1 day Ago By Jude Held, Contributing Writer
Some might say I am the “jean genie,” as David Bowie would call it. Even before I took a job at Levi’s over the summer, I had an indescribable love for wearing jeans as much as I could. So when I was hired as a salesman at a store in the heart of one of Miami’s largest shopping malls, I greatly looked forward to observing the purchasing trends of the city’s diverse consumer base.
From day one I diligently observed every interested customer that walked through the door. What were they wearing? What areas of the store were they carefully browsing? What did they buy? Eventually, I was able to notice certain steadfast trends that provided insight into what people look for in their jeans. For men, it is the pairing of comfortability and versatility.
Generally, it meant the purchase of either 501’s or 541’s, both of which provide a fashion-forward look that doesn’t hug the butt too hard. If a man ever asked to try on a skinny jean, a majority of the time they would emerge from the fitting room stating something to the effect of, “This feels way too tight for me.” In reality, they were not actually uncomfortable, they just didn’t want their lower half sticking out like a sore thumb.
I must add that for the most part, I tended to agree with them. I felt, though, that men were supposed to look a bit manlier in jeans; skinny jeans simply contradicted that close-minded viewpoint. For women, however, it is a little more complicated.
Girls under the age of 21 liked the baggy style, similar to what influencers like Emma Chamberlain loves to wear. A majority of Levi’s consumer base, which is women ranging from the ages of 21-35, would always gravitate towards the skinny jean. This may have something to do with Miami fashion culture, where body image rules over all else.
Nonetheless, millennial women tended to come in knowing exactly what they wanted, which was a jean that left little breathing room. For a while, I thought this was the universal norm. Men and women on opposite sides of the fashion spectrum, both seeking entirely different things from their wardrobe.
Fast forward to move-in week. I was doing some shopping in SoHo, ensuring that I had more than jeans and t-shirts at my disposal for the coming winter months. As I walked down Mercer Street, I noticed that men kept walking by in cool outfits, made more interesting by the skinny jeans that were adorned by almost all of them.
I was skeptical at first, but considering that New York City is undoubtedly one of the fashion capitals of the world, I quickly had to come to terms with the fact that these men walking past me were probably cooler than I was. Quickly I realized that everything I thought I knew about men’s fashion was wrong. Yes, it is possible (and likely) that the skinny jean distaste in Miami was geographically influenced.
Nevertheless, my perspective on the skinny jean was heavily challenged. After much consideration, I went out a few months later and purchased my own pair of skinny jeans. The reasoning was as follows: as the world exponentially modernizes, there is no room for stereotypes of any kind to exist, especially in a field with as much creativity as fashion.
Clothing should be as gender-fluid and diverse as possible, because that is what inclusivity in fashion is all about. Nothing gets closer to this idea than the skinny jean. It says everything a unisex piece of clothing needs to say without being too outward about it.
In my opinion, as much as men and women wearing clothes of the opposite sex makes a statement, there is something about the subtlety of an effective piece of unisex clothing such as the skinny jean that makes as strong of a point. I feel that the skinny jean will remain a staple of youth culture for generations to come. As the years pass, when men and women walk through the glass doors of their local Levi’s they will both gravitate towards the skinny jean, eager to make their own statement.
.
