Article by Joey Bloggs
There have been several finishes to jeans that have become popular and probably the most annoying one to any parent has been the ‘ripped’ jeans phenomenon in Boys Clothing. Many have had anguished thoughts. How can you justify paying out good money for a pair of new jeans that look like they’ve been retrieved from an ill-behaved mangle and are in worse condition than the pair that you are paying to replace? That’s fashion for you! Don’t worry; your neighbours won’t think you are a negligent parent, they’ll accept that you’ve had to succumb to the pressures of the advertising gurus and trend setters by whom your children have been influenced. Kids know when a pair of jeans has been designer ripped or home ripped. Random slashing just doesn’t cut it [sic] until you’ve reached the stage of customising your own jeans, then they become cool.
Ripped jeans aren’t the only finish that exasperates parents when buying their boys jeans. Not quite as radical or savage as ripped jeans is the treatment known as ‘distressing’ to give that well-worn look, again something you might resent paying for but for many it’s an essential. Just like coming out of the barbers or hairdressers with ‘new’ hair, you can’t wait to get home and mess it up a little to bring it back to ‘normal’. The same principle applies to new jeans for a lot of boys. Yes, they need the bigger size because they’ve grown but they still want the comfort and look of their favoured jeans and a pair of distressed jeans goes some way in providing that. A brand new pair of jeans would require a lot of work with stones, knives and scissors to achieve a similar lived in appearance where abrasions naturally occur on pockets, seams, hems and flies. Some distressing techniques use splash and splatter effects of paint and bleach over the legs for a further distressed look in much the same way that bashing and battering furniture can give it a certain distinguished appearance.
Vintage look jeans tend not to be ripped or threadbare but they do have faded patches, usually on the areas that receive most wear. Thighs, knees and the backside of a pair of jeans will have worn looking areas and the material will be softer, already broken in like many times laundered jeans might be for a more comfortable feel. Quite often stonewashed jeans can give a similar look and feel, the white warp threads being somewhat abraded to make their appearance through the blue weft threads that dominate the front of the fabric. The same effect could be achieved at home but would require a lot of time and energy, and therefore expense, running the washing machine at a vicious cycle over and over again.
It probably works out just as cheap to pay the premium for the special finishes; by the time you do all the treatments yourself at home your boy may have grown another size up and when you buy them ready-finished in the shop you can wear them immediately.
About the Author
Employee of Boys Clothing company – Joe Bloggs Clothing.