Kiya Babzani wants men to stop overthinking their jeans. "It's so simple, and we made it so complicated," he says, referring to the sort of confusion that often accompanies the purchase of raw denim. "The Internet has created this thing that raw denim is complicated and difficult and uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be any of those things."

We're chatting because just last week, in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, Babzani opened up the most recent outpost of Self Edge, the denim-centric store he founded a nearly a decade ago. It's the first Self Edge shop outside of the States, and it brought with it its own set of challenges.

"We thought it would cost us less to open a store in Mexico; we were wrong," he says, laughing. Still, it seemed a natural move. Babzani and his wife had been visiting the region for some time, and even bought a house there. Why not, he figured, open a store as well? "We fall in love with a place and we want to open a store there. Business-wise, it's probably a bad idea." Nevertheless, it's worked thus far. He's got locations in San Francisco, Portland, L.A., and New York, in addition to this new one south of the border.

Inside Self Edge Mexico. Bernardo Arce

It's not a carbon copy of its northern brothers, though. "We thought this would be a good chance for us to do something creative and a little bit different," says Babzani. Located on Flora Farm—a 10-acre foodie destination that's home to not only an organic farm, but a restaurant, bar, and a few select retail outlets—Self Edge Mexico is something of a concept shop, full of patterned shirts, swimwear, shorts, and other vacation essentials, most of which come from the same Japanese brands that meticulously craft the high-end denim for which Self Edge is known.

Which brings us back to the jeans. The shop in Mexico carries those, too—a couple styles from each brand Babzani stocks. And if the lessons he's learned from interacting with customers in his U.S. locations and online have taught him anything, it's that the guys buying them tend to be more than a little confused.

Sizing, soaking, wearing, washing… each part of the denim-buying process has become a possible point of consternation. And the fact that Self Edge specializes in unsanforized, shrink-to-fit denim—which has much more character and ages more gracefully, according to Babzani—makes it even tougher for some guys to wrap their heads around.

But it shouldn't be. "It's so simple, and we made it so complicated," Babzani explains. "If [the denim is] sanforized, you get 'em to fit. If it's unsanforized, you make sure you have an extra inch of room in the waist [to allow for shrinkage]. That's the general rule, and it applies to almost every single thing we sell."

It's all about the texture. Unsanforized denim, close up. Courtesy: Self Edge

Next, you give them a soak if they're unsanforized. They'll shrink down to size. And then? Wear your jeans. Simple as that. "With unsanforized denim, once you soak it, you can wear it just like a sanforized jean."

When they get dirty, wash them. In a washing machine. Really? "Yeah, wash 'em in the washing machine," Babzani says with a laugh. Jeans are tough, he explains. If your shirt and boxers aren't getting destroyed, your precious denim will be just fine. Then, hang them to dry.

And don't worry about waiting months or years to do it. For one, the dirt will break down the fibers and cause early-onset tearing. And for another, with unsanforized denim, you'll get that defined fading you're looking for, even if you wash regularly. "You can wash your jeans every month and still get a better fade pattern [than with sanforized denim]," Babzani says.

"It ages in a graceful way. You may not be able to tell why you spent $300 on that pair of jeans the day you bought it, but six months down the road, you definitely know why. And as time goes on, you understand why you spent that money."

So that's it? That's it. "Buy the right size—don't size down—and wash your pants. It's very simple."

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Jonathan Evans Jonathan Evans is the style director of Esquire, covering all things fashion, grooming, accessories, and, of course, sneakers.

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