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Help me understand

Anonymous

Let me state up front- loud and clear- I am NOT JUDGING!
I need everyone to help me understand something because I clearly am having a hard time wrapping my pea brain around this concept.

Why do people buy ( at top dollar) brand new clothes with rips and tears in them? Clearly stores carry them year after year because people are purchasing them.

I understand worn- faded- well lived in jeans ( I love them and I have them)
I just don’t understand spending good money of already ripped or shredded ones.

Is it because I am a product of an age when I had to wear hand me downs that were battered- when it wasn’t fashionable btw?
Please help me understand this current fashion trend!
Thanks

Update- btw what brought this on is I just went to a site for jeans and 90% were ripped and distressed. Hello- I am trying to replace ripped jeans- lol

General

56 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I can’t bring myself to buy pre-ripped jeans, either, but I get it. After analyzing a lot of outfits I like, I realized that -strategic- tears in jeans show skin, which adds a certain structure and edge to an outfit that isn’t there without them. An ensemble that looks modern and edgy with ripped jeans can look rather staid and even unflattering with pristine ones.

Anonymous

Because people think they look good. Simple as that.

Anonymous

JENN- thanks for the insight. I guess it’s true that sometimes thing that look too “perfect” can look off.

SMITTIE- “just because” is a great answer- I guess everyone has their own ideas of how they want to look and it’s best to follow your heart.

Greyscale

Veteran

I tend not to buy ripped jeans, but nonetheless, some reasons people do:

1. We’re too impatient to wait for our jeans to hit that perfect broken in look naturally. I also grew up on hand me downs and I love the look of vintage levi’s. (Also, by the time jeans hit that look naturally, they’re about to disintegrate while you wear them! Danger!)

2. The rips add visual texture to an outfit - an accent without being maximal. As someone who avoids ornamentation, this speaks to me.

3. They look edgy (punk rock looks) or sexy (the extreme ripped looks that people wear over fishnets). Edgy appeals to me (not sexy) but now that rips are so mainstream it’s hard to call it edgy.

I generally want one pair of ripped jeans, and the rest more professional. So even though I like rips and it aligns well with my style, I’m also annoyed that every single pair had rips for a while! I found the perfect high waist jeans aside from a rip, and I considered having my tailor repair them as neatly as possible.

LaPed

Veteran

I don't buy them either, efbgen.

I will say, it seems that the factory-made holes and raw hems are treated with some kind of fray-check that keeps them looking quite fresh for longer. Once old jeans get holes in the knees I find them pretty unwearable, as the holes just get bigger and bigger. I quite a few homemade cut-off shorts, and I find it takes a while for the cut threads to settle down and stop "shedding" -- I imagine when you buy a raw hem from the store it doesn't do that as much and is more convenient?

Also, in real life wear, it's hard to get strategically-placed holes that look cool and edgy -- usually, for me at least, all the seams are giving out and the pockets are useless and threadbare by the time I start to get holes on random "cool" places like the thighs.

Some people will insist there's an "art" to distressing a pair of jeans. I've known people who've DIY'd the distressed look using sandpaper and bleach solution. I think it's all rather silly. To me, heavily distressed denim is weekend-only, whereas a nice clean pair is fine for work. I know that depends on environmental norms, but I much prefer clothes I can wear without feeling self-conscious, regardless of dress code. For me, too much distressing makes me feel self-conscious, so I skip it.

Gigi

Veteran

I'm glad that you asked the question instead of just wondering. Asking questions helps all of us learn about each other.

I own only one item of distressed denim, a pair of lightly distressed shorts. I really like the distressing on the shorts because the shorts would seem so boring without the distressing, and it adds a bit of a boho element for me. But the distressing isn't maximal.

I try to make my dressing polished most of the time, so distressing is usually out on that count (it looks too unkempt to me). But I also really enjoy seeing outfits that put together contrary elements, such as glamorous items (pearls, silk) with "lower-class" items (distressed jeans).

As Jenn pointed out, distressing adds more of an edgy interest to an outfit, and to replace a distressed pair of jeans with a regular pair will sometimes make an outfit kind of ho-hum. It gives the outfit a completely different vibe.

Runcarla

Veteran

I get what Jenn is saying. In fact I was reading about Megan Markle's style and she is reported to always have one thing undone - in her case a signiture messy bun hairstyle. I would guess that distressed jeans or a holey sweater would juxtapose otherwise sharp dressing and grooming?

Although I am still taken with frayed hems (hacked myself FWIW) distressed garments are not my style.

