501xx Info Forums

You can find us in da tub...

1. 

   Ned
   

   senior admin
   Joined: Jun '07
   Posts: 182

   Just wanted to drop a line to share that I got a new pair of 501's STF in the mail from Langstons late last week. I went with the 31x38 for extra long look and the ability to cuff them if i want. (I have a pair of 31x36 that are exactly the right length)

   What I'm especially excited about though is my plan to shrink them. I've been wearing them as much as possible raw for the next couple months (can't wear them to work -- major bummer). Then I am going on a trip to Jamaica! I am planning on wearing on the plane there and when we get to the resort to wear them into the water and bask in the sun on the beach in the newly soaked jeans. Very exciting! I'll be sure to take pics.

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   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   Klaus
   

   preferred member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 134

   Wow, I can't wait for your shrinking report, Ned! Jamaica sounds terrific and wading into the water with the 501xx will be an incredibe feeling! And the sun will dry them in no time.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   Tim
   

   member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 48

   Hey Ned,

   Wet your new STF 501s in the surf, dry them out in the sun, wear them to all the hot spots in Jamaica and return to windy Chicago on the plane with them.

   Then, sleep in these suckers. Nothing keeps a guy warmer on a cold night. That'll ready break them in and mold 'em well and truly to your body.

   When my girl reaches over for me on a cold night, she finds me snug in a worn pair of 501s. She doesn't care. She knows what makes her guy happy.

   You're not a true 501 guy unless you spend the winter sleeping in your 501s!

   Tim

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   Ned
   

   senior admin
   Joined: Jun '07
   Posts: 182

   Here are some pics of the new jeans unsoaked next to a pair I've had for about a year. The old ones are 1007 the new ones are 0608. The new ones have less than 100 hours of hard wear, I'm shooting for about 200 before soaking. So far they look fairly similar to the 2007 501's and to the 1947 501's.

   

   

   

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   Klaus
   

   preferred member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 134

   Thanks for the pictures, Ned. The denim's ability to fade and change over the course of time never ceases to amaze me! I often put all my jeans next to each other to compare and admire them.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   Tim
   

   member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 48

   Hey Ned,

   Thanks for the pics of your 501s. Just so long as they're tight, straight and buttonfly, that's how I wear them. L/S is back to producing tight 501s again.

   I always wear my new raw STF 501s as long as I can before soaking them. STF 501s don't take long to raunch up. I want to keep them nice. Once I start washing these STFs, they get crappy looking real fast.

   My STFs tend to wear out with a yellowish fade, not a true light blue. The pre-shrunks fade to a better light blue.

   I buy STF 501s at an outlet store here in California. I try on every pair of STFs before I buy, then wear my new stiff 501s outa the store. I have the clerk just dump my old worn out 501s in a bag. Don't do mail order for 501s. Every pair of STFs is different- Mexican, Dominicans, etc. That's why I insist on pulling them on first.

   Hope you're keeping them soaked in Jamaica. Soak 'em, dry 'em in the sun, then soak 'em again. Looking forward to some pics of you in your wet STF 501s.

   As to the best way to shrink 501s- you can never run outa methods, my gal pushed a garden hose down my 501s and let the water flood them. A suggestion for you...

   Tim

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   rangers
   

   member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 25

   good pic's Ned, can't help but notice the larger size of the new pair in the legs. how do they fit now? I hope they come close to the old ones. Tim, so you got hosed, how did the boys below take it, cool? I haven't found a outlet for stf's in my area yet. so I have to buy by mail. sure would like to get to try some on first. Klaus, I'm doing the same think w/my older pair's. I'm trying to date them, approx, but have no clue what the numbers mean on the tags. 0193 seems to be show up often, but none of the other numbers seem to fit a date or style. Ned & Klaus"s info helps a lot on construction changes and style. Has anyone got into numbers on the tags for what they stand for? Most of the four diget numbers on mine don't coencide with a month/year sequence. I have one pair I can't identify at all. It has SIX fly buttons, levi name on all buttons, measures the same as other 501's. Same sewing but NO Name on the red tag, only the R is on the tag. the pocket rivets are all copper backed. The left leg tag reads 501-0115. top of tag says 9739c 23. there is a four number :0593, but I can't say when I bought them, Ideas? Bill

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   Gill
   

   new member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 4

   Hey Ned - just a comment in the area of how long to wear your raw jeans before the first soak. This may be worth posting a new topic about, but since you mentioned you are trying to wear your new ones a considerably longer time than usual before shrinking, i thought i would comment.

   As you may remember I was planning on wearing my raw jeans for a very long time before my first soak in the tub (just like you), as I thought this would help them mold better to my body. I did some other research on the web and found that a few other people on some other forums had tried wearing there STFs raw for many months (ranging from 3-6) and had some undesirable results in the area of fading and contrast. They had worn their raw jeans for so long that they had achieved fades (whiskers, honeycombs, etc.) on their jeans with no washing! So when it came time for them to finally shrink their jeans, after wearing the newly shrunk jeans....the old fades did not line up correctly with the new fades that they were forming. So it created a strange look to the jeans.

