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Your Jeans Wearing History

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I wasn't actually big on jeans for large parts of my life (44 years of it). Now they are an indispensable wardrobe essential, for the reasons I mentioned on yesterday's post.

As a child in the '70s: Never wore jeans. Wore dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers and knickerbockers. Saw my Papa and older brother wear faded blue denim bell bottoms though.

As a Teen and student in the '80s: YES. Wore skin tight skinnies sans stretch which required rolling around on the bed to fit them on. Also wore very baggy paper bag jeans with pleats, pockets and a belt. In blue and in white. They were my favourite style of jeans ever. But somehow, I wore baggy white or checked trousers a lot more in the '80s than jeans.

As a young adult in the '90s: Yes. This is when I first wore jeans for an extended period of time thanks to Levis 501's in the early '90s grunge era. Also wore cropped skinnies with ankle zips. In the mid and late '90s, I liked bootcut jeans but seldom wore them because of a no jeans at work dress code. That continued until 2000. I still wore trousers and skirts a lot more than jeans.

As an adult in the early '00s: Started to wear jeans more frequently. And in colours. I discovered white jeans and never looked back. Straight legs and bootcuts all the way.

As a middle aged adult in the mid 2000's till the present day: I re-discovered skinnies 8 years ago and never looked back. Now I wear jeans ALL THE TIME, in all sorts of faded blue denim and white denim across many styles. Things have really changed.

Over to you. What's your jeans wearing history?

Dressing

69 replies

Latest reply was from Mary

abc

Veteran

Great thread!

Growing up I don't recall wearing them, but I'm certain I did. They're practical and durable, so I'm sure my mom dressed us in them.

Teen years: OH! I remember my favorite pair. They had a fold-over waist with handkerchief (red) print inside so it showed when folded. They also had patches sewn on the outside of the jeans in a few spots, also in handkerchief print. Of course, they were whitewashed, this was if I recall the late 80s/early 90s. It was a sad day when they died due to overuse.

College: I remember wearing jeans and jean shorts, Z Cavarricci brand. Oh the memories

Post-college: In the working world, so not a lot of chance to wear them other than weekends. In a less formal job I recall being influenced by coworkers and I went through a phase of wearing baggy mens carpenter style jeans (oh, the horror!). It was partly due to my size/weight, jeans for plus size were hard to find and nowhere near as flattering as they are now.

Last few years: Indepensable part of my wardrobe. I love them and the variety available. Coated, dark, black, washed, skinny, straight, bootcut....there is a place for all of them

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I've always worn jeans, since I was a kid. Growing up in the country they were practical workwear. My mom tells stories about when she was growing up the girls weren't allowed to wear pants to school, only skirts, and jeans were only worn at home to do farm chores. But I was a little too young for that (although she did insist that I only wear skirts/dresses to church, unless the windchill was below zero).

I remember being in high school in the early 90s and having to lie down flat on my bed to get my jeans zipped - I feel like every generation of teenagers had that phenomenon, although at this point there's so much spandex that maybe kids don't have to worry about it now.

Dana

(website)

Veteran

How fun, Angie! I'm going to have to think really hard about the years...

As a child in the '70's, I wasn't allowed to wear jeans to school until the 6th grade, but still don't remember wearing them a ton. I got holes in the knees and pit cute little patches on them. In jr. High it was all about the big bell bottoms.

In high school and all through college I wore Levi's 501's...so comfy! Oh, just remembered my Calvin Kleins, too! I especially loved them with my platform shoes.

But I was a fashion merchandising major, so I still dressed up more than the average college student. I also had the pleated styles. Oh, and the cropped jeans with zippers at the ankles. I don't remember them being anywhere as skinny as what we wear now.

In my 20's I worked for the Gap, and had soo many pairs of jeans! I had lots of colors, too,

I draw a blank on my styles up until my beloved Paige Laurel Canyon boot cuts came to be. I loved boot cuts, but I never wore them with flats, so probably didn't wear them a ton.

