牛仔褲的保養祕訣:儘可能少洗

查拉(Carl Chiara)是美國利惠公司(Levi Strauss & Co.)品牌理念及特別項目主管。越來越多愛穿牛仔褲的人認爲，牛仔褲應該儘可能少洗，查拉就是其中一員。牛仔布有很好的塑型作用，但如果洗得太多，就會失去那種特有的型。

Carl Chiara, director of brand concepts and special projects for Levi Strauss & Co., is among the growing number of jeans enthusiasts who believe in washing them as little as possible.

Mr. Chiara, who says he wears jeans every day in both work and social situations, believes that "the less people wash their jeans, the better their jeans become. Denim really does shape to people's bodies, and when you wash a jean you lose some of that shape."

He doesn't like to put his jeans in a washing machine because agitating the denim makes the fibers on the cotton fabric swell and 'bloom.' That in turn causes the yarns to tense up and actually get shorter, shrinking the jeans. This also mars the "open" look of the denim, Mr. Chiara says. The color may fade or change as well.

He also avoids heat-using hot water on his jeans or throwing them in a dryer-to protect the quality of the jean, he says.

So does he dry clean his jeans? No, because he doesn't like them coming back stiff-and perhaps with a center crease if they get pressed like trousers. 'The jeans should take on your personal day-to-day life and look like you,' he says. For example, his own jeans bear the weathered marks of his keys, which he keeps in his front pocket, and his bag, which tends to rub against his upper thigh.

This is not to say that Mr. Chiara doesn't ever clean the 15 pairs of jeans that he owns. He gently spot-cleans spills with a damp sponge and 'whatever is under the kitchen sink-usually Windex or 409.'

At the end of each day, he hangs his jeans on a hook in his bathroom. When he takes a shower, the steam 'freshens [the jeans] up a little bit,' he says. He prefers hanging jeans by a belt loop to preserve their shape.

After six months of wearing a pair of jeans, Mr. Chiara does a comprehensive cleaning; his method could also be used by those who like to wash their jeans more often. Usually, he fills a bathtub to about six inches with room-temperature water and adds two tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's Magic Liquid Soap, which he likes because it is mild. Then, he immerses the jeans in the tub, laying them flat.

Sometimes, with dark jeans, he'll add 1/8 cup of white vinegar to the water. 'The vinegar sets the indigo and keeps it from fading,' he says.

Mr. Chiara is careful not to scrub the jeans or move them around vigorously. He just lets them soak for 20 minutes before hanging them by the belt loops to drip dry. While letting the jeans air-dry, he may slip a 'woodsy' scented sachet of potpourri into the jeans as he lays them flat.

If it's sunny out, Mr. Chiara sometimes likes to wear the jeans when they're 'almost completely dry' and sit in the sun. 'This final phase of drying them out on my body helps the jeans take on my shape,' he says.

查拉是美國利惠公司品牌理念及特別項目主管查拉說，他上班和休閒的時候都穿牛仔褲，他覺得牛仔褲洗得越少，感覺就越好。牛仔布有很好的塑型作用，但如果洗得太多，就會失去那種特有的型。

他不喜歡把牛仔褲放進洗衣機裏洗，因爲洗衣機攪動牛仔布時，棉纖維吸收水分後膨脹，導致棉紗變緊縮短，牛仔褲就會縮水。查拉說，這也會破壞牛仔褲那種自然放鬆的感覺，還會導致褪色或變色。

查拉說，他不用熱水洗牛仔褲，不會把它放進烘乾機，目的是保護牛仔褲的品相。

那他乾洗自己的牛仔褲嗎？答案是否定的，因爲他不喜歡牛仔褲乾洗後那種硬梆梆的感覺，以及熨過後留下的褲縫線。他說，牛仔褲每日與你相伴，應該帶有你自己的風格。。舉例而言，他的牛仔褲前兜有鑰匙長期摩擦留下的痕跡，大腿部位則有揹包摩擦留下的痕跡。

這並不是說，查拉從來不洗自己的15條牛仔褲。他會用溼海綿，沾上廚房裏隨手找到的去污劑，一般是Windex或409洗滌劑，輕輕擦拭牛仔褲上的污漬。

一天的事情做完後，查拉要把牛仔褲掛在浴室的鉤子上，他說洗澡時的水蒸汽能讓牛仔褲振作起來。他喜歡拿鉤子勾住皮帶環，以保持好褲形。

一條牛仔褲穿了六個月後，查拉會做一次徹底的清洗。那些經常清洗牛仔褲的人也可以借鑑這種清洗方式。通常而言，他會在浴缸裏放上半缸常溫的水，加入兩勺布朗博士魔力洗衣液(Dr. Bronner's Magic Liquid Soap)，因爲他喜歡這種洗衣液的柔和。然後，他把褲子浸入浴缸，平展鋪開。

有時候，如果牛仔褲顏色比較深，他會在水裏多加1/8杯的白醋。他說，醋可以使靛藍變穩定，防止牛仔褲褪色。

查拉很小心地不去搓揉牛仔褲，也不用力攪拌，只是泡上20分鐘，然後勾住皮帶環把褲子掛起來瀝乾。在讓牛仔褲自然晾乾的過程中，他可能會在褲子裏塞一個具有森林氣息的乾花香包。

如果外頭陽光明媚，查拉有時喜歡穿上快要乾的牛仔褲，坐在太陽底下。他說，讓牛仔褲在我身上完成最後的晾乾過程，能讓褲子更貼身。