I'm a blue jeans wearer. Ever since my mom bought me "dungarees" from the Sears store, I've loved blue jeans. Mom loved them because they were tough, and when I'd tear a hole in the knees, she could patch them. I even loved the flannel-lined jeans.
During high school I'd buy Levi's, stiff as a board and dark indigo -- there was no other choice. I'd struggle to get them on, then climb into a tub of hot water. The indigo dye would run and I'd wear wet jeans until they dried out. That's how "shrink to fit" was born! In college, I favored the Levi's 517 "orange tab" with a flare leg (this was the day of bell-bottoms, mind you). I wore boots almost exclusively, but "flare leg" wasn't the same as "boot cut." 517s are no longer made.
In fact, Levi started cutting corners and making their jeans in Mexico. Gone was the patch on the back stating, "Each pair guaranteed," and the quality of both the cloth and the workmanship deteriorated. I found them to now fit poorly so I started wearing Lee jeans.
Both Lee and Levi (the two major brands -- I've never found Wranglers to fit me well) have, like so many other brands, become shadows of their former greatness. Rather than focus on making durable, tough jeans, they've gone into the acid-washed-pre-bleached-worn-by-supermodels-tres-chic stuff, and they fall apart in short order.
But a couple of years ago I became aware of a brand made in the USA, and their lineup is only a handful of fits and models. Texas Jeans. They are slightly more expensive than Kmart's Lee and Levi's, but they fit well, and have the features the others have lost: seven belt loops, double stitching, and a fit that says, "Ahhh."
Last night, I was enjoying a dessert of chocolate-covered ice cream on a stick, and unbeknownst to me, dropped some of the chocolate icing on my jeans. I didn't notice until I was preparing for bed, so I knew I was going to have to wash them. I did so this morning. But the chocolate has left a "stain" on the pants leg.
This would be a cause to toss out another garment, in my opinion, but heck, these are jeans. I wear jeans seven days a week, washing them about once a week. The way I figure it, jeans are meant to get dirty, greasy, grimy and beaten up. So, in addition to being comfortable and never being out of style, the fact that they don't offend by showing stains and fraying and wear, that's why I love jeans!
Do you love jeans, also? Or do you have a favorite piece or type of apparel (e.g. hat, jacket, vest) that instantly makes you identifiable to your friends?