Ah, skinny jeans! My most versatile jeans ever. I just wish I could find a really comfy pair!

Anonymous

I've always worn denim jeans, though I have never worn them to the exclusion of other pants. For example, in my world, dressing up has never included jeans. They definitely have their place in my wardrobe, though!

Aziraphale

Veteran

Fun question!

I was a small child at roughly the same time as you, and back in the 70s, children's clothing was quite different from adults' or teenagers' clothes. Plus my mom dressed me. I can't remember if she ever dressed me in jeans, but I think she wore them sometimes. I do have vivid memories of choking turtlenecks and tights where the crotch was perpetually falling to somewhere between my knees, which means I must have worn skirts or pinafore dresses a lot!

I was certainly wearing jeans by the time I was in grade six, which was in the early 80s. I too remember the tight ones with no stretch. I never wore the ones with pleats, although I remember in about 1985 wearing jeans that were baggy, and we'd peg the bottoms in to make them appear tapered.

For most of my adult life, jeans have been a wardrobe mainstay. I don't think I wore much else in high school or college. I wore the occasional skirt, but I had a strong preference for jeans. When I landed my first teaching job, I looked so young that I thought I'd better 'dress older', so I went to Banana Republic and bought several pairs of dress pants and some dressier skirts. I wore those for the first half year, but felt like Mayor Frumpy of Frumpytown, so by the spring I was back to wearing jeans (albeit 'nice' ones -- i.e. dark and crisp). Jeans can be easily dressed up. (Also, I taught science, and found that throwing on a white lab coat added enough legitimacy to the outfit that it didn't much matter what else I was wearing, as long as it wasn't scruffy).

Even when pregnant, I wore special pregnancy jeans, although I also branched out into yoga pants because, well, everyone does when they're pregnant.

Through my 30s, I wore jeans 90% of the time. I've never had a job that required anything more formal than jeans. Right now, in my early 40s, I'm probably at my lowest jeans-wearing percentage since early childhood -- I probably wear jeans 75% of the time, and skirts or twill pants the remaining 25%. But I will always be a jeans girl at heart. I have them in all cuts and styles, and in a range of washes (but no colours).

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

I've always worn jeans and will be a staple in my wardrobe for years to come. I remember In the 80s, I wore Jordache, Guess, and Levi's blue jeans and then progressed to black jeans in the early to mid-90s. The 80s and early 90s were either rolled at the ankle or worn baggy. The 2000s were either Gap or ATL trouser styles so that I could wear to work and for play. Now, it's either skinny or bf style. I think I will be wearing jeans until I get much older.

K.M.

Veteran

Oooh, what a wonderful thread!

As a preschooler in the 70s: I've seen pictures of myself in bell-bottomed jumpers

As a child and tween in the 80s: Early 80s it was high-waisted straight legs, and the denim was very rough and thick.

Mid to late-80s: High-waisted and tight on the hips and butt, with the baggy legs and very tapered fit around the ankles. In Brazil no one would be caught dead wearing anything else. The back pockets went up to the middle of your back and everyone always looked like they had a wedgie.

My favorite pair had a "tribal"-inspired embroidery running on one leg only all the way. The jeans were a medium blue and so soft. I wish I had kept them. I also had acid wash, and a pair that had thin stripes all over, it almost looked like seersucker.

In the 90s: Then, no one would be caught dead with the high-waisted tapered baggy jeans! I lived in 501s that sort of hung around my waist because no smaller sizes were available.

In the 2000s: Slim straight legs and bootcuts, and also: a beloved pair of trouser jeans from J.Crew! All very low-waisted, of course.

Now: I still favor bootcuts, but with a smaller opening. I only have one pair of skinnies. I like the look on other people, not on myself, with the exception of wearing them tucked into tall boots. Right now I'm loving two pairs of mid-rise Abercrombie and Fitch "baby" bootcuts, one dark, one light-washed.

