JEANS confession

Fifteen years ago, I had just moved to NYC.  Even at that time my wardrobe was fairly small.  The difference between then and now was that I shopped a lot.  I lived by the philosophy that anytime I bought something, I needed to get rid of something, so I made very regular trips to the Salvation Army Donation Center!

I remember a girlfriend of mine coming over to my apartment and seeing my clothes (I had an open wardrobe that housed every piece of clothing I owned).  She was astounded, "These are ALL of your clothes?!"  Not as in, "Wow, that's a lot of clothes!" The tone was more, "That's it?!"  The one thing I had a lot of was jeans.  I had about 10 pair.  Ironically, I wore the same two all the time.  

This is a photo of my all-time favorite pair of jeans, which I purchased in 2006.  The photo itself was taken in 2010 in Williamsburg. I'm hanging outside of the original Artists & Flea with my nephews.  Once I bought these jeans, I pretty much stopped wearing every single other pair of jeans that I owned.  I held on to my favorites for almost a decade, getting rid of what was left of them in 2015.  By the time I let them go, they had literally fallen apart everywhere and were hanging together by threads!  Those jeans helped me realize that as long as you love something, you really only need one.  I'd take one item that I loved versus 10 that I liked.

Nowadays you'll still find me wearing the same bottoms almost every single day.  I own three pairs of jeans, two for each season.  Having a second pair is key for doing laundry. By the way, I still carry that vintage bag around and I still have that Dries jacket!

Whatever color you choose, I hope you are wearing denim today in support of #DenimDay.  Why denim?  It all started in 1999 in Italy when the Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction saying, "the victim wore very tight jeans" meaning she must've aided in the removal of those and therefore consented.  Women the next day showed up in denim to show solidarity and it has since become an annual day to raise awareness for rape and sexual assault.

While of course there are companies that have taken their jean production abroad, it is still very easy to find a pair of jeans made in America.  If you need a head start, click here!

reader submission: here is a photo of the jeans in late 2013, rips in both knees (long underwear under jeans for warmth)

Made in America Denim List

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