Tips For Choosing Denim Items For Your Clothing Boutique

Not everything that is listed as denim is really denim. When looking to add denim items to your clothing boutique, the key is balancing quality and cost. This may mean shunning the expensive high-end designers and opting for quality, but lesser-known brands from the USA. Learning to spot quality denim will ensure you get the best price for the highest quality clothing, which will then provide more value to your customers.

Denim Versus Imposters

There are plenty of denim imposters out there. While these fabrics look like "blue jeans," they aren't typically denim. Denim is made of pure cotton fibers that are woven in a specific manner that makes these fibers have a bit of natural stretch and a lot of durability. Although other fibers can be woven in this same manner, they aren't true denim if they aren't cotton.

Real Denim Fades

The threads are also known as warp or weft, depending on which part of the weave they are. Denim generally only has the warp threads dyed. This means the interior of most denim items are white, or at least much lighter colored. The dyed warp threads primarily show on the outside of the garment. This dying process is what allows denim to develop its wear patterns that are unique to the wearer. Keep in mind that some denim products are dyed on both the warp and weft, though, so this is not a foolproof way to tell real or quality denim. It is only a good way to tell if a product will develop the faded denim look that many customers crave.

Raw Denim

Raw denim is a major draw for some fashion lovers. This is because this denim has not been washed after the dying process. Fans of raw denim tend to wear their new denim items for many months without washing. This results in a fully unique wear pattern when they do finally wash the denim. Raw denim can often fetch higher prices since it is considered a customizable item. The opposite of raw is the artificially distressed denim available. This denim has been washed and then distressed in areas of normal wear by the manufacturer, so it looks broken in but the pattern is not unique to the wearer. These products appeal to those that don't want to take their time breaking in a pair of jeans.

Denim Feel

Since denim is a pure cotton product, it should feel soft to the touch. Thicker fibers will result in a stiffer fabric, but it should still feel soft when you brush your fingertips over the surface. Raw denim is not necessarily soft, though, since it is stiffer from the remaining dye in the unwashed fibers. Otherwise, denim that feels overly rough is likely not very high quality, or it may have other man-made fibers mixed in with the cotton. Look for jeans made in America or jeans that have labels with claims of "natural denim" to find true denim jeans for your boutique. 

 

 

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