i love jeans. i love jeans that are soft and fit like a glove. i hate stiff, bulky jeans. i love jeans with history and holes, patches and signs of love. i love jeans that have been my companion on adventures…that have been to oceans and mountains with me. i hate jeans that cut into my middle. i hate jeans that show a little crack when i squat down. i love jeans that have sat by campfires with me and survived the sparks. i love jeans that feel like old friends. i hate jeans when they are wrong. i love jeans when they are right.
i love that jeans can be chameleons. they rise to the occasion. they can work in a field, kneel in the dirt, grip the sides of a horse. they can shmooze at a party or boost confidence on metropolitan streets. when they are right, we don't have to think about them at all. they are dependable and loyal. this autumn my jeans gave me a surprise. they revealed that they couldn't go on. sniff. (i love holes and patches, but in the crotch, well.)
my jeans hunt was almost as convoluted as the sweater struggle. i did find a few new gems. my favorite company for new jeans is industry standard and i look forward to having a pair at some point. i thought long and hard about this purchase, and i feel that the first attempt should be to use what already exists. i felt like jeans could be an especially good place for this to work for me. when i saw the mile long rack of jeans in my size at the thrift store, i knew this was the truth.
i love that jeans can be chameleons. they rise to the occasion. they can work in a field, kneel in the dirt, grip the sides of a horse. they can shmooze at a party or boost confidence on metropolitan streets. when they are right, we don't have to think about them at all. they are dependable and loyal. this autumn my jeans gave me a surprise. they revealed that they couldn't go on. sniff. (i love holes and patches, but in the crotch, well.)
my jeans hunt was almost as convoluted as the sweater struggle. i did find a few new gems. my favorite company for new jeans is industry standard and i look forward to having a pair at some point. i thought long and hard about this purchase, and i feel that the first attempt should be to use what already exists. i felt like jeans could be an especially good place for this to work for me. when i saw the mile long rack of jeans in my size at the thrift store, i knew this was the truth.
i had looked at and tried on some jeans at my favorite store and, i won't lie, i bought them. i found the perfect fit and style. i repeatedly tried them on at home and each time i would think, these feel like my jeans! ok, we know how hard that is to find! but…i was just feeling like they weren't quite right for me. i felt like i could do better for my values. (i'm just telling my story here, and in no way making any judgment for you.) :)
i decided i needed to find a way to love thrifted jeans just as much as the new ones i'd found. loving the pieces i add to my simple wardrobe is the only way to make it work (for me). i had looked at my pinterest for inspiration, in the beginning, to know what style jeans i would be looking for. i decided to change what i was looking for, but still wanted to be inspired. the two women who inspire me the most right now... and whose style i love the most right now are hannah henderson and serena mitnik-miller. they own general store in la and sanfrancisco. we'd visited their stores this summer. i knew both women loved vintage denim. i spent some time looking for images of them and pinning them in order to compose a collection of images to be inspired by.
when i went thrifting that second time, i was feeling like a treasure hunter, an individual who could make my own style for myself. i felt empowered and positive. i had SO much choice and mined out two pairs of soft, high waisted, minimally stretchy, worn levis. one pair, i left sort of boot-cut and frayed. the other, i took in below the knees to a more straight cuffed leg. i love how my muses seem to let their jeans be what they are…and don't seem at all fazed by trend…yet they are immensely stylish. something to aspire to.
anyway…i love these jeans, my jeans. :)
"you are what you do, not what you say you'll do." carl jung
love,
jane
i decided i needed to find a way to love thrifted jeans just as much as the new ones i'd found. loving the pieces i add to my simple wardrobe is the only way to make it work (for me). i had looked at my pinterest for inspiration, in the beginning, to know what style jeans i would be looking for. i decided to change what i was looking for, but still wanted to be inspired. the two women who inspire me the most right now... and whose style i love the most right now are hannah henderson and serena mitnik-miller. they own general store in la and sanfrancisco. we'd visited their stores this summer. i knew both women loved vintage denim. i spent some time looking for images of them and pinning them in order to compose a collection of images to be inspired by.
when i went thrifting that second time, i was feeling like a treasure hunter, an individual who could make my own style for myself. i felt empowered and positive. i had SO much choice and mined out two pairs of soft, high waisted, minimally stretchy, worn levis. one pair, i left sort of boot-cut and frayed. the other, i took in below the knees to a more straight cuffed leg. i love how my muses seem to let their jeans be what they are…and don't seem at all fazed by trend…yet they are immensely stylish. something to aspire to.
anyway…i love these jeans, my jeans. :)
"you are what you do, not what you say you'll do." carl jung
love,
jane
