I have a confession:
My name is Jenny and I am a jean snob.
I spent the better part of my life working little jobs (babysitter, church janitor, newspaper girl, cookie shop employee) purely to buy clothes. I measured my work schedule in terms of the numbers of shoes I could buy. Example: "If I take an extra shift selling overpriced gourmet cookies, I can get the running shoes AND the sandals." As a result, I bought clothes based on quantity instead of quality. I never went into the really NICE stores because I knew what hard work went into those little paychecks and I wanted them to stretch as far as possible.
I spent most of my life with saggy bottom jeans that had to be replaced every year or two.
And then I got a taste of the denim crack. And by that I mean my aunt gave me on old Banana Republic gift card she said she would never use.
I still remember my (then fiancee) Nathan taking a special day away from campus to drive down to the Fashion Mall an hour away so I could go into a store I had never been into. To try on the most expensive pair of jeans we had ever seen. I fell in love. They fit. well. all over. They made me look thinner. They were a smaller size than I was used to wearing. And I knew I was in trouble. There was no going back. I knew what it was like to have jeans that made my bum look good and there's no unringing that bell.
And now here was are, seven years later and my dresser is full. Full of good quality, well-fitting, long lasting jeans with labels that read: GAP, White House Black Market, Banana Republic, J. Crew. And you know what? I never paid over $5.00 for any of them. That's right. This jean snob shops the Thrift Stores and I can sniff the good jeans out of the pack like a blood hound.
Satisfying my rear-view mirror test and my husband's credit card statement.
So to the person who keeps giving away the size 8 Banana Republic denims, the 16 year old cookie shop girl inside me would like to formally thank you :) From the bottom of my jean drawer.
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