Some people use photo albums to keep track of noteworthy life events. Some scribble for hours in journals, and others make epic-length home videos. But, I ask, who really wants to go digging through mountains of photos, reading through a thousand pages of babble, or snoozing through hours of video footage, just to recall some monumental moment? Isn't there an easier way?
Of course there is. In fact, I've discovered the most conclusive and effortless method of referencing just about anything you ever wanted to know about yourself. The secret? It's in the jeans.
"The what?" you ask. Oh yes, you heard me correctly. I said jeans. Or denim, to be more specific. Before you dismiss me as crazy, take a moment and think about it. How many different styles of denim have you worn over the years? And doesn't each style evoke a distinct period of your life? And from each of these periods, can't you recall a few unforgettable events? Hmmm
maybe Miss Style File isn't so crazy after all.
I'll illustrate my point by divulging a bit about my own denim history. My earliest denim memory: knee-length off-white jean shorts with a floral print. I wore them with my high top leather Keds with lacy shoelaces, but that's beside the point.
Anyway, I'd say I wore these beauties when I was about 10 or 11 (yeah, this is the last time most of you will ever listen to what I have to say about fashion). But during that time, what kind of stuff was happening to me? Well, I was in fourth or fifth grade. I was a pretty sheltered and shy kid, so to be honest, not much was happening to me at that point.
So we'll move on. My next pair of jean shorts: a shorty-short button-fly pair, white with a different flowered pattern. Made by Bongo, nonetheless. These bad boys even had a matching T-shirt that went with them in the same pattern as the shorts. Can we say stylin'?
These shorts ushered in a new era: adolescence. No more knee-length clothes for me. For the next couple of years, I'd find myself battling it out with my parents over what was too short. After all, there were boys to worry about now. And sleepovers with movie-watching and staying up late and talking about boys
you get the point.
Let's fast-forward to the beginning of what I consider to be the modern era: ninth grade, a year marked by the infamous Calvin Klein. Never mind that nowadays most of his items are gracing the racks of T.J. Maxx. Back then, every girl just had to have her "CK" jeans. I remember trying on stacks of them at Bloomingdale's. Mine were a medium-colored denim, came up pretty much to the waist, straight leg. Size five, because back then it was still about juniors sizing.
The CK era was marked by two high points in every girl's life: getting my learner's permit and going out on my first date -- although how exactly I got a date wearing those awful jeans is beyond me.
Next: 10th grade. I was getting over the CK era by then and had moved on to a pair of Gap jeans, light-colored, low-waisted (finally!) and straight leg. Those jeans carried me through the high point of the year: getting my driver's license. They also carried me through the low point of the year: getting a curfew. Well, you give and you take.
Finally, senior year rolled around and I finally got on the fashion bandwagon by purchasing what every high-schooler at the time was (and still is) purchasing: the Abercrombie low-rise jean. Dark denim, somewhere between a bootcut and a flare. These jeans saw me through my admittance to U.Va., high school graduation, a trip to Europe and even my first few months at the University (after which I had a bit of trouble with that size two aspect).
College led to the last era, which even now I feel is coming to a close: the J. Crew, antique-washed Hipster flare -- sported, I feel, by about half the women around Grounds. Those jeans have survived a lot over the last three years: frat sludge, History of Jazz, boring nights at the library. But they've also seen me through some good times: making my first snowman (I'm from Florida), sorority functions and a long summer out West.
The Hipsters are showing signs of age. They're worn paper thin, comfortable as pajamas, and the bottoms are fraying from countless trips through the spin cycle. So lately, I've been scouting the market for a replacement, hoping to find that perfect pair with which to usher in the post-grad age.
From what I've gleaned during my searches around Charlottesville and D.C., most of the jeans on the market today aren't just lightly antiqued. Some of them seriously look like they've been splashed haphazardly with bleach.
More than ever, it also seems as though people aren't simply buying jeans from your average Gap or J. Crew. Now, people are buying jeans from designers known to specialize in denim -- from Seven to Paper Denim to Miss Sixty. But this specialization comes at a price. All these jeans run upwards of $100, making Abercrombie look like a downright bargain.
I'm reluctant to relegate my trusty old jeans to the back of the closet. So I'm taking my latest denim quest slowly, looking around, trying on lots of brands and styles. After all, it's not merely a pair of jeans we're talking about -- it's the beginning of an era.
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