly fine to wear jeans or any other denim garment several times before washing it. As long as it’s not visibly dirty or stained, you can wear it again. With that said, it’s usually best to wash your denim garments at least once every three or four days of usage. If you wear a pair of jeans three days in a row, go ahead and wash them. In the meantime, you can wear a different pair of jeans. Rotating your denim garments allows you to maintain a diverse appearance by switching up your look on a regular basis.
Wearing Jeans That Are Too Long
Choosing jeans in the right waist size is important, but the right length is equally as important for a pair of jeans. If they are too long, some of the excess fabric on the bottom may drag on the ground while you wear them. Not only does this create a messy appearance, but it slowly wears down your jeans. Over time, you may discover the bottom of your jeans unraveling. This is an all-too-common problem experienced by men and women who wear jeans that are too long. Thankfully, there’s a simple solution available: choose jeans in the appropriate length for your body height.
Stretching Them
Finally, you should avoid stretching your denim garments. Denim is more resilient to stretching than other common fabrics. However, it can and will stretch when enough force is exerted upon it. If your jeans are too small and you try to force yourself into them, for example, they may stretch out, resulting in a larger fit and possibly damaging the fabric. To avoid this problem, choose jeans in the right size and hang them on a line to dry after washing them.
