Shrinking to Fit

How Denim Reminds You that Folly is Near when "Grail" is the Goal

March 31 2025

This past week I wrote about concluding my denim purchases: I’ve done the trial and error, chased the dragon’s grail, returned home from failed crusades to some alleged promised land, I am another Odysseus home at last. Alas, our hero’s homecoming brought decidedly mixed results. So I too am chastened but perhaps better for it.

There’s much written about shrink to fit selvedge and I would concur that even for those dedicated to Our Niche most would be better off with sanforized or pre-washed fabrics. You gotta be willing to fail at a hefty price.

Of course, there’s some shrinkage in those sanforized/prewashed brands, but Iron Heart is in comparison quite predictable and I’d say go ahead and rely on their sizing numbers. In fact, every bit of Iron Heart’s sizing and care advice should put your heart at peace. Others I will not vouch for as entirely.

With sanforized denim it’s important to take the time to learn your best fit numbers, it’s not that hard once you realize you claiming “I won’t make that mistake again” is another self-deception. You will likely still make costly mistakes. Be prepared to call that “experience,” like that person you said goodbye to when you left for college, the one to whom you professed eternal love. You’ll end up friends even if you never see one another again.

Play for that endgame with your losses. I reentered the selvedge game at about 40 years old and I’m now in my late 60s—- I’m physically close to the same sizing but things have moved around. My tastes have barely changed at all, so the current “wide fit” seems normal to me.

Also, be sure to make some provision for gravity and fatuity, it’s unlikely you’ll be as svelte when you’re venerable. The perfect fit is like all perfection: an imposture, a specious eidolon, this inner Ringwraith needs to be drowned in a river of well spent tears. Give it up, brother, there’s plenty other things worth obsessing over. If you need a longer list, lemme know.

On to the case at hand: shrink to fits. Nota Bene, not all are created equal, so I’ll provide a study in contrasts. The Flat Head 3005 and Ooe Yofukuten SO03XX (made for Standard & Strange). These are both straight fits. TFH has medium (lowish) rise numbers while the Ooe is a high rise (close to 13.5”, low being about 11” depending on the size).

What most don’t realize who are first getting into higher rise jeans is that you may not be the same size at the navel as you are on the hips—-check yerself out, I need a size up for a genuine higher rise. And of course the particular denim fabric is as much the issue as the design.

After too many experiments with brands I’ve landed on a few that more than suffice. I didn’t ease into this “hobby,” that’s not my style. I tried from the outset to arrive at The Last Word. That’s not good advice but I persist because it’s far too late to change. I now admire brands-untried at a distance though they still have an allure because I’m an inveterate grail-seeking fool.

However, these two, TFH 3005 and Ooe -03 are top shelf and top of my list (along with Iron Heart’s 1955/634 and Dawson Denim’s Wide Taper/Wides.) You can’t beat the all around quality and, yes, they are costly and there are excellent alternatives for less.

I focus here on the shrink to fit facts, particularly waist shinkage. Both of these jeans are pretty straight from the knee, though TFH has some taper while Ooes gots none. They are not slim fits by any means but wider in the thighs but so those before and after numbers are not much concern for Mr Average over here. If you have World Cycling Time Trail thighs, you’ll have to your own math.

TFH uses their own famous denim and it’s easy to love. Here’s the description of them from the redoubtable retailer Franklin & Poe who are really swell at all they do.

Thus:

The Flat Head Pioneer 3XXX jeans are a 14.5oz denim woven on old shuttle looms. This denim is full of character and famous for its fast, high contrast, vertical fading. Even the pockets are designed to age uniquely, as they are specially double stitched - first with a poly-cotton thread for strength, then with a cotton thread that will shrink, leading to puckering that helps with the fading. This denim is unsanforized and will shrink up to 1.5" in the waist and 3" in the inseam after the first soak. After some wear the waist will stretch back out approximately 1".

The 3005 denim is a straight fit, with a medium/high rise and a slight taper below the knee. This fit gives you ample room for mobility and to fit those engineer boots underneath.

That below the knee taper is much like the Iron Heart 1955, not much to speak of in a good way, just a very gentle diminishment from the knee. The rise numbers are medium, nothing really like “high” but I take their point in comparison to most selvedge, because we have to call most “low” (under 12” in medium sizes). The 14.5oz fabric after washing is soft, breathable, good even for summer days. I don’t much care for the drape or the feel of denim under 14oz—-you might as well wear lighter chinos or linen. Commercial jeans at 12oz feel downright weird to me.

There’s all that character in the 3005s that F&P mentions in their copy and the brilliance in contrast fading is my favorite of all brands, even in comparison with the wondrous heavyweight Iron Heart. I focus on fit and construction over denim character. Once you arrive at this level of quality, it’s all a matter of what you prefer—-all of it is superb. This 3005 character doesn’t detract from an easy on the eyes look. Sometimes you don’t want your jeans to be too much the statement.

I have three pairs of TFH 3005 purchased over more than a decade. My fit aim is a 34 inch waist after shrinkage and hung dry. I purchased first a 36 inch waist, there being only even sizes, and was wary that the 34 would come in too tight. I was right. The original size on the 34 tag was 35, on 36 tag it was 37, and the 38 tag came as 38.25. (Kudos to F&P, their published numbers hit my tape perfectly.) I first bought the 36, again aiming for a 34 conclusion. My last pair are 38 tag, which proved a better choice to reach a 34” waist conclusion.

