Nothing says "I am happy and all is well in my closet" like a rad pair of jeans! Come on ladies, you know what I am saying, right? All the world can be in chaos around you, but if you are feeling the jeans.....ahhhhhhhhh! (sigh). The walk is lighter, the top half is somehow amazingly cuter, and your joie de vive is elevated!
So what happens when you are NOT feeling the jeans? I have been walking into my closet day after day for months now, attempting to keep a stiff upper lip about the wardrobe. Shallow, I know, dramatic and somewhat ridiculous....forgive me. If I am to be authentic, I must do so it in all it's glory....no matter how lame that might be at times! My body is changing, as are styles, and jeans are foundational to my wardrobe. I need (I am using that term loosely) a few new pairs really. There has to be the really dark nightlife possibility, the everyday give and take relaxed pair, and maybe a funkier style for the "I feel hip" look. But even though there is the need for the new, there will inevitably always be a few tried and true pair that never leave the closet. So this got me thinking about how jeans are a great analogy for relationships. Bare with me, I think I can bring this home.
At first a pair of jeans can be a little stiff, and not familiar. The longer you wear them the more comfortable they get and the more you actually want to wear them. You imagine them with this blouse or that sweater and you think about how a pair of boots could really set them apart. Let's not forget the fact that the jeans can also be a barometer of where our bodies are. We have the fat jeans, the skinny jeans, the all times jeans. They can be very quick to remind us where we are, therefore when feeling chubby or uncomfortable we avoid them. For some women jeans are not as important. They have career wear or a real need for intense fashion. Maybe they wear a uniform of sorts everyday. Or maybe they just think they can never find a pair that fits. Do you see where this is going??? You truly have to give a pair of jeans a chance to fit into your wardrobe and life. Sometimes you have to change a bit to fit in the jeans. For some of them that is worth it. For others it is a no-brainer that they have to go, and you are good with where you are and changing is not going to happen.
These days jeans have become a fashion staple. They are worn for every occasion and dressed up or down to accommodate the needs of the event no matter how large or small. They range in price from really reasonable to astronomical. Interestingly enough, somewhere someone pays the price for them no matter how absurd or economical....it just happens. And then let's not forget the difference between a pair that has been worn several times and are nice and giving, to the pair just out of the wash that need a good squat and tug to avoid feeling like you are a sausage just being stuffed!
What's my point?......just like the jeans, relationships are individual and unique. There are different kinds for different seasons. Some take time to be comfortable, while others just fit right out of the gate. There are those relationships that with age that just get better and they will never be replaced, and then those that have there time and they fizzle out for this reason or that. In any case, they are necessary and a staple to happy life. They are worth it and deserve the occasional tug and pull. At times in relationship you feel like you are wearing a pair of jeans that are creeping into a zone that they weren't invited and is therefore mighty uncomfortable :). So those you don't wear so much...if ever! I love the relationships and jeans that fit well, compliment my life and yet at times still might need a stretch. Trying on a new pair can be scary, but then you find the ones that make your butt look amazing and your life is changed forever! Go shopping....explore your options, live large and well. As much as I cannot live without my jeans, all the more, I so value my precious relationships both new and well worn! They make me a better woman and keep me right where I belong....feeling loved.
So what happens when you are NOT feeling the jeans? I have been walking into my closet day after day for months now, attempting to keep a stiff upper lip about the wardrobe. Shallow, I know, dramatic and somewhat ridiculous....forgive me. If I am to be authentic, I must do so it in all it's glory....no matter how lame that might be at times! My body is changing, as are styles, and jeans are foundational to my wardrobe. I need (I am using that term loosely) a few new pairs really. There has to be the really dark nightlife possibility, the everyday give and take relaxed pair, and maybe a funkier style for the "I feel hip" look. But even though there is the need for the new, there will inevitably always be a few tried and true pair that never leave the closet. So this got me thinking about how jeans are a great analogy for relationships. Bare with me, I think I can bring this home.
At first a pair of jeans can be a little stiff, and not familiar. The longer you wear them the more comfortable they get and the more you actually want to wear them. You imagine them with this blouse or that sweater and you think about how a pair of boots could really set them apart. Let's not forget the fact that the jeans can also be a barometer of where our bodies are. We have the fat jeans, the skinny jeans, the all times jeans. They can be very quick to remind us where we are, therefore when feeling chubby or uncomfortable we avoid them. For some women jeans are not as important. They have career wear or a real need for intense fashion. Maybe they wear a uniform of sorts everyday. Or maybe they just think they can never find a pair that fits. Do you see where this is going??? You truly have to give a pair of jeans a chance to fit into your wardrobe and life. Sometimes you have to change a bit to fit in the jeans. For some of them that is worth it. For others it is a no-brainer that they have to go, and you are good with where you are and changing is not going to happen.
These days jeans have become a fashion staple. They are worn for every occasion and dressed up or down to accommodate the needs of the event no matter how large or small. They range in price from really reasonable to astronomical. Interestingly enough, somewhere someone pays the price for them no matter how absurd or economical....it just happens. And then let's not forget the difference between a pair that has been worn several times and are nice and giving, to the pair just out of the wash that need a good squat and tug to avoid feeling like you are a sausage just being stuffed!
