It’s Jean-etic
by Kym on April 26, 2007
I think it’s safe to say that fashion is not my forte. I’m the kind of gal whose fashion education consists of having watched The Devil Wears Prada three times and reading the new Sears catalogue every season.
That said, fashion fascinates me.
In my high school days, I scorned it. Mostly because I didn’t have a clue, and no way were my parents going to shell out $85 for the much coveted Club Monaco sweatshirt which was then considered the height of fashion. I decided that fussing about clothes was juvenille and a sign of priorities being seriously out of whack. I counted my blessings that I hadn’t been “sucked into the vortex”, all the while feeling dowdy and left out.
When I went to University, I suddenly found myself independently wealthy. I was living at home, working, and paying for school with scholarship money. I was rich! I often wandered the mall alone, buying whatever caught my fancy and happened to fit. It was a very scary time. I wince at some of the looks I sported. The jeans with the dye splatter patterns were probably the worst of it.
Now that I’ve set out on the path to becoming a grown up (heaven help me), my thoughts often turn to my wardrobe. I’ve acknowledged the fact that how I look has become very important to me, especially in that it affects how I feel about myself in such a dramatic way. Perhaps this is just rationalization at its finest, but when I feel like I look good, I think I “act good” as well. I’m more cheerful, friendly, and thoughtful.
Of course, maybe I’m just making this all up to justify spending more on a pair of jeans than Neil and I would spend on a night out at a nice restaurant:
Never had I so much as entered “The Gap”, before Easter weekend. But when all my searching for a comfy pair of jeans failed, I turned to it as a last resort. It seemed to me to be the retail version of the “cool kids” I went to high school with. The ones who mocked my clothes and shoes almost daily. Walking into that store felt like betraying all the geeks I’d once considered my comrades. I defected!
I found a lovely pair of cozy jeans that actually manage to restrain my tummy. I guiltily payed for them, and then I fled.
I’m wearing them right this moment. They’re size twelve. I think any amount of social guilt is worth fitting into a size twelve for the first time in three and a half years, don’t you?
23 comments
Hooray for new jeans that are comfy and in style! You might as well enjoy them….you paid for ‘em and most importantly…they fit!
by Deanne on April 26, 2007 at 4:22 pm. #
I am envious…size 12? That is awesome! Congrats!!
by Tirzah on April 26, 2007 at 6:51 pm. #
Which ones did you get? A few weeks ago I wandered into the Gap because I have a gift certificate I want to spend and I wanted a new pair of comfy, cute jeans. I walked out with nothing because all they had stocked were 0′s and 4′s. Hello?!? What about normal people out here? I really wanted to try on the Curvy Stretchy ones everybody is raving about.
Congrats on the size 12! What a joyful feeling!
by An Ordinary Mom on April 26, 2007 at 6:53 pm. #
Deanne…And I’m hoping like heck that they don’t fit for long! Size 10 is my weight loss goal.
Tirzah…a far cry from the 18′s I was wearing last year!
Lucy…I wonder if you can order online? I liked the Long and Lean style, since I’m taller than the average.
by Kimberly on April 26, 2007 at 8:33 pm. #
baby gap has the best socks…
by Nurse Pickles on April 26, 2007 at 8:50 pm. #
How tall are you? I am 5’10″ and I thought I had tried the long and lean on before and it made me realize I am the long and not the lean :) !! Maybe I will have to try again. I hear there is a HUGE Gap where we will be partying on Saturday :) !!
Nurse Pickles: You made me laugh. I do like their socks, too. However, Sears has some great ones as well.
by An Ordinary Mom on April 26, 2007 at 9:45 pm. #
Yay for cute comfy jeans that are a smaller size than expected! I do not love all things Gap, but I often do love their pants, especially ones I find at the Gap Outlet. My current favorite jeans, though are the Ralph Lauren ones that I got at (drumroll please . . .) Costco for (drumroll again please . . .) $27!!! And you wonder at my love affair with Costco. Well, my friend Becca does.
by Chris on April 26, 2007 at 10:12 pm. #
P.S. I just noticed something! You think I’m a cutie pie? Aw shucks. *Grins & blushes*
by Chris on April 26, 2007 at 10:16 pm. #
Beware!!!! Gap jeans are DEFINETLY the most comfortable…but they fall apart really fast. Look for fraying seams and holes in the knees by fall. :(
by Catherine on April 26, 2007 at 10:41 pm. #
Chris..I loooove Costco’s clothing section! And I wish I were half as cute as you, you silly thing.
Catherine…ooooo…thanks for the warning! Good news is I’ll have shrunk out of them by then. =P
by Kimberly on April 26, 2007 at 10:45 pm. #
You’re getting so skinny and I am too! We’re wearing the same size!
