3Sixteen CT-222xs Classic Taper Stonewashed – Black

Most black jeans are dyed black over an indigo or undyed weft, so the first thing that happens as they wear is that a different colour surfaces underneath. Double black is woven black in both directions, so there is nothing hiding beneath the surface. What comes through as the fabric abrades is not another colour but a lighter version of the same one, and the jean moves gradually toward grey at the knee and the seat while staying black everywhere else.

The stonewash is the second decision. It is done here to soften the cloth rather than to fake age into it, so the jean has a broken-in hand from the first day without the mottled, pre-distressed look that usually comes with the word. Classic Taper sits between the house's straight and slim cuts: a high rise, room through the top block, and a taper that begins at the knee.

A black jean gets worn where an indigo one cannot go, and we wanted one in the store that was built with the same seriousness as the indigo. This is a selvedge denim that happens to be black rather than a black jean with selvedge as a talking point.

The 222 fabric is 3Sixteen's black counterpart to the 100x, woven for it by the same Okayama mill.

One hundred percent cotton selvedge denim, black warp and black weft, stonewashed. Made in the United States. Five-pocket construction.

Higher in the rise and roomier through the seat and thigh than a modern slim jean, then tapered from the knee down, so it takes a boot without pooling at the ankle. Because it is stonewashed there is no break-in period and very little shrinkage to plan around; buy the waist that fits today. The fabric is lighter than the raw 100x and wears comfortably through summer, which the raw jean does not.

Under the Work Blazer, where black denim does something a blue jean cannot. With the alpaca crewneck and a boot. With a white tee and nothing else, which is a complete outfit and always has been.

Wash cold, inside out, and hang to dry. Black cotton loses depth to heat and friction faster than it does to detergent, so the dryer is the thing to avoid if you want it to stay black. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

In indigo, the CS-100x and the CS-100xk. It is worn with the Pima Cotton T-Shirt Pack in White as often as with anything, and it is the denim to put under the Work Blazer. Everything we currently hold from 3Sixteen is listed together.