On Wearing The Same Jeans for 6 Months

The truth is... I really didn't know what I was in for.

I love a good experiment, so when Blue Seven challenged me to wear the same pair of raw denim jeans for 6 months they didn't have to twist my arm to do it. I enthusiastically volunteered. And just to be clear ... I'm not being paid to do this. I suppose I just really liked the idea of streamlining my wardrobe. I've been toying with the idea of having a uniform in order to make less (mundane) choices so I can save my brain power for more life-changing-world-rocking decisions.

Two days into the challenge I noticed that the front pockets on my denim kept coming up out of the pocket hole. It wasn't until 6 weeks later I had my mom sew them down – something I should have done much sooner. Those little annoyances can really add up. And four weeks in I unexpectedly started my period wearing these jeans – I've never dashed for a bathroom faster. A blood stain in a pair of jeans you can't wash for 6 months is not cool. Over Christmas break I was playing Cards Against Humanity with my family and laughed so hard I almost peed myself. Again. You don't want to have any bodily liquid accidents in raw denim you've committed to wearing everyday and not washing for 6 months.

I just never thought it all the way through. But I'm glad I'm doing it. There's nothing cooler than making new friends at the coffee shop when you see someone else sporting the Clean Start leather badge on their jeans (not pictured - but we got this leather belt loop with the clean start logo on it). There's solidarity and community in it. I also love the simplicity of not thinking about what I'm going to wear every single day. It makes me want to trim my wardrobe even further. We can do so much more with less.

I've now been rocking these jeans for 3 months. Half-way there. I'm surprised at how well the jeans are holding their shape. In some ways I wish I was getting more signs of wear and tear – but I still have 3 more months to go.

Here are some other looks from the 2 month shoot that I'm digging:

Sara, Matt, and Stella are the cutest little family. They own a little grocery store & deli downtown that is dedicated to locally-sourced produce and they have the most amazing spice bar ever. I'm there so often, I should probably apply for a part-time job. We even did a creative entrepreneur feature on them as the modern day mom and pop business over at Braid. Check that out here.


I don't know Matt but I love how he's rocking the paint. I can't wait to see how his raw denim evolves over the next few months. He inspires me to live a little more in my own jeans.


For not really knowing him that well, Ben is one of my favorite people. He works in the denim department at Blue Seven and just knows his stuff. He tweets to me when a new pair of jeans comes in that he thinks I'll like. And when I do go in he remembers my size (but not in a creepy way). He's super friendly and has a great eye for style.  He also keeps Jeremy company when I'm trying on my 30th pair of jeans.


You might recognize Jacob as the boy model from the photo shoot we modeled in together for Shop Good. He is notoriously good at breaking in raw denim. I like to imagine him rolling down grassy hills on the daily in order to get them beat up like that.

For more shots from the Blue Seven Clean Start Project check out the rest of the photos here.