Anonymous

I think most people like what they like “just because”. That is why you can have a poison eye for something one year and then the next, have a sugar eye for it! Why the change? Just because!

That said, I see what others are saying about juxtaposition. I also think the holes add some texture to an outfit (kind of like how corduroy would give an outfit some textural interest).

Janet

(website)

Veteran

All the reasons stated are, of course, valid, but I for one am kind of tired of the look. It’s been around for a few years now and to me, no longer looks particularly edgy — but that’s just my take. I don’t mind some light distressing but I think I’m done with holey jeans unless I’m at the ranch.

I do appreciate a good, well-done faded wash. Some of them are *too* faded on thighs and butt, exactly where I do NOT want a lighter color to draw the eye. And don’t get me started on bad whiskering...

delurked

Veteran

For the ones I’ve had, I like the texture and interest the distressing can provide. It can dress down something that might skew dressier than I need. And sometimes it softens the jeans enough to make them more comfortable.

Christina F.

Veteran

I agree with runcarla about juxtaposition. That said, I can't stand to buy any of the ones with holes that expose huge amounts of leg. That's where I start agreeing with you. I did manage to find one lightly distressed pair that I love. This find for it is terrible, as it showcases the sweater, but you can see some of the distressing on the thigh. Since I wear darker jeans to work a lot, these help me to feel like I have a weekend vibe, but that's just an internal thing.

Modern Skinny Crop Jeans in Destructed Light Indigo Wash

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Top Pick

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Barbara Diane

Veteran

I’m glad you asked the question because now I understand why some people like them.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I don’t like this look for myself either and can’t understand why people pay more for distressed stufff than regular stuff but fashion is a very individual thing and if it works for you and you want to spend money on it then I have no issues with that it’s just not for me.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I don't buy them either -- at least not the kind with actual holes -- but I do have a pair of slim slouchy jeans with very light distressing that I enjoy wearing for all the reasons stated. I like them best with a dressy jacket or top.

For me, the kind with big holes are seasonally confused (unless worn with tights underneath) because I live in a place with extreme temperatures. When wearing long pants, I want coverage for warmth; when it's hot, I don't want long pants even if they do have built in "air conditioning."

Molly Mac

Veteran

I LOVE jeans and probably own 30 pair. I bought my first distressed pair about 7 years ago (AT boyfriend with a button fly; still a favorite). I have trouser jeans, skinnies, flares, cropped, bell bottoms, and straight legged. They run the gamut from ink blue to super faded. I have heavily distressed to just a slight fray at the pockets. I like how the different types of distressing change up a look so easily. The same blouse looks completely different depending on the denim I wear it with. I also like the juxtaposition beiween a very feminine shirt/blouse and destroyed denim. It is one of my "happy place" looks.

Toban

Veteran

I was asking this same question on this afternoon's shopping trip! It's not for me.

Gaylene

Veteran

I’ve also struggled with the idea of fake rips and tears on new clothing because it looks so artificial to my eye—equating it to the fake distressing of new furniture in the vain attempt to give a mass-produced item the look of something which has been well-used and beloved. The “edgy” argument also makes me roll my eyes; after all how edgy can something still be when the look is stacked to the rafters in mainstream stores like Walmart and Old Navy?

BUT, I finally came to terms with the concept of rips and tears when Angie referred to it as “texture” or “embellishment”. After all, designers have always altered the texture of a plain, woven fabric by fringing, padding, embroidering, pleating, ruffling, and tucking to make the fabric look more interesting. So I’ve diligently tried to re-adjust my eye to see the whole notion of distressing as just another type of embellishment which appeals to some sensibilities.

Style Fan

Veteran

I have a couple of pairs (and just bought a pair but exchanged them for a nondistressed pair). I like them. Some things I look at and I like for whatever reason. Other things I look at and I don't like even if all the boxes are ticked (well made, great colour, well fitting, etc.).
I think some of the reasons have been answered above. The rips and tears add texture and embellishment. I don't do embroidery, florals or patterns (except occasionally on scarves).
I don't think the distressed jeans make me look edgy and cool. IMHO clothes don't make a person look edgy and cool.

jussie

Veteran

Interesting thread. Your feelings remind me a little of my own feelings about cold shoulder tops!

delurked

Veteran

SF - I’ve never thought my clothes make me look edgy. I’ve had holes in jeans that I’ve reinforced to keep closed before. I don’t like a hole at the knee that I stick my foot through putting on. But the closed shredding if it’s not too crazy has been something I’ve worn in past.

