Fade Friday — Chimala Unisex Deep Rise Selvedge Denim (47 Months, ~10 washes, 0 Soaks)

This week’s Fade Friday is a special one. That’s because these jeans, a pair of Chimala Unisex Deep Rise Selvedge Denim Jeans, come from deep within the inner selvedge sanctum of Heddels itself, from yours truly.

I’ve been with Heddels for over five years and while these jeans haven’t been with me for that entire time, they’ve been with me through most of it. When I first started working at Unionmade’s flagship store in San Francisco (RIP), these jeans were one of my very first employee purchases. That was back in December of 2015 when we were still Rawr Denim (shoutout). Since then, the site has changed its name to Heddels, Unionmade has closed down, I moved to New York, and I turned 30 years old.

Most of the wear has come from either slinging jeans on the sales floor or ingesting caffeine keyboardside at countless cafés, working on the site. The whiskers and honeycombs were more legible at one point but have graduated into the next level of fades where they become blurrier with each wash. Thanks to the carelessness of my former boss at Unionmade, a dripping paint can left in a high-traffic area of the sales floor stained the back of the knees of these jeans as well as the sweatshirt of my former coworker. Double kill. The copper rivets show signs of verdigris from oxidation. The belt loop at the right hip is shredded from my Hollows Leather Key Rein. Mirroring holes at the inside of the knees remind me that I’m knock-knee’d.

Perhaps my favorite detail is the hem. An early DIY decision led me to take a pair of scissors to the hem, fray and all, before settling into a single cuff. Foolish. After some time, I undid the cuff realizing that I’d gone too short, but not before the damage had been done. I saw it as a mistake at first but loved how the decision turned out.

All in all, they’ve been through two crotch repairs via Self Edge, a very good waist alteration via Raggedy Threads, and around ten washes and still have so much life left to give.

Did I plan this Fade Friday? Of course. I’m the managing editor. Don’t worry, though, I am exempt from a winning a bottle of our Heddels Denim Wash.

But life goes on and so must I. My time here at Heddels has come to an end but these jeans will continue to fade. I’ve made a lot of friends through the site, many while wearing these jeans, and I’m eternally grateful for every one. Thank you for taking the time, thank you to everyone who’s read the site, supported us, and me.

Chimala Unisex Deep Rise Selvedge Denim

  • Fabric: Rinsed selvedge indigo-dyed denim
  • Fabric weight: 13.5oz.
  • Fabric source: Japan
  • Made in: Japan
  • Fit: Regular
  • Additional Details:
    • Filled belt loops
    • Flat copper rivets
  • No longer available.