Care Tips for Denim, Workwear, and Moccasins
A good pair of jeans, work pants, or moccasins should last. How you wash them, dry them, and put them away has more to do with that than almost anything else. At Rocky Mountain Connection in Estes Park, we sell Levi's denim, Dickies workwear, and Minnetonka moccasins that people wear hard. Here is how we tell customers to take care of them so the fabric, the color, and the fit hold up.
Always check the care label on the garment you actually bought. The notes below follow what we publish on our own product pages, plus a few habits that help most cotton denim, work twill, and suede.
Washing and drying Levi's denim
Wash jeans less often than you think. Dirt and stains are a reason to wash; a regular day of wear usually is not. Turning jeans inside out, washing them in cold water with like colors, and skipping bleach will spare the indigo and the stitching. On our Levi's 501 Original Fit page we recommend washing about every ten wears if you want the denim to last, then tumble drying on medium. No bleach.
If you want jeans to keep their shape, do not bake them on high heat or leave them in a heap while they are wet. Shake them out, straighten the waistband and legs, and dry them promptly. A short tumble and a finish on a hanger is easier on the fit than a long, hot cycle.
Shrink-to-Fit 501s are the exception. They are unsanforized denim, and they are supposed to shrink when you wash them. Follow the sizing and wash steps on the Shrink-to-Fit 501 product page so you end up with the waist and inseam you intended.
Dickies work pants, bibs, and coveralls
Dickies workwear is built to be washed, not babied. The Dickies 874 Original Work Pant is a polyester-cotton twill with a no-iron finish, stain release, and a permanent crease. The flannel-lined work pant adds a warm lining and is labeled machine wash and tumble dry, with the same easy-care finish. Dickies coveralls can be machine washed warm with like colors and tumble dried on low; a medium iron is fine if you need it.
A few habits still help. Empty the pockets, close zippers or snaps, and wash work clothes with other work clothes so heavy soil does not grind into a nicer pair of jeans in the same load. If you want the crease and the fit to stay sharp, skip high heat and pull the pants out when they are just dry. High heat is hard on linings, elastic, and a pressed crease.
Rigid denim Dickies bib overalls will feel stiffer at first than a stonewashed pair. Wash them inside out and give them time to break in. They do not need a special ritual, but they also do not need a scalding dryer cycle.
Minnetonka moccasins and suede
Suede and leather moccasins do not go in the washing machine. That includes favorites such as the Women's Thunderbird Soft Sole, handmade from suede or smooth leather, and the Women's Kilty Soft Sole, a suede moc with a fringe and lace. On the Kilty page we recommend a suede protector to help the nap stay even. Apply it when the shoes are clean and dry, and reapply now and then, especially if they see winter salt or slush.
If a moccasin gets wet, stuff it lightly with plain paper, keep it away from a radiator or hot vent, and let it dry at room temperature. A suede brush will lift the nap once the leather is dry. Soft-sole styles are recommended for indoor use; hard-sole and pile-lined pairs can handle more around-the-house wear, but they are still leather, not sneakers.
Take care of the clothes you already love, then come see what else we have. Shop our Levi's collection, our Dickies workwear, and our Minnetonka moccasins, or go straight to the 874 work pant and the Kilty Soft Sole. Questions about a fabric or a wash? Call us at 1-800-679-3600. We ship from Estes Park, Colorado.