Gigi

Veteran

I echo what Gaylene said about fake rips and tears: distressing needs to be done well. I remember trying on a pair of jeans from Loft a couple of years ago. I had picked them up off a pile, so I just assumed they were regular jeans. I put them on, and there was a huge rip in the knee! No distressing other than the rip. I called over the SA, and she expressed surprise also and assumed that it must have been a defect. But no, it turned out that that was the style of the jean. It looked silly.

Anonymous

How did it start? From the streets up, most trends do. It's just a look, and one that if you really want to dig deep, probably conveys that "I'm a down and dirty real person out there wearing my authentic, lived in , beat up clothes " - which is of great irony and hilarity to those who started it. I bought into the trend for a few years, but am totally over it now, and do not want any distressed anything anymore.

kerlyn

Veteran

I'm a fan of distressed denim. My style is very casual, slightly boho, and a bit RATE. I never wear heavily distressed jeans or ones with huge holes, but I do like that worn in look. In many cases I just find them to look a bit more interesting than a totally clean pair. But I'm also one to like a lighter wash jean. There's just something a bit sexy about a worn in pair of jeans. Yep, sexy. I know that's not a favorable term around here, but I digress.

Anonymous

Yes, Kerlyn, why does it feel like sexy is "not a favorable term around here"? And how do we know that's true? I don't remember it being clearly stated as a "please don't " but I remember trying to find entire phrases to replace the single word.

I don't wear pre distressed clothes and I could fabricate an entire philosophy for why but in the end it's just because it would feel like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not.

Greyscale

Veteran

A friend worked as a denim distresser at the Levi's headquarters here in SF. I imagine the reason the destructed jeans are more expensive is that some amount of hand work has gone into making them*. And the more work, the less fake they look. R13 makes some amazing jeans that are really torn up and look just sooo cool. But most brands don't reach that level of artistry and I agree that it just looks fake a lot of the time. Isn't that sort of the definition of cool, though? The illusion (or reality) that you didn't put conscious effort in, it just turned out like that?

(Speaking of sexy: I said above that sexy wasn't my thing, but I take that back. Just like cool, there's a type of sexy that comes from the perfect invisible or unintended touches, the oversized shirt with one extra button undone, the silk cami with a strap falling down. And yeah, maybe jeans with rips, despite what I said! My preferred style is subtle, though, and so I'm not drawn to the type of sexy that is more overt.)

*though this raw hem trend must be saving them a lot of money! Except for the hems that are sewn, distressed, and then undone.

BrieN

Veteran

I was never drawn to the distressed look, although I did dip my toe in by purchasing the let out hem jeans. Right at the point when my eye had adjusted to it and I thought it was maybe an ok look for me to consider I saw two women walking down the sidewalk together wearing the same jeans with the exact same distressing - those shredded holes exactly the same size in exactly the same place. Took the "cool" right out of it for me.

Greyscale

Veteran

BrieN, that's hilarious. Captures the whole issue, huh.

Anonymous

Thank you YLF Friends for educating me on this trend.

Once again I think my question may have been misconstrued ( seems to be a pattern with me)- I have no problem with the distressed look- I love when I break in my jeans and they get a varied patina, yes on some jeans I have frayed hems and when they get rips I turn them into cutoffs- so it is not that I am against them- it is that I don't understand buying them ripped- mine get that way naturally over time..... no charge.
I agree with "to each their own"- which is why I said up front I was not judging just seeking understanding of why pay for what you get for free.

Some of you mention "Edgy" and "Boho" which may explain a lot in my lack of understanding because I am an entrenched classic- I try and learn from YLF Friends everyday to get an understanding on other styles and purchases you make. "Just because " is a valid reason!

I guess I am not surprised that some are either- not in, still in or no longer in - on this trend. I think that is common for all trends actually.

I also had no idea jeans are such a hot topic although Lisa's jean post
being up pretty high in responses should have been a tip off.

Some of you mentioned that ANGIE spoke of rips in previous posts as
being a form of embellishment- That makes sense.
I realize that there
are lots of times those of us who are newbies and came late to this
party have missed a lot of ANGIE'S and other Friends' wisdom. Same way
that I am amazed that some of you remember long past posts word for word enough to
spot a troll- lol.

Thanks again- you folks continue to amaze me with your wisdom, insight, ideas, thoughts, kindness and understanding. I continue to be a grateful student of you all.

rachylou

Veteran

An interesting question. I’m decidedly RATE and dress for the street. I don’t want to be a target. I like an unfinished hem and love patches on jeans... but I avoid actual holes. I suppose my fear is that I’ll somehow make the holes worse and the clothes will fall apart, lol.

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