I remember a trend from the late 80s called "clochard"--with an oversized high waist that was belted and therefore "ruffled" over the belt. I never owned one but I thought they were the coolest thing ever.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

My jeans history is a lot like Angie's. I've always had to wear uniforms at school and business clothes to work, so my jeans wearing is on weekends and after work hours. Although a couple of places I've worked have had jeans Fridays.

As a child in the 70's: I didn't wear them when I was really little, but I remember the first pair of jeans I got, probably around 6th grade - they were red and I wore them with a red and white gingham snap front shirt. In 7th and 8th grade I wore boy's Levi's, including corduroys.

As a teen in the 80's: I wore Levi's and some Esprit jeans that had a snap flap thing in the front, and some grey jeans with white flowers - but also a lot of other pant styles besides jeans.

As a young adult in the 90's: the first few years of the 90's I wore Guess jeans with zippered ankles, baggy Mom jeans with a pleated front, and some acid wash Levis. In the late 90's I had some colored jeans as well.

As a new Mom in the early '00's: lots of bootcuts, some straight legs - thought I couldn't wear skinny jeans because I have muscular legs and always avoided the super low rise that was all the rage for a while.

Mid 2000's to now: skinny jeans work for me, who knew? Still wear bootcuts but love the skinnies best. Have colors and waxed versions and white.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Great topic, Angie!

As a child in the 60s and 70s, I almost never wore jeans. I wanted a pair but did not have any. I tended to wear skirts to school or polyester trousers.

As a teen in the later 70s I definitely wore skin tight denim that I had to stretch to fit. We'd put the pants in the bathtub and pull them on, wet! I had flares that got all ratty on the bottoms from dragging in the mud. But I also wore a sort of cargo or painter's pant style -- similar to today's boyfriends. And eventually I found Levis 501s. Love.

In the 80s I wore "mom jeans" which were the style at the time. High waisted, sometimes with pleats. Or skinnies with zips on the ankle, sort of New Wave.

In the 90s I still wore jeans, but not as often. I had some serviceable pairs that I can't really recall. I was working as a teacher and tended to dress a little less casually most days for work.

It's really in the past few years that jeans have come into their own in my wardrobe. I have found styles and cuts that fit me better than in the past, and have added variety in the form of colours, washes, prints, white.

eds

I was a child in the 60's and girls didn't much wear jeans. We started to in high school, early 70's and wore boy's Levis. Did that through college and, like Suz, did the mom jean thing in the 80's. I know they look awful to our eyes now but with a slim body and a flat tummy they could actually look flattering. I've been a jeans wearing gal since and will be forever, I feel sure. A funny jeans story... when my oldest daughter was a preschooler and would only wear dresses, she came into my bathroom one morning as I was getting ready for work, wearing jeans. She said, "Are you wearing THAT to work?". I responded that "Yes, you have just got a jeans wearing momma." and she replied, "WELL... you do NOT have a jeans wearing daughter!". She has since seen the beauty of a good pair of jeans!

carter

Veteran

I've been wearing Levis and later Gap for as long as I can remember (1960s). Always straight leg or bootcut, with maybe a flare thrown in for awhile. First pairs of premium denim didn't happen until around 2010! First skinnies came after I started hanging around YLF in 2013. The last pair of jeans I purchased were Gap straight legs. I've come full circle:-)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

OH, abc. I remember those fold-over at the waist jeans. (I forgot to mention that I also wore acid wash jeans in the ‘80s). Sounds like your jeans wearing history is similar to mine.

Laura, spandex has definitely take care of the rolling around on the bed or floor phenomenon. Teens don't need to suffer like we did.

Oh, Dana. Go Team Pleated Jeans. We wore similar styles of jeans in our lives it seems. Fun that you worked at the Gap. I wanted to be the baby wear buyer for the Gap for the longest time.

Betty, Carter and Naz, interesting that you’ve always worn jeans. I guess they were more popular in the US.

Elisabeth, snap. I wore pinafore dresses with t-necks as a little girl in the ‘70s with you. And with thick scratchy tights. What was my Mum thinking? Those tights came off half way through the day, and I wouldn't put them back on.

