Once upon a time there was a man who liked to wear jeans. Some day while working, the jeans received a small scrape. He paid no heed to it. Then, few months later, he fell while doing some work and the jeans got a shred. He dusted himself and the jeans and went on with his work. Instead of buying a new one, he tried to make do with what he had by trying to stitch that small shred. A few days later, the stitch was undone by itself. But this time instead of stitching it back, he let it be and continued doing his work. His jeans received few more scrapes and shreds. One day, it got to an extent that one of the shreds around the knee eventually became a hole. He wanted to buy a new pair, but held on to the present one for some reason, and he continued going to work with that pair of jeans.
Gradually, this became a trend, and people started selling and buying ripped jeans. It lasted for a short period of time and soon went away. But it seems as though it never really completely went away because in 2017, ripped jeans made a comeback. To many people, this is a new trend. And as it is with any trend, some like it and some don’t.
Those who don’t like it say this trend is chaotic, it takes away the essence and purpose of jeans and does not look good at all. Those who like it say it has a casual and carefree look which they can have with almost every style. However, because of this trend, many are now buying ripped jeans. Moreover, the rips in the jeans are not haphazard; they have a pattern to it, if one pays attention.
It is, therefore, important to understand this pattern before buying the ripped jeans. First, let’s understand the types of rips:
1. Scrape
Scrapes are the small abrasions or scratches on the surface of the jeans. At max, it is of the size of a small coin and reveals the white threads in the inner layer of the jeans. Scrapes are mostly above the thigh region (near the pockets) and/or in the shin region. In other regions, it either looks bad or does not have the same impact as it does in these two regions.
2. Shreds
Shreds are the rips where the jeans are slightly torn, just slightly. But most of it is still covered by threads and does not expose the skin. In ripped jeans, shreds are placed in the thigh region. And in most jeans, there is only one shred in the jeans. If the shred is placed someplace else or on both the legs of the jeans, then it often looks out of place.
3. Holes
This is one rip that most people have a problem with. A hole is actually a window through which one can see the skin. These holes are made horizontally in the knee region. Fashion stylists advise that the hole of the jeans should be at max 1 inch wide when the person is standing. This is because when the person will sit, the hole will automatically expose more skin, but while standing, a hole wider and bigger than 1 inch does not look appropriate. The hole’s size is the difference between a carefree and careless look.
Of course there are many exceptions to these rules, and this is no strict guideline as to what suits a person and what doesn’t. But because this latest style of jeans for boys and girls is back in trend, it is important to know what he/she is buying and how to style it.
Author Bio: The author of this article is a Fashion Stylist and writes about fashion trends which work and which don’t. He also writes educational pieces narrating the history of different fashion trends.