   I figured this was worth mentioning. Perhaps a rule of thumb may be to wear your raw jeans as long as possible, but stop and go to the shrink tub before any fading begins to show. I decided to shrink after about 1 month of raw wear. I was not getting any fading, but was starting to show some more permanent creasing in the jeans.

   I am curios to know how your new STFs turn out after 200 hours of wear before shrinking

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   Klaus
   

   preferred member
   Joined: Feb '09
   Posts: 134

   Bill, I know a little about the tag numbers. I'd love to know what they all mean, but don't know exactly whom to contact. LS&Co is out, some of their staff can't add 1 plus 1. Lynn Downey there is the vintage person, so I think she is rather busy, but I perhaps will ask her.

   501-0000: STF
   501-0115: rinsed indigo
   501-0134: light stonewash
   501-0193: medium stonewash
   501-0194: dark stonewash

   So these are colour codes, and the only ones I'm interested in. It's not to hard to find out the codes for black or other coloured 501s, just surf on ebay, some include the codes in the item description. Other styles, let's say the 505, does have different codes as far as I know, so med. stone isn't 0193. Older (vintage) 501s were 0117 for STF. I'm not sure about the years, my knowledge is more in the 80ies/90ies. For rigid, sanforized jeans as the 505 and 517, 0217 was used, the rinsed ones has 0216. Same for jackets.

   Production date is always a four digit number. There may be other four digit #s, but often you just have to use common sense, the last to numbers are almost always 9something (90ies) or 0something (from 2000 upwards).

   The waist button has a number. This number has to be the same as one on the tag or the jeans aren't real Levi's. At least that is what I learned in the 90ies. Nowadays, the button # isn't any more printed on the tags, LS&Co told me that this has no more meaning. 555 would have been produced at Valencia Street in San Francisco. Numbers starting with 5 are U.S. produced jeans, the European ones are 200 and something. Vintage jeans have different stampings on buttons, though.

   So Bill, the pair you mentioned has to be a rinsed indigo 501 from May 1993. The six buttons are a bit weird. One too much...I don't know. The (R)-only red tab happens from time to time, they apparently do it for protecting their copyrights, I still don't know how this works, I am convinced these tags correlate somehow with the production numbers on the tag. I got a pair from ebay yesterday with this tag, seems that they haunt me in recent months, lol.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    rangers
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 25

    thanks Klaus, for the info. It helps dating them. A friend has over two thousand pair, mostly Levi. He makes blankets-sleeping bags-pillows, and tool kits-knife holders and a few other odd things from denim jeans. I think I'll try to ID some of the older 501's, try em on - buy em. Bill

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    @rangers: Yeah they are a bigger size than the others but i think the shrink will be pretty dramatic as well. can't wait. I'll take a picture of the date tag for you, that should help. basically it's on the sideways tag sewn into the outseam (left side maybe) at the bottom of the pocket.

    @Gill: Yeah good idea for a topic, i'll start it or feel free to start topics whenever you feel it's a good idea. I think fading before shrinking is a fantastic idea and I think i see where the folks you were talking to went wrong. It is true that if you WASH your jeans the whiskers and honeycombs will change and overlap, however if you soak or even better soak while wearing the jeans, these wrinkles shouldn't be effected. Honestly, I would only not wear them for a long time raw because i got impatient (i really like the soaking process ). This time I'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of the raw look, and a part of me will be sad when they change. but that's the way of the jeans of course :-). The more you can fade while raw the better the contrast. it is by far the best way to get high contrast into the denim.

    great post and welcome to the forum! I'm glad you're here!

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    well I'm back from my honeymoon! it was really great and my wife and I both got the chance to shrink some 501's! I'll post pictures as soon as I get organized but they both turned out really well. Quickly, wearing the raw denim for a couple months a head of time made a big difference which i'm sure you'll be able to see when i post the pics!

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    Klaus
    

    preferred member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 134

    My welcome is in another thread, Ned, oh, what the heck: Welcome back!!! I can't wait for the pictures, I'm very curious! How was shrinking them in the sea?

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    Ok it's picture time! We didn't shrink them in the ocean because we didn't even ever go swimming in the ocean! it was pretty windy with large waves, which were great for watching but not so great for swimming. So to fit with the idea of shrinking to fit your lifestyle, we decided to do our jeans in a private outdoor hot tub that we liked a lot and spent a bunch of time sitting in. I have some before and after pictures but I will post some more of just the jeans when I get a chance. This is more to just share the experience of the shrinking! I hope you enjoy!

    

    As you can see, wearing the raw denim for a couple months before hand made a major difference in the pre-soak fit (and in my opinion the post-soak fit as well)

    

    You can see the difference with my wife's unworn pair:

    

    The tub was huge!

    

    Still wet:

    

    Laying out and drying together

    

    So far my wife really likes her's but is not so keen on wearing them stiff. I'll post more pictures after her's are washed once to get all the starch out.

    Posted 1 year ago #
15. 

    Tim
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 48

    Welcome back, Ned! Gr8 pics. Where's the suntan? I hope that you kept your (and her) STF 501s buttoned up the whole time.