K.M, snap. Those high-wasited jeans in the ‘80s were the best. And then we let it all hang out in the ‘90s with the ultra low rise. Hectic.

Linda, it sounds like those 501s changed our jeans wearing style lives. I also wore a school uniform from 1975 to 1987, which limited our jeans wearing days.

Suz, I was hoping you wore bell bottoms in the ‘70s. I love that they dragged in the mud, which means that they were extra long. Seems that we both started wearing jeans regularly MUCH later in life.

eds, hah. Great story.

Aubergine

Veteran

I think my approach to jeans is pretty weird, but here goes! I've always worn them mostly for convenience and versatility and, maybe most of all, to fit in. Not for comfort (even at my thinnest and even in pairs with soft denim, stretch, or a baggier fit, I've never had a pair that's been more than just okay comfort-wise) and not really for expression of personal style. So I've mostly had whatever type of jeans are in style at the time, not in huge numbers and with nothing too far out-there trendwise.

Trying to find stylish non-jeans casual wear has also been an ongoing theme for me. Even when I've worn jeans the most, I don't think it's ever been above 50% of the time. I had an actual rule about wearing jeans in high school, believe it or not. If I wore jeans for a certain number of days in a row, I'd "earned" the right to wear something more comfortable for the same number of days.

As a little kid: I only remember owning one pair. They were dark denim (maybe Oshkosh?) and my mom was frustrated because I never wanted to wear them. They just felt thick and stiff to me and I had other things I liked better. So, Eds, I loved your story! Especially since my mom has always been a jeans person herself.

Later elementary school (late '80s): Was starting to pay attention to what was trendy, so had a few cherished pairs of Guess jeans. Also had an acid-wash pair with zippers on the bottom.

Middle school and early high school (early to mid '90s): Stiff, high-waisted "mom" jeans. Soooo chokingly uncomfortable, especially since everyone wore them with tucked-in tops and thick leather belts. Had regular blue jeans, plus a few colored pairs, including why-did-I-ever-think-that-was-a-good-idea hot pink. Also vividly remember the day I was sitting in class in fall of 10th grade when I looked at my rolled-up jeans, realized no one else was still wearing them rolled, and unrolled them right then and there.

Late high school and college (late '90s): Worn-in vintage jeans. So much better than what I was wearing before. Also a few unfortunate pairs of cargo jeans from Old Navy.

Post-college (early 2000s): Low-rise dark boot cuts. I really liked Mavi jeans, and was thrilled beyond belief that denim with stretch became a thing.

Recently: Skinnies and straight-legs in dark or medium blue washes.

Eliza

Veteran

No jeans as a child, girls were required to wear skirts and dresses to school until the new "revolutionary" dress code was approved when I was in seventh grade. Girls could wear "slacks", but not jeans the first year.

The next year jeans were okayed, so all through high school it 98% jeans (straights or bell bottoms, with a brief fad of extra high waisted ones with large flared bottoms).

College through the mid 70s was all jeans and straight legged corduroys, all the time. Casual was ubiquitous where I went to school,and you would hear lots of anti-fashion sentiment, even from students who could have afforded anything. It was the time of non-conforming, so everyone looked exactly the same...

Post college and grad school years required deliberately mundane, professional attire, with jeans on the weekends. SAHM years involved liberal wearing of jeans (flares were popular then), and as a retired empty nester, I wear them several times a week, mostly straights and boyfriends). Happy that they are an enduring fashion option that shape changes just when I am getting bored!

Fun thread to read!

Helena

Veteran

eds, I love your daughter's confidence in her style! She's a role model to us all!

My first jeans memory is a pair of acid-washed mom-jeans that I stole from my sister, which I wore rolled up, with cropped sweatshirts, white socks, and penny loafers. So yeah, that's the 80's for you.

