Den Um?

TGITuesday! That's something people say, right? It's not? It's not.

Recently, I purged my closet of all most of my long-unworn clothing. The process was shamefully overdue, largely because I create irrational and unnecessary sentimental attachments to my wardrobe. Plenty of folks do the same. (Weirdly seems like lady-only, or lady-mostly, behavior.) If you're worried you'll regret parting with that top you wore five years ago, on your second date with your now-husband, or you'll miss the dress you wore, once, to your best friend's birthday, and it hasn't fit you since, or something along those lines, let me tell you that I FEEL YOU but YOU WON'T REGRET A DAMN THING. It felt GOOD to bring bags of still very wearable clothes to a nearby women's shelter -- way better than hanging onto items I hadn't glanced at in... who even knows how long. (Pro tip, gleaned from this book: Memories can and will survive in your head, with or without the associative object.)

Whoa boy. Quelle long & borderline preachy way to introduce a considerably superficial subject. SHOPPING! As in, I might have been a tad gung-ho when clearing the closet. The few jeans I kept are now, unfortunately, in dire need of replacement (or, at the very least, short-term sabbatical).

Something you should know: I hate shopping for jeans. And pants. Any garment, really, that requires leg separation + confinement. Not to mention the ordeal of Saving Private Ryan-ing a size that fits both my waist and my ass -- body parts which, like my boobs (tmi?), either never got the message their sizes should be harmonious, or the feedback was received but unwelcome, so now they are being spiteful. Whatever. At almost every turn, I have avoided the dreaded Shopping For Denim experience by (A) honing in on that *one* good jean that fits and buying a pair in every color, or (B) wearing skirts. Until today. Today, the job can be avoided no more.

In an effort to reduce store-level frustration and anxiety, I poked around online for viable options.

Hence:

Topshop, why is all your denim cropped? Wait, I forgot, I don't care. I'm 5'3". Nothing is cropped. As a person who already owns three pairs of Jamie, I'm thinking it's time to branch out. Or not -- the ripped option is still a Jamie cut. The first style is Leigh and I'm digging the mid-rise. 

Is American Eagle Outfitters still a place to buy denim? I mean, years ago, all my jeans were from there. I was also eighteen, living in suburbia, and AEO just arrived at the local mall. But I remember the quality being good! Right? I think so! Anyway, I'm enjoying the cut and wash on this pair, dubbed the Hi-Rise Skinny Jeans (round of applause for name originality). Worth a peruse, at minimum.

 

And then there was Zara. Simple, cute, probably affordable. But will there be anything on the shelves? To be confirmed this afternoon.