Friday, August 13, 2010

New Jeans HAY-OH!

I have been wearing the same jeans for a rather long time. Since, oh, sophomore year of college I think? So that's eightish years.

They are Hydraulic brand and if memory serves I believe I bought them at Nordstrom. They were probably around $60 which seemed like and AWFUL LOT to pay for a pair of jeans. Especially since I decided I liked them so much that I went back and bought a second pair. They've faded over time and the hems are frayed and torn. And for some reason the back pocket buttons on ONE pair have fallen off. But I can't give them up. Because other jeans have come and gone but these babies have LASTED.
Here they are. I took the following pictures of them in a dressing room where I was fruitlessly trying on other jeans.
From the front:


From the side:

I don't know if the photos do those jeans justice for how much I like them. They are comfortable but still look pretty good. At 97% cotton/3% spandex they have enough stretch to give a little if my weight fluctuates. And did I mention they are EIGHT YEARS OLD? Maybe that's not SO long but it's eight years of heavy use-- of wearing them at least a couple times per week, in the rain, in the snow, in the mud, and throwing them in the washer and dryer.

I have certainly bought and worn many a pair of other jeans within the past eight years. But none of them had the staying power. They either would get too small or too big at some point or they would have some defect I failed to notice when I bought them: like too thick of fabric or too long of a crotchular region.

It took me a long time to realize that if I wanted new jeans that I would wear all the time, I should be looking for replacements of THOSE SPECIFIC jeans. Not that there's anything really WRONG with them right now, but just in case both pairs get torn or lost or we just stop getting along as well as we used to. And actually, I probably should retire them soonish anyway... I tend to hang onto things long after the magic has faded and all that's left is bitterness and frustration.

Anyhow! I don't want to speak too soon but I think at long last I may have found them! At Charlotte Russe, for $34.50, with 98% cotton/2% spandex.

Here are some photos of them (taken on a different day from those above, though I do seem to be wearing the exact same shirts).

From the front:


From the side:

I think (hope) we have a winner! (But I'm definitely hanging on to the old ones for as long as we can stand each other).