I refuse to go through the soaking in the bathtub routine. Denim care isn’t alchemy except that its as unreliable even when done “right.”
These are jeans, they were originally made for work and wear and a hard life. I don’t live a hard life except inside my head.

My method is to first-wash them HOT on a NO SPIN cycle inside out. The no spin will prevent the dreaded streaking. I’ve no experience with how they’d turn out if the first shrink wash included a spin but I’ve seen bad results (yes, streaking).

I love to take care of my stuff but I refuse to get crazier than I already am. Hot wash no spin, then hang to dry but once dry, I take the jeans and run them on a NO HEAT cycle with two fabric softener sheets for about 15 minutes.

The outcome takes out the cardboard dry feel and, as far as I can tell, has no effect on the color or fabric. This may obviate the possibility of “killer fades” but I don’t care about those either. All subsequent washes are COLD, hang dry, and after they’ve worn some, I forego the cold dryer with fabric sheet routine. Getting out the very last shrink on TFH 3005 took only two washes after many wears. Wash your jeans when they’re dirty, don’t be gross, okay?

I use the same shrink-to-fit routine every time, so the Ooe’s were first washed hot, no spin, hung dry, tossed inside out with a few sheets on a short no heat dryer cycle. After this initial shrink, cold washes, dry hanging, wear. Trust me on this, it works. You gots to gets the shrink out for long term peace of mind.

Result on TFH 3005:
34 tag (35) went to 33, 36 tag to 33.5, 38 tag to 34 inches. In every case the predicted 1.5” shrink was closer to 2”. Is this the result of the hot wash/no spin? They did open up with wear but I’d say less than 1”, much depending on the waist stress and how many times you wear between washes. I did indeed get 3” of shrinkage in the length and about 1” in the thighs, no appreciable shrinkage at the hem.

The Ooe Yofukuten is another story. Waaaay more shrinkage overall. Ooe choses more vintage style denims and no two that I own are the same. Let’s just focus on this last pair.

Here’s the Standard & Strange copy and I’d say every bit of it is spot on, especially in sizing advice (as usual, S&S is worth their weight in gold with sizing al’round.)

These are Ooe's S03XX Fit - they're a high rise, wide straight leg with essentially no taper at all, inspired by WWII-era jeans from the 1940s. They've got a classic five pocket configuration, with a custom Ooe-branded-button fly and copper rivet reinforcements. These feature fewer "surplus" details than previous runs, with standard off-white twill pocket bags, rather than the olive HBT used last time.

They're made from Ooe's XX4 denim - the product of years upon years of research, it's are a 13.5oz, 100% cotton, 7x7 selvedge denim with a white ID and indigo dye. Woven at a small mill nearby to Ooe in Japan, it's produced on vintage looms, to Ooe's exact specifications and exclusively for their use. The warp threads are dyed with a green-cast indigo, specifically chosen to age like sample fabrics from the 1940s - with gray weft threads selected for the same purpose. Slightly hairy and surprisingly soft (even while raw) these are a comfortable mid-weight fabric that is expected to develop even, vintage-style fades, and can be worn almost year-round.

These are an unsanforized aka "shrink-to-fit" denim. They will come in by about 10% during the first few washes, depending on the temperature of the water and how the jeans are dried. On average, this shrinkage amounts to approximately ~2 inches in the waist and ~3 inches in the inseam. Be aware that exact post-wash measurements can vary depending on how the denim is washed and dried (temperature and method).

We suggest choosing two sizes larger than your measured waist for the best fit after washing. Wash with cold (for less shrinkage) or warm (for more shrinkage) water and hang dry.

I purchased the 38 tag with the aim of arriving at a 34” waist. The S&S size chart reads:

38 (RAW) 38.2"waist 13.4" front rise 14.6"upper knee 10.2" 10.2" leg opening 36" inseam 38

(Post Wash) 35.4" 12.4" 13.8" 9.6" 9.6" 32.9"

With my HOT wash/no spin the jeans came out a perfect 34” waist. Yep, I got 4 inches of shrink in the waist. I didn’t get as much percentage wise in the rise, thigh, knee or opening numbers. But I did get 4” inches shrink in the length to a spot on 32”.

In the other places the outcome was only a bit smaller than what S&S relates in their Post Wash chart but not much, less than half an inch. S&S says they’re washing either cold or warm, in which case I can guarantee you that you will get more shrinkage with subsequent washes using either cold or warm. My hot wash/no spin takes out 99% of all future shrinkage.

I don’t notice any change in color. They look as dark as they did before the wash. Did I again “ruin” future fades or honeycombs blahblahblah? Matters not to me.

I love the fit of Ooe and their quality in construction is comparable to the incomparable goodness of Iron Heart and Dawson Denim.

I’m not after vintage denim repro jeans that use all the cotton thread and authentic compromises in construction. I mean, they’re cool and I dig that they are out there and admire the makers, particularly Conners, TCB, others after that look. But I wore those kinda’ Wranglers from Sears in the early 1960s and Levis that were still shrink to fit in high school in the ‘70s. I’m long over it but you go and knock yerself out, report back when you can, I’m curious from afar.

What I find in Ooe, TFH, IH, and Dawson in particular is progress: far better construction than what I saw as a kid and better fabrics and wear outcomes. Jeans have never been better at least not in my lifetime. I think the same is true of boots and leather jackets—-stuff really has never been better. Now I just want to wear and wear them ‘cause I am wholly convinced they will outlive me even if few survive our stupit [sic] current politics.

Shrink on, bravely.

P.S. I will repost this with some photos if anyone wants to see the fits.