Grading a used denim jacket
Grading a used denim jacket comes down to structure and honest fading. Denim is durable, so the grade usually turns on stress points — the inseams of the arms, the button placket, and the pocket corners — plus telling intentional wash and whiskering apart from wear the maker never intended.
What to check
- Stress points: cuff plackets, pocket corners, and the button-fly/placket
- Fading — intentional wash vs. incidental sun fading on shoulders
- Hardware: buttons, rivets, and the main snap or button function
- Hem and cuff fraying beyond the designed finish
How to grade it, step by step
- 1
Check the structure first
Inspect the placket, cuffs, and pocket corners for stress, thread pulls, or splits. Denim rarely pills, so structural soundness leads the grade.
- 2
Read the fading honestly
Decide whether fading and whiskering are the garment's intended wash or incidental sun fading. As-made distressing isn't penalized; sun fading is.
- 3
Test the hardware
Work every button, rivet, and snap. A seized or missing metal shank button is a functional-elements hit that caps the grade.
- 4
Photograph the checklist
Shoot the front, back, both cuffs, the placket, and any flaw close-up with a scale reference, so the grade is verifiable.
Graded examples
| Grade | Why |
|---|---|
| 9 (NWOT) | Unworn, tags removed, crisp indigo with no wear at any stress point. |
| 7 (Very Good) | Light honest wear, minor fraying at one cuff, all hardware works. |
| 4 (Poor) | Blown-out underarm seam and a missing shank button — a repair project. |
Every grade sits on the GradeThread 1.0–10.0 scale.
Flaws to watch on this garment
Frequently asked
- Does distressed denim get a lower grade?
- Not for the distressing itself. A denim jacket is graded against its intended, as-made state, so factory whiskering and fading aren't penalized. It loses points only for wear or damage on top of the design — a torn pocket, a blown seam, or incidental sun fading.
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