In the early nineties, I loved baggy Buffalo and Pepe jeans - I think this is when hiphop styles starting influencing mainstream trends (correct me if I'm wrong), so the baggier the better - worn with Doc Marten brogues and either a black turtleneck or a white baggy shirt, and more tapered, lighter washed Levis. Somewhere in the early- to mid-nineties, I stopped wearing jeans in favor of leggings and tapered black pants Then thankfully, dark denim and boot cuts entered the scene for a dressier jeans look, and I've been wearing them since. Now I live in skinnies for practicality and boot cut for a dressier look.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Aubergine, that's interesting. You are younger and I thought you would have preferred wearing jeans more frequently. Glad that Mavis work for you. Good brand, and affordable too.

Wow, Eliza. You have a fascinating jeans wearing history. And are probably wearing them more now than ever, right?

TG, I remember Pepe jeans. I think guys wore then too.

Alassë

Veteran

1990s (child/teen) - I had a pair of jeans off and on in the 90s to wear horseback riding - never liked them because of the stiffness.

2000s (teen/young adult) - No jeans. I discovered stretch pants and kept a pair for rare pants days.

2010-present (young adult): Discovered curvy fit trouser jeans that actually fit me and felt more professional than tight bootcuts. I keep one pair in rotation at all times (unless pregnant, in which case it's to much trouble to fit).

Janet

(website)

Veteran

When I was a very young kid, jeans were a bit fraught in my home. My sister, ten years my senior, fought with my parents about wearing jeans to school. It was the 70s, and students were allowed to wear jeans to school for the first time, but my mom wasn't having it. And I'll never forget the time mom threw away a pair of my sister's cut-off jean shorts (they would probably be called booty shorts these days) -- my sister did manage to retrieve them from the trash. Good times.

By the time I wanted to wear jeans to school, times had changed (and all the fight had gone out of my parents). However, my big issue was that my parents thought any old denim was fine -- it's all the same, right? -- but I wanted Levi's because that's what all the cool kids, and even not so cool kids, wore. So it was up to me to spend my babysitting money if I wanted Levis.

The funny thing was, those Levis didn't even fit me well. They were cut straight, for boys/men, and even at 14, I had acquired HIPS. So the waists of my jeans were way too big and altering the waist never fully corrected the ill fit.

Fortunately, the 80s brought fitted styles that worked better for a young woman's body, and I wore those high-waisted mom styles that are coming back around now. They looked better on teenage me than middle-aged me. I won't be going down that road again.

I didn't wear jeans as much in the 90s, as I was working in environments that did not allow jeans. I'd wear Calvin Klein or the equivalent bootcut or straight-leg jeans for the weekends. I didn't get into the grunge look, so I never went for the baggy low-rise thing.

In the late 90s and 00's I started wearing jeans almost daily, as my career path changed and my work places got more casual. I defaulted to bootcuts and straights. I only embraced skinny jeans about 5 years ago, once they were already firmly established as a classic.

These days, I wear jeans almost daily from fall through spring, and I mostly wear straights or skinnies (but no longer the really tight skinnies), followed by bootcuts, and occasionally BFs. I'm really not the biggest BF fan, I've decided. They're just not all that flattering on me, and I don't feel my best in them. I like mid rises the best. I feel like, all along, I've had a pretty good idea what works best on my body, and I've tried other jean styles, but I am feeling less inclined to try every new trend in jeans than I was a few years ago.

Debbie

Veteran

In the 70's until I went to college I was not allowed to wear jeans. My father hated them at that time on women. When I went to college that was the first purchase I made on my own. It wasn't until the late 80's that I wore them more and then in the 90's I loved black jeans more than blue. I have worn them more in the last 5 years than ever. White ones, black ones, patterned ones and blue ones.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, so interesting! It has always seemed very American to me to wear jeans all the time, which is not to say everyone else in the world also doesn't wear them... but there's something about America and blue jeans. I mention this because, sometimes, I feel I'm very bad at some specific *A*merican things... real denim blue jeans being one of them.

