I was able to soak my jeans over the weekend. I soaked it in cold water to minimize shrinkage. There was some shrinkage all around. Once dried, they were a bit tight and stiff. After about 5-10 minutes of wear, they were comfortable once again.
Some pictures for reference. The top is pre-soak. The bottom is post-soak. I’ll get some fit pics up soon.
Approaching one year since I got these jeans. I’ve worn them for the majority of time since I received them. No washes, no soaks. There’s some nice fades coming in. No signs of crotch blowout yet. There’s a hole on my left knee from constantly being on the ground and playing with my son. It’s about the size of a US half dollar. I’ll need to get that patched sooner than later.
I’ll be giving them their first soak at the one-year mark. Excited to see if there will be any changes.
Just wanted to post an update on my 526J-SLBod. I gave it a soak yesterday after putting it through some heavy wear. Interestingly enough, the fades toned down after the soak, and aren’t as contrasting. It’s a completely different effect compared to my 888S-21ib. Could that be an effect of the OD? I’m really enjoying the different effects of different denims.
Pre-soak photos on top; post-soak on the bottom.
I received my 888-XHSib yesterday. Put them in a hot soak immediately for about two hours. Dried them overnight. And now they’re good to go. I know there are countless comments about the buttons. I thought it was just a bit of an over exaggeration, but these buttons are stiff! My thumbs are a bit banged up, but these are definitely gonna be fun to break in though. Obligatory photo of them standing on their own, along with some fit pics and comparison with my one-year 888S-ib.
Another quick update on these. I’ve been continuing to wear them pretty much every day. I play with my toddler quite often so the knees are showing the most wear.
Those whiskers are coming along nicely and quickly! You should change your name to WhiskerSandwich.
Looks like the creases are set with some very minor fading.
Been wearing these pretty much every day since I got them. The waist has stretched out to a comfortable size and the denim has only gotten softer since the first wear. I was very surprised with how quickly these are fading. I’m seeing some electric blues pop up in some high-wear areas. These are gonna be fun to fade. 
Been wearing this every day since I got it. 
The slub looks great in natural light!
@Heavy_blue thanks! I appreciate that. The slub pops in the sunlight!
@Heavy_blue that’s good to know. I’ve always been a fan of high contrast fades, but I’m really enjoying the progress of this piece.
Just wanted to post an update on my 526J-SLBod. I gave it a soak yesterday after putting it through some heavy wear. Interestingly enough, the fades toned down after the soak, and aren’t as contrasting. It’s a completely different effect compared to my 888S-21ib. Could that be an effect of the OD? I’m really enjoying the different effects of different denims.
Pre-soak photos on top; post-soak on the bottom.
@Alex ah damn. Well in that case, what are the chances of you having a size 31 laying around? 
@Oaktavia those look great! What are the chances of this denim coming back?
@ombre thanks! A comparison is the goal. I’ll try to post occasionally on the progress for these. Now I’m torn between sending the 888S-ib to Iron Heart for repair or do sashiko type repairs (looking for recommendations).
@WhiskeySandwich I definitely recommend it. The XHS is so much stiffer than the 21 oz. The 888S-ib was comfortable right from the beginning. These are gonna take a little bit more to break in. I do notice that they’re very slightly more fitted than the 888S-ib, which I prefer.
I received my 888-XHSib yesterday. Put them in a hot soak immediately for about two hours. Dried them overnight. And now they’re good to go. I know there are countless comments about the buttons. I thought it was just a bit of an over exaggeration, but these buttons are stiff! My thumbs are a bit banged up, but these are definitely gonna be fun to break in though. Obligatory photo of them standing on their own, along with some fit pics and comparison with my one-year 888S-ib.
@AdamJ thank you! Order placed.
I’m not seeing a link. Is it available yet?
