Somewhere between skinny jeans and baggy jeans, raw denim and faded denim, low-rise and high-rise, a particular type of jeans has transcended styles to the point now of becoming a classic. Once markers of a chaotic life and beers opened with teeth, ripped jeans are now worn by both men and women, teenagers and adults, fashion enthusiasts and sensible people alike. So what should we think of them?
Obviously, there are different kinds of ripped jeans, or rather, there are different kinds of rips. The beloved pair of jeans − softened, lightened, frayed and then naturally torn at the knee from constant bending or at the front pocket from habitually slipping in a keychain − deserves our utmost respect.
A living garment, it shows that a good pair of jeans is never thrown away − ever, even if it is entirely reasonable to have them patched when the hole at the front pocket becomes so large that you can see the color of your underwear underneath.
Idle urbanite in search of style
Within the hierarchy of ripped jeans, the second-hand version bought at thrift stores comes next. While they once surely belonged to an American worker who spent his life on his knees at construction sites, ripped second-hand jeans are now prized by idle urbanites in search of style (and matcha, but that’s another topic). But the second-hand pair most importantly reminds us that there are so many old jeans available on Earth, in all sizes and cuts, that buying brand-new models in shops has now become a whim − if not downright environmental heresy.
Finally, in third and last place, comes the indignity of the artificially ripped jeans. After deliberately fading and wearing out jeans with pumice stone, potatoes, bleach, sand, enzymes, resin or manual brushing, many brands now offer − often at inflated prices − new models that are literally ripped or even boldly torn apart.
In a moment of sheer horror, we have even come across models missing entire panels of fabric at the front of the thighs, as if a hatch had been cut into the material. Surely, this leads to ruin.