My history:

As a child in the '70s: N-O. As a little girly girl, I was the bane of my mother's existence wearing only frilly dresses and patent leather mary janes.

As a pre-teen in the late '70s/early '80s: I wore baggy jeans rolled up at the cuffs, rather like the fashion now. I was decidedly NOT in the fashion mainstream then - and I put a stake in the ground about it. The fashion then was jeans so skinny, a girl had trauma because she couldn't get back into her jeans after swim class...

As a teen and student in the '80s: I did finally join the Levi's 501, peg-leg crowd. Only, being me, I had to peg them with safety pins and had holes at the knees. Punk streak starting. Parents should never have let me go to London by myself when I was a pre-teen... hehe. Anyways, the 501's gave me stomach aches; they didn't bend at the waist with me when I bent. Note, also, that I would have nothing to do with the light, acid-washed, long-haired rocker jeans at this time. That shredded jeans look - nothing to do with me ;>

As a young adult in the '90s: Hmm... Oh! Yes. Discovered some dark Georgio jeans at Saks that were stretch denim. I can't think when I wore them, though. Maybe on *casual friday*? But they were the best jeans I've ever had. This was, by the way, when I went *dark denim.*

As an adult in the early '00s: I did the flared jeans thing - best pair were stretch denim from Target. Heavier weight fabric than the Georgios, so they don't make the top spot. But they were cute. I wore them to the office with canvas peplum jackets and heels, even tho they were blue jeans. I had a thing most of the time about denim needing to be dark if worn to the office in the 'Noughts.

As a middle aged adult in the mid 2000's till the present day: Strictly coloured jeggings and patterned non-denim skinny *jeans.* I do have some wide leg jeans, blue and black *circus stripe.* I don't wear them regularly because the denim is heavy and they're hemmed for heels. I have some "track pants jeans" and a pair of high-waisted "faux jeans" picked up a couple of weekends ago (not yet worn) - both of these are "acid attacked." I have zero blue true denim, but do have black denim... also not worn that often because they're real, heavy denim.

Thistle

Veteran

As a kid I wore them a lot. They were easy to obtain second hand still in good condition. Most of my clothes as a kid were second hand, so they were very much a mainstay.

Once I got old enough to buy my own clothes, I tried really hard not to wear jeans for a long time. Even though thrifting was cool in Seattle in the 90s, a part of me was done with second hand jeans.

In working life, I was in suits all week, and some weekends. So loungewear reigned supreme on weekends.

Then came jeans Friday's, and that made me re look at them and start to reintegrate them back into my wardrobe. Now, they are for weekend wear out of the house, with loungewear (including the much maligned yoga pants) when we are just staying in.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I started wearing jeans in the early 70s when I was in Junior High School. I think I wore them less in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. I never did the tight non-stretch jean thing, I wore leggings and pants and lots of long and midi skirts. In the 90s I re-discovered jeans, Levis, Big Star and Edwin were my go-to brands. But I still didn't wear them as often as now. I credit the addition of stretch as well as the expert jeans sewing houses in LA, Italy and Japan to making jeans so fab. There are so many brands out there, but we have to remember that it's a limited amount of houses that hand sew, wash, finish and treat premium denim, and they are mostly in in LA.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Alasse, you're another youngster who surprises me that she didn't wear jeans more regularly.

Janet, you have MORE than made up for not wearing jeans frequently in the past. WOW. You almost exclusively wear jeans now. And fun to hear that you did the high waisted '80s thing too.

Debbie, you've also made up for it. You wear jeans so much more now than ever before. Me too, so high five.

Rachy, am I right in saying that you don't have a basic pair of jeans? HAH. You've gone the other way round. Fascinating.

Thistle, like Rachy, you've also gone the other way round. Wore jeans more frequently as a child. Very interesting.

Denise, as Queen Jeans, I expected you to wear them more now than you did in the past. LOVE how fashionable jeans have become.

Sal

Veteran

Love this thread, will think about it during the day and respond tonight when I have more time.

