80s: Wore tapered Buffalo jeans rolled at the hem, skinny/stretchy dark denim tucked into slouchy socks, and two pairs of acid wash TIGHT jeans that were overdied Aqua and fucshia.

90s: Levi's with button-up flies (holes everywhere, ragged hems), red jeans, tightish stretchy black jeans, and probably bought a lot of jeans at the Gap. They were all worn with my six-hole doc martens, every day.

00s: Gap long and leans, boot cuts, and too many pairs of low rise jeans to count - this is thanks to Britney Spears - skinnies, etc.

Present day: straight leg, high rise skinnies (black, dark blue, and white), and a pair of boot cuts I wear on the weekends.

I would be so lost without denim!

Oh, and I've never purchased premium denim or paid more than about $88 (incl. tax) for jeans. I prefer straight leg jeans, and I don't think I've seen premium denim in that style. Unless the jean comes in Petites, fading doesn't work for me unless I want fading down to my calves!

I was in the high school in the late 80's/early 90's and was not allowed to wear pants for religious reasons. So my "jeans" were jean skirts. This is the reason you will probably never see me in a jean skirt today! So I started wearing jeans in the mid 90's and, from what I remember, Levi's in a light wash were my preference. I've worn them in various colors and cuts ever since but have always felt behind in the learning curve due to my late adoption. I've learned more about jean in my years on YLF than in all the years before and am enjoying wearing jeans more than ever!!

Do I have this right... jeans were not a norm for most in the '70s?

It's sorta surreal... I'm from Hippy Dippy Land, right, and jeans were sooooo the norm.

I am with you Rachy.

WOW. LOVED reading your jeans histories. Thanks for sharing them. Some of you have come full circle and are making up for lost time. Rock on.

Rachy, I don't think jeans were the norm for KIDS in the '70s. And generally, kids living in the US wore jeans a lot more than kids living outside of the US.

Rachy, I'd say you are right on what you picked up on. I was intrigued that these stories indirectly reflect a pretty big cultural shift in the U.S., from a time when jeans were dungarees worn for physical labor or outdoors activities, to an era when young people picked up on them and began to wear them as a norm, to a time when they became widely accepted as a normal garment for everyone.

Awesome memories!

I remember the 'newness' of jeans in the 60s - but my first pair that I clearly remember (and loved) was when I was 12 (1969). Huge bellbottoms that cleaned the street, and a rawhide lace tie up at the front. Does it get any cooler?
From that point onward jeans have always been a part of my life. During the seventies dark washed levis or faded lees. Jeans so tight that not only did I have to lie on the bed to get them on, I needed a ruler to straighten out the pockets. By the time I hit university, I was more into the painter type jean (needed a little more breathing space), and of course I had 'mom' jeans in the child rearing years. Thanks to YLF I discovered skinnies and BFS and have happily added them to my arsenal. Jeans jeans jeans - long may they rule!

I'm not sure if I wore jeans as a small kid but I clearly remember getting a pair of new jeans for back-to-school in 5th grade (circa 1984). They were dark blue and had a Betty Boop motif embroidered on the back pockets.

I'm sure I wore jeans pretty much always ever since. Mostly I am not picky about brands, though I do remember Jordache being the cool kid brand in middle school.

Hello everyone. I just signed up to participate in this forum and this seemed a logical thread for me to start with. I can remember when we were first allowed to wear pants to school in the late 60s(yikes). Once I hit junior high, I wore jeans most days. I can remember bell bottoms, jeans with fringe/trim on the bottom and denim painter's pants.

I've continued to wear jeans ever since and love skinny/boot cut silhouettes. My lifestyle has always been casual so jeans work great. I'm always on the lookout for cute denim skirts too, but that's a much greater challenge.