Monday morning. Just minding my own business. Doing a little virtual window shopping at one of my favorite stores when BAM! It hits me. Blindsided. Out of nowhere. Completely unsuspecting.
I pause. Put down my coffee. Hold my breath. And inch the screen closer and closer to my face.
But it can’t be. This can’t be happening. Are those………….?
Flare leg pants? Again!? Really!?
But I’m just getting used to my skinny jeans!
It took me forever to get on board the skinny jean trend. I couldn’t get over feeling like my ankles and calves were being suffocated. Squeezed into sausage casings every time I pulled on a pair of those dreadful things. But I got used to them. Maybe, I even started to like them.
And now they’re trying to bring back the ever breezy, ever flowy, perfectly relaxed-about-life flare pants?
This is madness!
It feels like every 3–5 years we are forced to flip-flop. We either stick our legs into the compression stockings that are skinny jeans (or, more affectionately known to first wave Millenials like me as “tapered” jeans — remember those?). Or, we let our legs swim in puddle swaths of denim as we walk. And then, on a rare occasion, we settle for something in the middle that does nothing for comfort or fashion. I’m looking at you straight-leg pants.
How long will this continue?
Can’t we simply decide on an adequate amount of lower legroom that’s deemed comfortable — yet also stylish — and stick to it?!
And you know the worst part? How the powers that be in the fashion industry do it — nice and slow. It’s not like you wake up one Monday morning and the whole world’s wearing wide-leg pants leaving you wondering: did I miss the memo?
No, no, no.
They wean you off slowly, just like they brought you on board. They sprinkle the “New Arrivals” with a couple of styles that — to the untrained and ever forgetful eye — may seem new and hip, yet feel… somewhat familiar.
Wait, haven’t I seen that somewhere before?
But I’m onto you, fashion industry. I’ve lived through enough cycles to label what I saw today for what it truly is — a harbinger of things to come.
By 2021 we’ll all be sitting around the Zoom table reminiscing:
“Remember when you’d have to budget an extra 5 minutes every morning to climb into those skinny jeans? Thank goodness those times are over.”
My Number One Fashion Tip
I can hear my wise mother’s words echoing in my ear right now.
I was just a teenager. So innocent. Impressionable. Duped by the mannequins at Old Navy and Filene’s Basement. How was I to know? I had not yet lived through the revolving door of pant leg styles.
My mom would say to me, when I lamented about getting rid of jeans that were no longer hip, “Oh don’t worry. Save them — they’ll be back in style in another few years.”
The words of a wise woman.
So, in honor of my mother imparting her wisdom to me, I give you my rehashed version of those epic words:
Never get rid of your favorite jeans. EVER.
I don’t care if they’re bell-bottoms from the ’70s.
I don’t care if they’re acid-washed jeans from the ’80s.
I don’t care if they are those jeans you bought brand new with so many holes in them you look like you’re wearing a piece of swiss cheese.
Doesn’t matter!
If you find jeans that fit perfectly — and you know what I’m talking about — you hold on to those things as tight as you can. Like you just went overboard a ship and are clinging to a rescue ring in the ocean for dear life. Because if you don’t, you’ll be drowning in a sea of unworthy denim with countless issues:
- bottoms drag on the ground
- they stain my shoes
- they wrinkle too much
- too tight in the legs
- knees are too worn out
- color fades too quickly
- constantly pulling them back in place
- stiffer than a wooden board
- not the right color
Sound familiar?
It is not worth your comfort and sanity trying to buy new jeans if your favorite pair is still chugging along.
There Is Magic In A Perfect Pair Of Jeans
Favorite jeans are like an old friend.
They know everything about you, and they still love you. They’ve been through life’s ups and downs with you, and they still support you. But greatest of all is how they make you feel.
Like the best version of yourself.
They give you confidence and make you feel like you belong. The world is left thinking, “This person’s a badass!”, without even knowing why.
And, wearing your favorite pair of jeans is not purely self-indulgent. When you feel good, you make others feel good. When you’re comfortable, you can spend your time on things more important than cursing another pair of subpar denim all day.
Don’t ever let any revolving door fashion trend keep you from owning, wearing, and fully appreciating your beloved jeans with all of your heart.
Because the perfect pair of jeans don’t come around too often.
