Blue jeans are coming back, according to an article I read last night in an online publication called Straits Times.
Personally, I didn’t know they ever left. Blue jeans make up the bulk of my wardrobe. I wear them to the office, which is, I admit, only a few steps from my living room. I wear them to do interviews, which, I admit, are often conducted bouncing around the cab of a pickup, sitting at a farmer’s kitchen table, or perched on some sort of crate or another in a farm shop.
I have been known to dress them up with a Farm Press logo shirt, shrug into a blazer and slip my feet into a pair of something other than boots to attend conferences and trade shows. I do occasionally wear khakis, dress shirts, maybe even a tie to more formal events.
I wear them fishing, hiking (until the summer heat sets in) and working around the yard. I could wear them to church, as do many in our congregation, but years of “getting dressed” for church make that unlikely.
I don’t wear fancy jeans — Lee, Wrangler or Levi suit me fine, thank you. I buy two or three pair a year and wear them until holes in the knees are too big for comfort. Occasionally, I trim the cuffs where they have frayed.
I like the comfort, the ease, the culture of blue jeans. And they are made of cotton.
The article indicated that blue jeans, including some of the pricier versions, may begin competing with such high-brow attire as leggings and yoga pants, neither of which have I ever worn or ever intend to wear.
The problem with blue jeans, the piece adds, has been the upsurge in athletic wear that offered comfort, moisture wicking and style. “…blue jean styles have been largely stagnant over the past decade, leaving shoppers little to get excited about,” the article says. But it adds, “Across the industry, fashion brands are renewing their focus on denim, betting the wardrobe staple can be a major sales driver as jeans battle stretchy pants for supremacy from the waist down.”
The writer lists Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and J. Crew as clothiers interested in pursuing denim jeans as a revived fashion item.
“America's biggest fashion labels are pinning their hopes on a blue jean revival,” reads the article, which also notes that although “Levi Strauss & Co. struggled for years to stave off pressure from stretchy pants, there are signs of a rebound. The jeans maker posted an 8 percent increase in revenue in 2017, thanks to a significant revamp of its women’s jeans.”
Retailers indicate an upturn for denim, too. That sounds like good news for cotton. I’m glad those yoga pants have some new competition.