#211 Zimbabwe Loomstate

This is the first Zimbabwe Loomstate selvedge denim we have ever run at Gustin. It comes from one of the finest mills in Japan and combines two things any lover of denim honors: the best cotton in the world and old-world craft. Loomstate is the way denim was first made. It’s fabric right off the loom with absolutely zero treatment. It’s unwashed, unsinged, unskewed and unsanforized. Pure denim. Most mills will not even sell Loomstate. If they do, it’s buyer beware, you buy it you own it. They don’t like the unpredictability of a totally untreated fabric. Despite all this, there is something very special about the untamed nature of Loomstate denim. Zimbabwe cotton is widely considered the finest made. It's long staple gives fabric strength and a luxurious feel. You find it in the best denim in the world. Our Zimbabwe Loomstate has it all.

This selvedge has a look and feel we love. The shade is a rich, deep, pure indigo. No tints, just the beauty of indigo dye left alone. A crisp white weft shows through to provide contrast. The texture is superb without being over the top. There is a lot of slubiness in both warp and weft yarns that exposes cool bulges in the fabric surface and nice vertical grain. All this will add up to great wear-in. There is a slight fuzziness on the fabric surface that adds character, just as you'd expect from an unsinged fabric. The weave is dense and at 16 ounces this style has great body. The overall feel is grainy and substantial, but pliable enough to be wearable. An unusual copper selvedge ID finishes it off. The name really says it all. This is ultra rare and beautiful denim for those who appreciate true vintage fabric.

Loomstate is an investment. It’s beyond your typical raw denim break-in. We recommend sizing 2 to 3 up compared to your standard Gustin size. I wear a 31, so I would likely go for a 33 because I have a bit of room in my 31’s. You can influence how much your pair shrinks by how you wash it. We recommend cold soaking in the tub followed by a hang dry. This method will get you about two sizes of shrink and your Gustin Zimbabwe Loomstates will be super stiff at this point. You’ll probably be tempted to stand it up on its own and it might actually work. Throw them on and enjoy the break-in process! This is one of the greatest feeling fabrics we’ve ever tried on.

The shrinkage, along with the fact that this unique fabric is sewing about a size smaller than our regular denims, leads us to recommend that you order these in two or three sizes larger than you would normally in Gustin. To accommodate for the inseam shrinkage, we'll be doing a 36" inseam for sizes up to 33, and 38" in sizes 34 and above.

Given that this is such a unique and experimental fabric that will require soaking/washing before the first wear, we will not be able to take any returns or exchanges of the Zimbabwe Loomstate for any reason.