They probably did. I dunno how old you are, but when I was a kid/teenager (late 70’s, early 80s), we all wore Levis 501 “shrink to fit” jeans and those are raw denim.
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Merino wool socks are all I’ve worn, summer or winter, since I first discovered them. Cotton is a joke by comparison. You can wear merino socks for a pretty ridiculous amount of time before washing, without discomfort or odor. I was in an REI once and the shoe department guy was telling some merino-curious folks “it may sound a little gross, but I’ve been wearing this pair for two weeks”. Merino is the choice of Sahara endurance racers and Pacific Crest Trail border-to-border hikers. They’re not cheap, but my brand of choice has a lifetime replacement warranty. Wear a pair out, send them back and they ship you a new pair. And of course there are merino wool t-shirts, etc.
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I think I confused raw denim with selvedge denim. I didn’t realize raw just meant unwashed.
Definitely wore Levis 501s, but after they stopped doing selvedge. Also… maybe Wrangler?
I wash my clothes when they are dirty, smelly or needs a wash to regain in shape. Quality raw indigo dyed denim do not need washing esoecially often. Indigo is also a deoderant. When it comes to germs, there is nothing really to fear from whatever sticks to your clothes. Most “Look at all these germs on door handles/escalators/lift buttons!” is nothing but scare mongering.
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I’ve always assumed that the dryer did a lot of the germ killing. But I realize some folks don’t use/have a dryer.
Now let’s get the interior decorators to weigh in on leaving dirty pants laying around. Or do you fold and put your ripe clothes away with clean?
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Clothes hangers work for pants too.
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I refer you to my post above. 
So, as a blacksmith in the Shenandoah summertime, we’re talking 15 minutes, maybe 45 at the most, before the Stink sets in?
I sweat, a lot, when hammering steel for fun and occasional profit, and the clothing I wear can go from straight out of the dryer to sodden and smelling like a skunk that got set on fire in just a couple of hours if its hot and humid and I’ve got the coal forge going.
Sure, its probably still safe to wear, but when I’m done the sweat-soaked, soiled clothes go straight into the washing machine. They’re mostly heavy duty stuff, to keep the heat off, and natural fibers, because plastic is basically frozen gasoline, and it clings to your skin when it burns, and I’ve seen mold grow on it in under a hot and humid 24-hour day before I adopted the “wash it immediately” policy.
But, yeah, the nice wool kilt with the silver braces buttons and the double-lining that only gets worn on special occasions? That gets dry cleaned about once every other year, usually after something gets spilled on it, usually Scotch.
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I am soooo hearing you.
I can’t even get things to the washer fast enough. 100% cotton, soaked with sweat, multiple shirt changes in a single day, and oh man I can’t tolerate any plastic “fiber” clothing when it’s August. I feel like I am roasting alive… in the shade. In the sun it’s way worse.
So yeah I wash my jeans, overalls, coveralls, shirts ASAP. I put some oregano [essential] oil in with the liquid laundry soap to fight the mold and hang dry on the porch, where it is, I promise, dried stiff as a board in less than an hour:
(right now)
ETA: how to, oregano oil
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Sounds like a good idea! Can you use dried oregano? Do you ever just buy the oil online?
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I buy the essential oil (caution: strong! will burn sensitive skin! it’s harsh) at our Austin food co-op.
This is the source with the best price for mail ordering:
I do not recommend dried oregano leaves, unless they are perhaps brewed into a strong tea… but I’d be worried about staining.
A few drops of essential oil in the soap dispenser is plenty.
It zaps a lot of bacteria and fungi. I have seen the difference with and without it in the wash.
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You just reminded me of the house ‘cleaning’ routines of the Edo period artist Hokusai Katsushika (he of ‘Under The Wave Off Kanagawa’ aka ‘The Great Wave’):
Hokusai moved to Obuse when he was 83 and his eccentricities expanded. He worked from dawn to after dusk dedicating his life to art. He started his day with an exorcism which involved painting a Chinese lion on a piece of paper then throwing it out the window to ward off evil spirits. He stopped cleaning and would let his studio fester with dirt and clutter and when it became unbearable, he would simply move, which he was said to have done 93 times.
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I had some cashmere socks that were the bomb. My gf put them in the dryer by mistake and now they only fit her 
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“By mistake”, you say… “and now they only fit her”, you say… hmm…
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Getting slightly off topic, but I’d like some back up on this. Any happy mutants reading who can verify or dispute this comment? Anecdotally, I find I’ve been much healthier (caught fewer colds) since I started washing my hands more regularly after going out shopping or whatever and touching all the door handles and key pads and stuff.
More on topic:
Wow, do people do this? Wear PJs once then throw them in the wash? I’ve never thought of sleeping clothes as one of the things that needs washed every wear.
Oh, and this part:
Outerwear — such as coats or jackets — typically doesn’t need to be washed more than once a month since it doesn’t touch your skin, Rossi said. “If you’re wearing it every day, probably (wash it) every two weeks,” he suggested.
Ummm, I hardly EVER wash my jackets and coats. Once every 2 weeks??? I basically wash when/if I spill something on it, or it starts to get grungy.
@j9c - thanks for the Oregano tip! I’m not working a dirty job right now, but do home reno stuff and other sweaty work. Going to try that on my “work clothes” next time!
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Sounds like she may be smarter than you think!
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