Dark Wash

Dark wash keeps most of the loom-state indigo, taking only a brief rinse to soften the cloth and fix loose dye. The color sits between deep navy and blue-black with little pre-fading. Raw denim, sold entirely unwashed, is the extreme end of the same shade and shrinks and bleeds more than a rinsed dark wash does.

Formality is the payoff. An even dark jean reads closest to a trouser, holds its own under a blazer, and passes at dinners and offices where lighter denim will not. The depth is also a canvas. Dark washes fade where you wear them, at thigh, knee and seat. That means the first year of fading is really yours rather than a factory's. Crocking, the trade term for dye rubbing off dry, is a common drawback. A new dark pair can blue a white sneaker or a pale car seat in one wearing.

Maintenance is the price of the depth. Every hot wash pulls indigo, so turn the pair inside out, wash cold, and hang dry to slow the slide toward medium. Expect the color to lighten anyway across 2 to 3 years of normal laundering; the shade you buy is the darkest that pair will ever be. Inspect the fading before you buy, because factory whiskering, the pre-faded crease lines at the hip, cheapens the dressy read.