Starting to show a little (tiny) bit of contrast.

Gave up the first go around. Let's try this again. Day #12

Picked up a like-new pair off eBay. These things are BLUE!

Fit check. Too tight or just right? (I know it is not too loose lol)

@Crispy-Heron That is what I am hoping for. They are so comfortable. I walked my dog 9 miles in them today

Thank you! I am comfortable with them. I feel a bit stiff, but no pain or chafing

Fit check. Too tight or just right? (I know it is not too loose lol)

@Sam 

These are the most stubborn to give up indigo of all IH I have owned.

@Crispy-Heron That is what I am hoping for. They are so comfortable. I walked my dog 9 miles in them today

Starting to show a little (tiny) bit of contrast.

Picked up a like-new pair off eBay. These things are BLUE!

Gave up the first go around. Let's try this again. Day #12

I have just noticed something as my IH-555-21ods have begun to break in.  It is almost as if they are made of suede or something.  I can run my hand across them in one direction and they turn light.  Run it across in the opposite direction and they turn darker.  So far they are fading almost "gray-like", with just a tiny amount of blue pigment showing through.  Just thought you guys may want to know about this characteristic.  Pretty cool.

Thank you so much!  Exactly what I hoped to hear!

Hello everyone,

I am forever seeing posts asking for "real-world" experience before you buy a fit or variation within a fit, so I thought I have now had enough experience with these jeans to leave some valuable information.

First of all, I bought a pair that were 38" waist (I am actually like a 37) and they were WAY too big (39"+).  I sent them back and changed them for a 36.9" waisted IH-555S-21od and started wearing them.  They fit tight and great at first, but after about 15 wears and a wash (had to because my muddy-foot dog jumped on me) they were beginning to stretch out to the point that they were slipping down my hips "just a little".

So I ordered the IH-555-XHSib in a flat 37" waist and (like someone else said) they were murder to button, bend, squat in, and seemed to eat the back of my knees like a chainsaw.  I am at 7 wears now and they are just getting some electric blue in high stress areas, but I have noticed virtually ZERO waist stretch.  So little, in fact, I am afraid to wet them.  Maybe this is the pair that I literally wear for a year with no washes!

They have softened ever so slightly, but nothing like the 21oz denim does.  Still feel like a tank or sheet of steel, only pliable steel now.

You can judge the fit for yourselves and see what you think.

My questions are:

1. Will these ever stretch? ::)
2. Will they shrink too much to wear once washed?
3. Will they "return" to wearable and stretch back out if they do shrink?
4. Will these ever be soft?  If so, when?  ???

These are BY FAR my favorite IH and I have owned the IH-777S-21, IH-666S-21, IH-555S-21od, and now these.  I have sold my 777 and 666 (both in 38–thinking they would shrink) and now I am left with two very different 555 versions.  I love them both, but the color of these XHSib are just other-worldly unreal!  So essentially I feel like I am left with an "I feel full and need some extra belly" jeans and an "I feel slim, trim, and ripped" pair of 555s.