Jeans: Broadening Your Denim Horizons

Growing up in the '70's my mother bought my jeans from Sears. They were called Toughskins, and they WERE tough. The premise was that kids wear holes through the knees of their jeans in record time, so Toughskins not only had reinforced knees, they also carried a money back guarantee should your little rug rat manage to bust THOSE, too. They came in all kinds of colors, and they were a godsend for my brother, who was a typical little boy that loved to play outside. Me, not so much. I have a synthetic/nylon allergy, so I got a rash on my legs. Oh well.

When I was a teenager, anyone who was anyone had LEVIS. Good ol' standard men's LEVIS. They didn't have the Vegas-style buffet of denim they do now, so we were limited to what the men wore. That was ok, girls looked good in them too, and the goal of my young life was to have one of these fabled pairs of name brand denim. Well, I never did until I got a job, because my father refused to pay for them. So, guess what I had? Penney's brand wannabes. I wasn't fooling anyone, and I'm sure that huge Levis-shaped hole in my psyche is still gurgling down deep..........

Come the late 70's though, designer denim made it's debut. Disco and Brooke Shields proclaiming 'No comes between me and my Calvins' were the battle cry! I actually managed to have a pair of Sassoon jeans that came from a discount house sometime early in my high school career. Honestly, I don't know what the fuss was about. My no names fit just about the same.

At any rate, a girl from my modest background had no hopes to wearing fancy jeans unless she bought them herself or my folks scrimped (they did, but it was to feed us, not outfit us for the red carpet). Garage sales and what passed for thrift stores back in the day had very skimpy jeans inventory, and most of them had lived their life. Folks wore their clothing until it fell off their body back then. We might do well to return to those days.

Today, there are MILLIONS of brands of denim, and LEVI alone has dozens of cuts and washes. No more stiff, dark denim if you prefer yours almost white and holey. Of course, you're gonna PAY for those choices.

So, what's a girl on a budget to do?

Hit your thrift store! I truly broadened my jeans' horizons when I started shopping for denim second hand. At Goodwill, any and all adult jeans are $5.99, regardless of brand. This has been a fabulous way for me to test the waters, fit wise, without breaking the bank. How else would I have my beautiful pair of White House/Black Market jeans today? They retail for at least $50, and mine were much less. Plus, they had barely been worn. SCORE!

I went through a period of time in the '90's where I couldn't buy enough second hand pairs of Levi's. I was definitely trying to fill that hole!!