These are the jeans that made Levi-Strauss famous. Arriving stiff and a deep indigo colour when new, these may take weeks or months to get broken in, at which point they will fit like a second skin and be faded to a mellow lighter blue.

Why shrink to fit?

When purchasing jeans, leave the acid, stone, and other artificial washes to the good people of Eastern Europe.

The best method of 'breaking-in' jeans remains the same: buy them with a snug fit, wear them new, jump into a hot tub or bath. Then go for a swim and allow them to dry-on, for a personal fit.

The concept of wearing jeans in water dates back to their very beginning and continues today. Levi's were originally produced in only three sizes, and the wearer would jump into a body of water like a creek, a pond, or a horse trough, to shrink them to fit as snug as a glove. Today, jeans are available in a variety of styles, from tight to loose fit, and are sold either pre-washed or shrink-to-fit and rigid.

Shrink To Fit Tanks

Levi Strauss has shrink tanks in some of their stores, allowing the customers to purchase a pair of jeans and submerge in a tank of water while their new jeans shrink. Then they stand in front of a "human dryer" so that their jeans will shrink to a personal fit on their body. Hopefully the next generation will be able to appreciate the same joys! The Levi's guys must work on this, instead of producing all these pre-distressed jeans, or it will be lost forever.

How to buy "rigid" shrink to fit jeans

The size on this 501xx label is the size before the jeans have been washed, and identifies them as Shrink to Fit Jeans made of super tough XX denim. Buy your jeans one inch bigger in the waist if you like a snug fit and a couple of inches on the leg, so you can turn them up to suit and allow for further shrinkage during the first few washes. Do not alter the hem of your jeans until the shrinkage process is complete. Expect an overall shrinkage of 10%. See our table for details.

Better Quality

There is a difference between the standard Levis 501s and the 501 Shrink-to-Fit jeans. The Shrink-to-Fit jeans have the best denim and are just the most hardcore jeans you can buy. They may take up to a year to break in.

While you may agree with some of the comments regarding the variable and often lower quality of the Levi's 501 jeans manufactured outside of the United States, by and large the same negatives do not apply to the shrink-to-fit 501's. These are still made from the original indigo-dyed rigid denim manufactured Cone mills in North Carolina, and are still of good quality.

Button Fly

The two good things about Levis 501s is the weight of the denim and the button fly instead of a zipper fly. The advantage of the button fly is it does not jam or get stuck from mud and sand. The 14 1/2 ounce denim is the maximum thickness that is flexable enough to cling when wet. Any heavier, the denim will not cling when wet.

Remove the Back Pockets

Something you can also do is take the back pockets off. Just undo the stitching before you shrink them.

In the bath some of the dye comes off, so it looks like there were no back pockets.

Now we come to the fun part. Wear your jeans in the bath and let them dry on you. To get a perfect fit the jeans need to shrink to your size, no further.

First Time

The first soaking of your jeans should be done in a good hot bath, as hot as you can stand it. Simply get into the bath and enjoy that lovely smell of new wet denim. Don't tuck in any other clothes or wear anything inside your jeans.

The water and anything else you wear turns blue after a while as the indigo colour is likely to run. Avoid soap as this causes the indigo colour to pale.

Soak your jeans in the water for at least ten minutes while you stand up, sit down, move around gently to prevent any patches occurring from any excess indigo dye. Stay in the bath until the water cools down. When you get out, drain the water away, squat down and squeeze the water out of the fabric.

If possible let the jeans dry naturally while still you're wearing them; this is how you get that perfect fit. The jeans will shape to your body and retain your form for optimum fit. You can almost feel them shrinking on to you.

Alternatively take them off and lay your jeans on a towel to dry, or hang them with clothespins so that no part of the jeans is folded over. Don't put them in the dryer or they may shrink too far and lose your shape.

Subsequent Soakings

Shrinkage of the jeans will occur over the course of the first three soakings, and continues slightly until about the 10th time. Always wash your "shrink-to-fit" jeans while you're still wearing them, at least for the first 3 to 10 times. Remember to let them dry on you, if possible. Soon you'll have the perfect swimming jeans. Enjoy!