
Just My Jeans (2012)
A friend sat next to a nun on a plane. He asked her what she missed most. “Wearing blue jeans,” she replied. —Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Blame the natural cotton fibers for most of that. There have been some jeans manufacturers who attempt to blend other materials with the cotton, but it never works long term. Natural cotton grows softer the more it is worn and washed. Sure, if one buys a traditional pair of blue jeans there’s a breaking in period where the dye causes them to be a bit stiff and maybe even itchy, but that matter is solved easily enough. All one has to do is wash them a couple of times, then wear them while doing something physical such as playing softball or riding bulls (the real ones, not those mechanical toys). The jeans fashion themselves to our bodies quickly and we don’t want to take them off.
There are few things in life that we can really call our own: our toothbrush, our underwear, our dental implants, and our jeans. The first two make the list because of sanitary reasons. The last two, though, become part of us. Sure, you theoretically could share a pair of jeans with a friend, but they’re not going to feel natural on them the way they do on you. They conform to your body and just don’t feel the same on anyone else. A good pair of jeans even has wash marks on the pocket where you keep your keys or your cell phone. Our jeans are part of our person; it’s just natural.