Jeans

How much are you willing to pay for a pair of your favorite denims? If I were in India, I'd say probably somewhere in the Rs 1200 - 1500 range. Here, it could be around the $50 mark. But if you check whats hap' these days, paying $50 for a pair of jeans is so passé . Take a look around in your local mall and you will be shocked to find the kind of prices denims sell for today.

Whatever happened to the ubiquitous Levi's you ask? Gone are the days when your favorite denims were Levi's, no one's wearing them anymore! Designer denims are the only denims to be seen in these days. Ofcourse this is not a new thing, blame Seven for all Mankind for starting the trend circa 2000. Although the name proclaims 'for all Mankind' it is a gross misnomer for more reasons than one. For one they started off with jeans only for women and then if all mankind were to strut around in your jeans Sire, wouldn't you want to make them affordable? While your everyday average pair of denims sell for anywhere around $30, a pair of Seven costs atleast 4 times as much. Surprised? Well, thats the price you pay for contemporary casual fashion! What started off catering towards the red carpet/high brow crowd has now crept into everyday office and on any given Friday you could find a lot of your peers sporting Seven, Citizens of Humanity, True Religion and the likes. I, for one, cannot bring myself to buying a $100 pair when something for half the price looks and lasts as good, if not better. I mean they are denims, people. They last and last and last until you get bored seeing the same pair or you grow past the waist size. There's gotta be a better way to spend all that dough.

Last weekend I took my parents to the mall closeby and while walking around in Nordstrom, mom liked the color on a pair of denims. What she forgot was we were in Nordstrom and then she was absolutely clueless about the price tags on designer denims. As luck would have it, she had picked up a Diesel and I had to give her a quick update on all things Nordstrom. Setting the jeans aside I took a quick look at the price tag, they were selling at $280!