Good news for those of you who love to appear as disheveled as humanly possible: this fall it will be even easier to look like a total mess, thanks to the latest jeans trend. Coming to us straight from the bowels of 1987, fashion designers have, yet again, resurrected a popular favorite: distressed boyfriend jeans, otherwise known as ripped jeans that appear shapeless from the thighs down and that you must pair with six-inch leopard-print heels so that the world doesn't mistake you for a teenage boy.
A teenage boy who emerged from a time machine after spending the night tailgating before the big Bon Jovi concert.
A little tear here or there on your jeans can make you look like you aren't trying too hard, which is always sexy. Throw a fitted blazer, T-shirt, ballet slippers, and a classic necklace or scarf in the mix and you've got a look that you can almost wear to the office on casual Friday -- but should probably save for a weekend autumn brunch date.
But this damn boyfriend cut -- why? Why must designers insist we hide our shapes and wear denim that actually sags in the front where, I suppose, our packages are supposed to be? If you're curvy, this look does little to show off your best assets, and if, like me, you're straighter than a bean pole, you just feel like your jeans are wearing you.
And then there's the little question that always gets lots of women riled up: are these age appropriate? A pair of straight-legged ripped denim jeans began calling my name about a month after I gave birth to my second child. Maybe I needed to own something young; something that would totally clash with my nursing cover-up. I bought them. I wear them -- a lot -- probably more than I should. And it never fails, anytime I'm around friends or my husband, I hear some snide remark that begins, "Hey, 1988 called ..."
Very funny, guys.
Yes, I realize I just passed the same judgment over these ripped boyfriend jeans. I realize I'm a hypocrite. And I guess I've also summed up why designers keep giving women ripped jeans. Once in awhile, you just want to feel like a 10-year-old who tore her pants playing a mean game of hopscotch.
Do you like the distressed boyfriend jean trend?
Images ©iStock.com/RuslanDashinsky and via shoptiques.com