    Posted 1 year ago #
16. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    yeah that's about as tanned as either of us ever get. at least we didn't burn!

    Posted 1 year ago #
17. 

    Klaus
    

    preferred member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 134

    Thanks a lot for the pictures, Ned! The difference between brand new and worn raw is amazing. It's great that your wife wears 501xx!

    Posted 1 year ago #
18. 

    Tim
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 48

    Ned- Want you to give us an update from time to time on the life cycle of this particular pair of STF 501s. It will be interesting to see how you wear em out. What happens to your STFs as you wash em several more times. Pics, please, either with you wearing your 501s, or the jeans on the floor. Do you lose interest in your STF 501s once the raw denim has been washed?

    Posted 1 year ago #
19. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    Tim - yeah i'm planning on continuing to update this thread as i wear them. I'm not sure if I'm going to wash them at all, i'm not sure and will figure it out when it "becomes necessary"

    Posted 1 year ago #
20. 

    Tim
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 48

    Hey Ned, I'm off to blue Hawaii next Monday- 10 dayz, the only trouble is deciding on which jeans to wear on which day.

    My idea of packing is how many pairs of 501s I can stuff in my back pac. I've whittled it down to three STF 501s, one 936 Wrangs and a pair of relaxed American Eagles. Am in doubt regarding the AEs cos I love my jeans tight.

    Doing the Ned thing and planning on using a pair of STF 501s for swimwear. This is what STFs were made for. Don't think I'll have any trouble in finding a pleasent beach and good surf. Want to give these suckers a good soaking. For swimming I'm using some STF 501s that I've washed only once in over two years. Loved to wear em raw, but, there comes a time. They're still brittle and feel stiff on me. The first time I washed em, the crotch started to bust. So, they're history anyway. I can finish these 501s off.

    Also, I'll carry a raunchy ole pair of STFs just for ripping up on the beach. My honey loves to help me wreck an ole pair of 501s. I'll wear a newish pair of STFs on the airplane. She prefers me in new STF 501s. Let you know how it turns out. Your STF guy, Tim

    Posted 1 year ago #
21. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    that sounds like so much fun, Tim! I know you'll have a great time. Be sure to share pictures with us when you get back! Safe travels

    Posted 1 year ago #
22. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    More Pics!

    We're about a month from the soak and neither has been washed yet. Mine (the bigger ones) have been worn much more than hers (the smaller ones). There's not a whole lot going on yet, slight fading in mine, but as expected not a lot (yet). I really like them and they look great on both of us:

    both front
    

    both back
    

    mine front
    

    hers front
    

    mine back
    

    hers back
    

    You can see a bit of difference between mine and hers mine being worn more. other than that...pretty boring update but an update none the less

    Posted 1 year ago #
23. 

    Klaus
    

    preferred member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 134

    Thanks for the uptdate, Ned! Your pair already shows fading. I guess you are looking to get fading with a lot of contrast?

    Posted 1 year ago #
24. 

    Tim
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 48

    Ned- Your STFs are sure not boring to another STF guy. Thanks for letting us follow the progress of your work in these 501s.

    After wearing a pair of mine for two years before washing, I noticed the worn spots on the butt pockets, like my wallet was busting thru. Also worn spots on the inner seams from all the walks in em. The big change was, as I mentioned, the holes forming in the crotch.

    I don't want you to get the idea that I wore these STFs daily for two years. I kept em neat, well most of the time. I use my old STFs for any dirty jobs and keep my new unwashed 501s for "formal wear". At some point, like now, they become "Old Jeans" and get little respect. My STFs take about three washes at most before they get grungy. STF 501s are made to wear out. We can't stop it.

    Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more pics. Have you worn these 501s to the office? Tim

    Posted 1 year ago #
25. 

    elrr
    

    junior member
    Joined: Jun '09
    Posts: 8

    I wish I could get my wife to wear Levi's again! I was so happy when she came home with some a few years ago but then stopped wearing them.

    Posted 1 year ago #
26. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    my wife really likes her pair and will also wear my 511's so you may want to recommend them to your wife as well. they are slimmer but still have the "boyfriend jean" sort of look.

    Posted 1 year ago #
27. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    more recent pics!

    

    can start to see the fading, having touched water since jamaica.

    Posted 1 year ago #
28. 

    Tim
    

    member
    Joined: Feb '09
    Posts: 48

    Ned, Comming along good. Always like to see how another guy wears out his STF 501s.

    I wore my new black STFs out to a concert last nite. Sat close to my honey. She was drenched by the smell of new raw unwashed denim. She didn't comment. Must be fine with her so long as her guy is into good looking STF 501s.

    Keep wearing out your 501s!

    Posted 1 year ago #
29. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    Today I hung my jeans inside-out outside in sun. It freshened them up a bit which is important if your not washing them as i am. If you sun them right side out you may fade them with the sun.

    Posted 1 year ago #
30. 

    Ned
    

    senior admin
    Joined: Jun '07
    Posts: 182

    

    Update! these pics were taken at the end of october. It's about 10 months of wear with only one soak for the shrink. I may do another soak at about a year.

    Posted 8 months ago #

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