Thoughts on Jeans

Jeans - not my favorite subject. When i was a kid, I was 16 before I had a pair... yeah, there is a story behind that and I'll tell it over cocktails someday. Anyway, I remember when the first designer jeans came out. Jordache was the first real brand that hit Michigan with any major impact. I can't remember what they cost but they did look good on some guys... ok, one in particular, but again, I digress. Calvin Klein ads really revved up the the visibility of jeans. In my mind, jeans became more entrenched than any previous time. I think because of the higher price tag (which added to the desirability), and seeing the Vanderbilt name on your ass gave one some kind of credibility. The “I'm in with Gloria V.” cache. The social anarchy of the 60 and early 70's melted away and was replaced with respectiblity.
I know that worn out jeans are kind of the thing. That appeal of having a pair of pants so worn in that they fit like a glove is appealing however...
Ask yourself these simple questions.

When a guy wears a dress shirts get has a dirtly ring around the collar and the armpits get a yellow stain from perspiration, does that make him more sexy?

When a guy's tighty whities get dingy grey from laundering and perhaps get a skid mark or two, and the waist band can't seem to hold them up, does that look make him look more sexually appealing?

If a t-shirt on a guy has an gravy stain or a hole in it, and perhaps the ribbing at the neck is pulled out of shape, does that make you drool with excitement and anticipation?

If a guy wears a suit to a club that is full of holes, is distressed and looks like he just crawled out of a box (that he perhaps calls "home"), does that just make you swoon with desire and yell "TAKE ME NOW! RAVAGE ME!" ?

Somehow, I think not. So why do we make the exception with jeans?
I think the denim industry is very good at selling a concept. Somehow, with the purchase of a pair of $200 (to perhaps, $775) jeans, we too can be rockstars. That a pair of Rock & Republic jeans makes a guy look way too hot for words is, in my mind, absurd.
At their best a pair of jeans can look great if they fit, but soooooo many times I see jeans on men that sag in the ass, expose a crack or worse, show me too much information. I don't dislike them so much as I think they are the Garanimals of the clothing world. Some how guys think they are appropriate for everything. Simultaneously, they think that because the jeans happen to fit around the waist (or what they see as their waist), they must therefore fit. They are so wrong. But again, I digress.
So, here we are looking at jeans. I have covered the history of jeans a couple of times before. OK. 3 times. I could choke. But in my construction and tailoring studies, has anyone ever addressed how to make a pair or what makes them fit. Simple answer. No. So with this frustration in mind, I took a seamripper to a pair of $200 jeans that were left over from a photoshoot. What I found was very interesting with respect to construction. They are so basic, it made me ponder how quickly they could be made. I went looking and this is what I found at www.jeansinfo.org.

• Jeans have about 15 pattern pieces in them.
• The average factory makes 2500 pair of jeans a day.
• A pair of jeans takes about 1.6 meters of fabric.
• It takes roughly 15 minutes to make a pair and roughly 12 steps. From my ripping apart a pair, I guess about 5 of those steps are doing the fly. Also, the fly construction is really simple when compared to a standard pair of dress slacks.
• 150 pair of jeans takes approximately 150 lbs of pumice stone and 750 liters of water to age.
• The fit comes from the yoke, the depth of the crotch (which is shallower than normal trousers) and at times the leg is cut on more of an angle than a standard pair of pants.
• All this aside, one of my next sewing projects will be a pair of jeans.

So again, I ask you. What is the real value of a garment that requires less than 2 yards of distressed cotton and is made with less than 20 minutes of labor?
Finally, where are jeans going? It seems that from a fit standpoint, many designers are trying to transition men into trousers that have the look and feel of jeans. The cut is more fitted and the designs more casual as to accomodate that yoke that is in the back of a pair. Many cities are trying to get away from the ultra-low hung pants and jeans. See the attached article from the NY Times and chart from the Flint, Michigan Police. I hope that is a trend that will go away. I don't think the marketing appeal will be there for jeans to be distressed after this recession is over. I think many folks will be quite happy to not be spending extra for something that is already worn out.
http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/the-latest-in-law-enforcement-the-pants-police/?apage=2