What's my point?......just like the jeans, relationships are individual and unique. There are different kinds for different seasons. Some take time to be comfortable, while others just fit right out of the gate. There are those relationships that with age that just get better and they will never be replaced, and then those that have there time and they fizzle out for this reason or that. In any case, they are necessary and a staple to happy life. They are worth it and deserve the occasional tug and pull. At times in relationship you feel like you are wearing a pair of jeans that are creeping into a zone that they weren't invited and is therefore mighty uncomfortable :). So those you don't wear so much...if ever! I love the relationships and jeans that fit well, compliment my life and yet at times still might need a stretch. Trying on a new pair can be scary, but then you find the ones that make your butt look amazing and your life is changed forever! Go shopping....explore your options, live large and well. As much as I cannot live without my jeans, all the more, I so value my precious relationships both new and well worn! They make me a better woman and keep me right where I belong....feeling loved.
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Great parallel! So true. I too have been feeling the need for some new jeans lately, both literal and relational.
So true my friend. I love the comparison. You always have your staples. The ones that are with you through everything! Then it is always fun, but kinda scarey, to try something new. Sometimes it is a fit and sometimes not. But in all, you learn something new about you every time. Never judge a pair by the design or name on their butt! Way back in 3rd grade, I did, and that pair of Sergio jeans( I mean friend) is one of God's most precious gifts to me!!! Love you!!!!
Hi Ali, I was wondering who you were for a second. I didn't know you were an Alicia. Very good to know! Thanks for the post. It is much more fun when people respond. I didn't realize how appropriate the analogy was at first and then it was like....perfect!
Bear...I love you! How amazingly perfect is the Sergio instance...you ROCK!
This is so funny and such a creative way to parallel jeans and friendships. Well, as a new friend, I hope I'm not too stiff or uncomfortable, and never "creep into a zone that they weren't invited". ;)
Great analogy friend....I think of you as the fit right off the bat, but one of my very favorite pairs. The ones you wear as much as possible cause they just make you feel you are at your best, but oh so very you.
Robin: you've never creeped ever!!!Enjoying this journey of new to comfortable with you as well. So fun!
Ang: awwwwww....you made me go sigh. Thanks for saying that I make you more you at your best because that is so true of how you are as well, and that is one of my favorite qualities about you!
I'm catching up on these this morning on my real computer where I can type really fast, and ya!!!! Jeans are a total relationship. I just found a pair of curvy jeans for all of the curvy girls out there, love them! they don't have all of embelleshments on the pockets and sport a name brand, but they make a round bum look great and don't bag up during the day. It's all in the fit, and I'm the right size, just needed a better fit as I'm just been blessed with more than most white girls. Now I'm feeeling beautiful along with my amazing relationships with friends who are just the right fit, no pulling, or creasing or bagging up, and are happy to go down the road of life together with me even when it says "Curves Ahead!"
It's only recently that I've been confronted with the fact that relationships evolve, change, and sometimes get swept away to the....thrifty store.. :). This has kinda been a hard does of reality for me to swallow. I guess that's what happens when you grow up...with your body the style of jeans you wear changes, and with your heart your friends change too. Kinda nuts, this growing up thing.
Jenn: I love the curvy addition. Perfect. The comparison between being comfortable yourself in the jeans and in relationship is perfect!
Brooke: Growing up is hard to do. We have to see all sides of the stories and be big enough to let go sometimes. It kinda sucks, but it makes room for more. You are on your way to a place in life you will love....I promise! Thanks for sharing :)
I think Linette, especially because Sarah's post was so real (I loved it Sarah--knowing the road between you guys), this must be THE chapter of chapters! Did you know that while at the Gemaehlich's last weekend, they pulled out pictures from way way way back (like +20 years ago) and there you were, sitting with me (frizz head), Jeannie Knier, and Nancy...in all our late 80s glory...every one of us wearing the denim tuxedo--jackets with our beloved jeans tucked and rolled at the ankles, and big socks under these blues. What were we thinking? BUT...nonetheless, we are still wearing our jeans today--we've grown and learned how to better wear these hu? So beautifully, I might add!!! Friendships are the most important to everything that matters! Have you signed with an agent yet? What's the book title? :O) love love love you friend!!! Comnpletely proud! Awesome!!!!
Okay my friend, so being who I am, I am assuming that by "Jeans" you mean the denim things hanging in my closet, not the particles that I am made of.... you know dna... half from my mom, and half from my dad.... So here goes...I love jeans, love them, not like, but adoration, love, is there a stronger word? I wear them everyday, I wear them with ... Read Moreeverything, I dress them up and I dress them down, I have them all: flare, skinny, straight, boyfriend, wide leg, trouser, cut off and capri, in dark, faded, light, black, white, and distressed. I am sounding like Dr. Suess.... But now let's be honest, I do have a favorite pair, and there are just days that my jeans don't love me back, but I have jeans for those days too, they just have more stretch! See that is the key to great jeans a little stretch!!
So this has me thinking..... maybe having at little stretch in you is the key to a good life too..right?, no worries, I am stretching?!?!
I really liked this post. Its so true. WE need some good jeans that we feel good with and in, and relationships that we feel good with and in. There will just be those jeans that fit just right and those that get better with time. I loved the whole post, you are great at this blog thing...