They are, almost literally, everywhere, one of the great demotic cultural artifacts of all time—part of the great mass casualizing of America. If you don’t have a pair somewhere in your closet or chest of drawers, we’ll be shocked. They can signal high fashion, disregard for fashion, or both at the same time. They can last for years or be delivered off the rack so “distressed” that they disintegrate after half a dozen washings. Indeed, in their stonewashed comfort, they make a great metaphor for many other things.
What do jeans make of the world? They connect us to a hard-working past and to a leisurely present. They signal that we are all the same even as their prices spiral upward. For at least half the species, finding a pair that fit can become an epic quest, reminding us of all our imperfections with each over-the-shoulder glance in the fitting room mirror. For much of the other half of the species, they make a great substitute for a napkin.
What do jeans make possible and impossible? What do they tell us about our culture—the way it is, the way it ought to be? Chime in below.
Jeans say that, like you, they can take a beating and still function.
—Erik M. PetersonJeans say that the world is a place were anything can happen, be ready.
—Deets Johnson Add your own comment . . .That life is sometimes chaotic, so our clothing should be durable and easily coordinated enough to handle it.
—Shu Ming Add your own comment . . .Outfits that match without too much effort (very important when you’re rushing to uni!).
—Shu MingIf nice jeans are your office pants, when they get old they can be relegated (or promoted!) to your outdoor pants. From desk to forest.
—Paul Grant Add your own comment . . .Jeans make impossible a too-serious conversation.
—Howard FreemanJeans are comfortable. After wearing them it is difficult to wear suit pants and feel ready for anything.
—Deets Johnson Add your own comment . . .A culture where the hard life is sometimes co-opted as a fashion statement (stonewashed, $300 designer jeans, for example). Or a culture where fashion is allembracing of social class, depending on how you think about it.
—Shu MingIn Paraguay (where I am currently), a certain level of political functionary is allowed to wear jeans to work: male, European-descended, incredibly wealthy. Everyone else has to wear uncomfortable “business-casual” (the cheapest polyestery stuff from China). And so, when I walked into a government agency meeting wearing jeans on Friday, it was remarked on… and an act, on my part, of asserting gender equality.
—Christine Add your own comment . . .