Boyfriend blues jeans

My life with jeans used to be simple. Levi's. Just Levi's. Straight leg, button fly, 501s. Simple.

Then came stonewashed, boot-cut, guy's fit, bell-bottoms, low-rise, 521s, 504s, 515s and all the other numbers corresponding to the styles of Levi's that I never knew existed. (See www.levi.com for the complete list.)

Things got worse when other brand names and styles came into existence. Diesel, Lucky Brand, Seven. Who could keep track?

Now the trends can't even keep up with themselves. 'Skinny' jeans came and went so quickly that I'm not even sure they ever really applied to women in the US - only young gay men. And news now that 'boyfriend' jeans currently are all the rage. You know the style, those jeans that hang low on your hips and also in the crotch in a slouchy kind of way because they're supposed to look like they are a couple of sizes too big, as if they are your boyfriend's jeans and you're wearing them home on your walk of shame. Katie Holmes recently was dubbed to be helping to bring them into style. (I won't get into her shame issues here; Tom, you know who you are.)

I consider all this as I recall donating some jeans and trousers last year to my local thrift shop because they were too big. You know, trying to keep only my clothes that fit and all. These pairs hung down on my hips and hung low in the crotch as if they weren't my own. I thought they looked sexy; others said they were big.

Here I thought the therapy was working - all it may be doing is stopping me from being the trendsetter that I apparently am.