I’m getting all caught up on your blog and then I have to go paint something. Thanks for the entertaining break!
by The Lazy Organizer on April 27, 2007 at 1:36 am. #
Being comfortable in your genes is indeed very important!
I’m wearing my favorite pair now. They’re Chic brand and they have a super stretchy elastic waist band. They don’t have any butt pockets on them either because I think butt pockets can be unflattering on me. When I put them on I hear the chorus singing…….”Heaven, I’m in Heaven…..”
by elasticwaistbandlady on April 27, 2007 at 2:18 am. #
I completely and 100% agree.
When I get back into my size 14…I really won’t care if they are $100 jeans..I will wear them proudly (after I sulk at the cost for a few minutes just for guilt’s sake)
by Brown Eyed Girl on April 27, 2007 at 2:02 pm. #
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I had forgotten all about my Club Monaco sweatshirt but $85???!!! I think not lol.
I’m also kind of surprised cuz I thought everyone shopped at the Gap. I always seem to end up there too(love their sizing, makes you feel so small eh?!)
I’m glad you found something. I also searching for the elusive great fitting jean. So far with no luck, not even at the Gap:( I may have to try some of those really expensive ones…yikes!
Happy jean wearing!
by shay on April 27, 2007 at 4:28 pm. #
Lara – Neat! Except I doubt that your size 12′s leave near permanent marks on your tummy. But I think I’ll be a -true- 12 in about a month. =)
EWBL – But how do your red sweat pants feel about you making time in a pair of jeans??
Angie – You understand me! You really understand me!! ~lol~
Shay – That was the price at a store up in Whistler where I went to buy one on my high school band trip (no parental units around), alas, didn’t have the cash. Bet they were cheaper at Coquitlam Centre. And nope, the Gap is totally new to me. I mean, I grew up as a dork, and the Gap is…well…not dorky. But I think I’ve finally, ha ha, bridged the gap. =P
by Kimberly on April 27, 2007 at 6:16 pm. #
Go you!
by That Chick Over There on April 27, 2007 at 9:34 pm. #
catherine said that gap jeans fall apart. well, those are the only jeans that i can wear, and they have not fallen apart yet! i am a giant at 6 foot tall, and they are the only ones that carry jeans with a 36″ inseam. i LOVE the gap. i usually buy online as i have a gap card and get free shipping when i spend over $50 (and i usually do) and its also good at old navy too. anyway, i love the gap. but i never spend over $35 for any pairs of pants that i have bought. i haunt the sales and i can only buy my size online, so i’m always checking. i refuse to buy a pair for more than that. once i got some for only $20. that was a great day….
and that is fabulous that you fit into 12s. the feeling that comes with fitting back into those smaller sizes (whatever smaller is for each of us) is always good.
by Terina on April 27, 2007 at 11:04 pm. #
hi kimberly: you’ve “bridged the gap!” he he. you made me laugh.
congrats CONGRATS on fitting into this size jeans again for the first time in 3 plus years!!! this is awesome news! tootles :)
by so grateful to be Mormon! on April 28, 2007 at 1:48 pm. #
happened upon your blog today and have not been able to stop reading for some time now! thanks!
congrats on the new size! i totally relate to the new concern and attention to how you look. i feel the same way – much more cheerful when i feel i am presenting myself to the world in something other than my ‘house clothes’
i recently discovered ann taylor loft (the loft part means it is less expensive than her brand store about $50 for jeans) it’s full of ‘grown up’ casual and dressier clothes that fit (and manage to cover my tummy too!)
by jenn on April 30, 2007 at 1:03 am. #
Congrats on the size 12 jeans! I love GAP jeans, I too didn’t go there in HS as I wasn’t “cool” enough. But now as an adult they’re my favs.
by Red Sox Mama on April 30, 2007 at 3:53 am. #
I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who didn’t go to the GAP as a teenager because of the cool (or lack thereof) factor. Whew!
Now, as an adult, I’ve gone there a few times; It wasn’t until I was over 30 though! HA!
by Brandi on April 30, 2007 at 4:24 pm. #
Kathleen – Thanks so much! Feels great!
Terina – Wow, great info! Thanks!
Brandi – Ah, isn’t solidarity grand?
Nat – Thanks so much!
Jenn – Hey, welcome, and thanks for giving me a grin. I adore Ann Taylor! Wonder if they ship to Canada…
by Kimberly on April 30, 2007 at 9:38 pm. #
Jealousy over the size 12. I am trying to fit into a 14 for my sisters wedding, but I had a dream last night where someone told me I had a “lumpy butt.” It made me wake up sad… :)
by jlk on May 1, 2007 at 12:37 pm. #