I have not written anything for the past few weeks because every time I try to think of a subject, politics, Covid-19, or riots come to mind, and I have already said enough about those. But, then I was listening to the evening news when they mentioned that one of the designers was offering a pair of blue jeans for $1400.00 a pair. It seems that these jeans are prewashed, faded, and have built-in grass stains. It made me laugh, but there are people who will buy them and think they are being fashionable.
My wife has always tried to get me to buy and wear blue jeans, and I have refused—except when I ride my motorcycle. I don’t like the way they fit. They are usually made of heavier material that is uncomfortable. I remember years ago, when jeans became faded and appeared worn before you bought them, a woman in the Pittsburgh area bought jeans, shot them with a gun, and then sold the bullet-riddled jeans at a high price. Jeans started to be sold with tears and slits in them, even with the knees already appearing to be worn out. These pants were not cheap and we saw them being worn by rich and poor everywhere. Not me though, as my time with jeans wasn’t always pleasant. In 1949, my mother was short on money, and I had to enter the seventh grade wearing overalls (no bib) because you could buy them for $2.00 a pair. Only the poor kids wore them, and you were assigned to that level or class. The next year, at 12 years old, I went to work on my uncle’s dairy farm for the summer. While I still wore the worn-out overalls, I had the job of cleaning the barn floor each morning after doing the milking. There was a blue jean jacket that hung in the barn and when I took the wagon of manure to a field to spread it, I would put the jacket on to protect me when the wind changed and I got hit with some of the manure that I had just thrown. To this day, every time that I see a blue jean jacket, I can smell cow manure. Blue jeans still remind me of being too poor to buy regular cotton pants for school and the smell of cow manure.
The fashion world has caused many people to buy and wear a lot of clothes that are greatly overpriced and really look kind of funny. When I see a person getting out of a Cadillac or BMW wearing blue jeans, I see a person who has too much money and is willing to buy $30.00 pants for hundreds. My jeans came from the Harley Davidson store, and I wore them when riding to protect my legs and maybe keep some of the skin on them if I went sliding down the road. Luckily that never happened, but it was worth the trouble anyway. My jeans still hang in the closet, and my wife just bought me a new pair because the old ones are too big for me now. She thinks that, because they are hanging in my closet, I may wear them sometime. If you see me with them on, you know I got tired of the constant urging to wear them. It’s a way to keep peace in the household.
This has been a great way to forget the world’s problems and rant against the fashion industry. I hope that I haven’t spoiled your next trip out of the house with your designer jeans and further hope that you don’t smell cow manure the next time you wear your jean jacket or are near someone who has a jean jacket on. Have a great day and keep looking good.
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