Style Fan

Veteran

I am very impressed that people remember the jean styles they wore in the past. I do remember buying a pair of jeans in the 60s at "The Fig Leaf" in London, Ontario. It was a store where you bought cool clothes. Jeans were only made for men or boys so that is what I got. I think they were Lees but maybe Levis. I sewed darts in the waist to make them fit. Sort of. They were very hard and took a long time to break in.

I do remember flares and wide legged jeans. I think it was the 70s. I also wore carpenter jeans. I had jeans so tight I could barely breathe. No idea when that was. I had a pair of jeans made by Pentimento (?) that I loved. Fit me perfectly. I also wore Hollywood jeans. I seem to remember liking them.

When bootcut jeans hit the scene I was happy. They worked for me. I have had 7 for all Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, Fidelity and a few others. I also love BF jeans. My favs are Silver and Fidelity.

Never been a fan of skinnies. I am a curvy person. They don't really look that great on me. I also don't like the feeling of being a sausage. I don't like tight jeans or tight footwear.

Inge

(website)

Brilliant question, Angie:-)
And I'm having a ball reading all your denim stories.

Here's mine:
- I didn't do much denim as a child (1970s). I do remember a photo of me at the seaside sporting white denim flares. And a pic in which I'm wearing a darker wash knee-length A-line denim skirt with a fun tee with a stripe (of course). My sis and I mostly wore skirts, dresses and trousers in other fabrics (just like you, Angie).

- Jeans started to play a bigger role when I was a teen (1980s). When I was 14 I loved my light wash tapered jeans (wider on the thigh) with paper bag waist. Loved wearing them with a long-sleeved boatneck tee in radiant orchid tucked in. I felt so stylish:-)
There was also a straight acid wash mini skirt with brown faux leather insets. No idea why I wanted that skirt, because I wore it maybe three times.

- Also loved my light wash super roomy (they fell off without a belt) frayed at the hems (quite wide, but not flares) jeans that I wore when I was 18. Having them long enough, and wearing them with ballet flats so that they dragged on the floor and became extra frayed, was the thing to do then.

- Before Levis 501 became hugely popular (I saved up for a pair, it took me forever, but I was so happy with my button-up jeans), Pepe was the "It" brand that was all the rage in Europe. I saved up for a pair of those as well, and wore them to pieces.

- Actually, I don't recall having more than 2 or 3 pairs of jeans at the same time in my (minimal) closet until my late twenties. We just wore the heck out of all our clothes I guess;-)

- And apparently I wasn't very adventurous with denim silhouettes in my twenties or thirties either, because nothing in particular comes to mind. I mostly wore straight leg jeans and bootcuts, I think. Mixed up with a more skinny fit (but nothing super skinny).

- It's only been in the last 5 years or so (and since I found YLF) that I started to play around with different styles of jeans, and I haven't looked back ever since. I'd be quite bored if I had to stick with one silhouette now...

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Oh, Style Fan, you just reminded me of carpenter jeans -- one of my favorite pairs of jeans when I was young (19 maybe?) was a railroad stripe pair of carpenter style jeans. I'm sure they looked cute on my then-skinny self!

It's funny, but even in high school and college, I had a dressy streak. I remember wearing one of my favorite outfits in high school -- a plaid A-line skirt in shades of brown, a tan turtleneck, and a chocolate brown velvet fitted blazer, with high-heeled tan shoes. So funny. I think I dress more casually now, but I still tend to dress up more than my daily routine requires. Jeans are a great way to keep from looking *overdressed*.

rachylou

Veteran

Yes, that's true, now that you mention: I don't have a basic pair of jeans. I *have* gone the other way around.

Don't know what to make of that (!)

deb

Veteran

I did not start wearing jeans until my college days in 1970. Before that I wore cords. I worked in a department store and got them in the young men's department because the girls and junior departments did not have them. I was able to wear a girls size 12 then or a junior 0 if they had them. In college I wore flared jeans and made them longer by adding trim from the fabric store. Jeans have been a staple in my closet since.

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