Aspect of Quality
Only
a consumer who wears the same can judge quality of jeans. A consumer
normally buys a bundle of physical and psychological features. This guide
shall restrict the discussion to the physical parameters. Physical
parameters include:
Fabric
Accessories
Fit
Stitching Workmanship
Others
We
shall analyze each component, briefly.
Fabric
Normally, garments use Indigo denim fabric with minimum weight 14.5 ounce
per square yard for men's jeans and minimum weight of 12.5 ounce per square
yard for Ladies Jeans. Fabric should have following properties.
Strength: Jeans should not tear off, in regular stress situations.
- Each
individual customer may have different preference for shade, depth of
shade blue / white contrast (or contrast between colors), grains
(small white spots on blue fabric), type, size and density of grains.
A jeans which is dyed in ecru fabric (not indigo blue), shall not give
good "grainy look”, which is essential for any jeans
(except black, where deep dark shade of black without "grains
look" is well accepted).
- Minimum
(ideally nil) amount of indigo blue dye should get deposited, on the
backside of fabric, i.e. inner side of jeans. A visual inspection of
the inside white pocketing fabric would be a clear indicator.
- A jeans
trouser should not have "white streaks" in the fabric.
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- When jeans
are exposed to ultraviolet rays for a long time, it creates crease
marks (at folding joints) and makes jeans "Yellowish"
out of lighter shade of blue. Good jeans shall have the quality to
avoid crease marks and yellowing.
- Good indigo
blue jeans should result into newness after each home laundry wash. A
real test for quality shall be to compare the performance of two
jeans, after 25-30 home laundry washes.
- There is a
small segment of consumers who prefer totally "Used jeans
lool."
- Good jeans
shall have very sharp twill line.
- It is
expected that jeans should have good degree of puckering effect at all
the parallel stitches.
- There
should not be any patches of darker shade on the surface of garment.
Generally most of the colors except blue are dyed in a garments form.
Sometimes, an Ecru shade fabric is used for over dyeing. Ecru fabric
tends to give patches, if not dyed properly.
- Different
classes of dyes are used, when jeans is dyed in garments form. An
indigo blue fades on very high wet rubbing and dye (color) should
bleed very fast. A simple test for the same could be to take wet
fabric and rub white paper or fabric on the same for one minute. A
jean with lower rubbing fastness will bleed more color on white paper
or fabric.
- Good black
jeans should not have shinning marks of ironing.
- Good jeans
should not have any fabric defect, as illustrated, in the following
photographs.
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- Good jeans
should be comfortable to wear for a user. i.e. a jean for summer has
to be softer, in terms of feel. Softness could be there on surface of
fabric or up to the inside cotton fiber of fabric. Softness should be
provided with bulkiness to the fabric, without making it limpy.
Softness can be given through the fabric (which shall have long life)
or through chemicals (which shall have limited life in terms of number
of home laundry wash).
- Good jeans
should not have hairiness or any other types of impurities, on the
surface of the fabric.
- Jeans with
ordinary fabric lose shape at critical points like kneel, very fast
whereas a jeans with stronger fabric will maintain the shape for long
time.
- Indigo blue
fabric is available in different shades of blue. All parts of one
jeans including front and back, should be of same shade, as per the
following paragraph.
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