How to Wash Designer Denim

Trying to decide how to best care for your expensive jeans? You shelled out a lot to buy them, and now you wonder if you need to baby them at the dry cleaner so they last as long as possible, or if you can just throw them in the washing machine and save yourself time and money.

We at Search By Inseam did a lot of research on this topic, including talking to sales associates that sell high-end jeans. We found that even if a care tag inside the garment recommends dry cleaning, you’ll be fine treating them in your own washing machine at home. We’ve had numerous pairs we’ve treated this way, and all have come out of the washer beautifully. Here are the steps we follow when laundering expensive denim:

Turn the pants inside out to protect the pocket details and the color of the denim.

Set the washer to fill with cold water and wash on the delicate cycle with gentle detergent. We like soap that's free of perfumes and dye. 

After the wash cycle is complete, gently remove the jeans from the washing machine, and turn them right side out.

Fold them once so that the legs are facing each other, and the pockets are on the outside.

Hang them upside down on a pants hanger - the hanger clasped around the cuffs or the bottom leg openings.

Dry the pants in indirect sunlight, and use the lowest heat setting possible if you need to iron them afterward. Usually, if you pull them out of the washer right away and hang them nicely to dry, you won’t need to iron them. 

This method has saved us a bundle in dry cleaning bills (enabling us to spend more on new jeans from Search By Inseam!) and our designer denim is still well cared for.