After rummaging through my dresser, I found out that I have 18 pairs of jeans. This may seem like a lot, but in my defense, life is filled with lots of different occasions and settings and they are all better when you have a pair of jeans to go with them. There are the bright jeans in purple, teal, red and white for parties; soft, plain jeans for a day spent at home, and my favorite pair of faded grey Diesels for Fridays, my favorite day of the week.
When I walked into the True Religion store at the Century City mall last summer, the saleswoman pointed me to a specific pair of jeans. She told me they were a “brand new” design and that I had to try them on.
They were dark blue, super skinny, with the signature white stitches of True Religion over slightly stretchy denim. Even on the rack they looked good. I pulled them off the hanger and inspected them up close. I even started to smell them before I realized that might have looked a bit strange. So, I took them to the dressing room, pulled them on and instantly loved them. They fit my body like a glove and the soft denim made me feel like I had been born to wear them.
Photo illustration by Art Director Wayne M. DeSelle
The only problem was that they were nearly $200 and with the rest of my back to school shopping, they didn’t fit my budget. I tried to convince my mother to get them for me but she would not give in. So I sadly went on my way. Even though I felt like I had to have them, I convinced myself there would be other pairs of jeans that I would love just as much.
I really wanted those jeans and that experience made me wonder why. Jeans became popular in California about 150 years ago by the working class who appreciated their durability and comfort, and they have been in style ever since. Jeans are comfortable, versatile and stylish. Nowadays, jeans can be seen on the fashion runway or on a construction worker. And in both places, they work perfectly.
Jeans are year-round in L.A. I can wear them in the winter with my favorite jacket or at the beach in the summer, if I roll up the legs, even though they get soaked anyway. Jeans can be dressed up or dressed down. Just adding a jacket and nice shirt can make jeans acceptable in a dressy situation, especially for a teenager. I have washed my dog and done chores during the day and gone to a family dinner party at night, wearing the same pair of jeans the whole time.
When I find a favorite pair of jeans, it’s almost like I make a new friend. My first jean-friend was a boot-cut pair of Banana Republic blue jeans from about three years ago. They were as soft as the True Religion jeans but with a simpler design. These weren’t kid jeans, these were grown-up jeans and they felt like it. They made me feel more comfortable and confident when I was wearing them. In part, this is because jeans are safe. It’s hard to find someone wearing a shirt that clashes with their jeans because the blues, blacks and grays in jeans go perfectly with almost all other clothes.