A Shattered Image: 1975?

Ok, so my posts tend to be on the serious side. To show those of you who don't know me that I am truly a clown at heart, here is something I hope you enjoy. The good thing about blogs is that you never know where they’ll take you.

This week I faced the long overdue, inevitable, arduous, humbling task of buying new jeans. The last time I bought jeans was probably 10 years ago and they (all 2 pairs) have finally reached a stage that every 16 year old envied. Many people told me that at least it was good that I still fit in them after 10 years, but I understand the miracle of jeans where they tend to stretch “with you” over time.

The first store I went into was the Gap because that is where I always bought jeans before. The main reason for my loyalty to the Gap was because their jeans do not advertise the waist size on a big exposed tag right over my right rear pocket (take note of this Levi Strauss and Co.!). As I entered the Gap for the first time in a decade, I noticed that they are no longer the store I remember. This makes sense because I don’t understand teenagers and the Gap clearly evolved right along with the age group. It took all of about 5 minutes for me to walk out of the Gap thinking, “Great, now what?”

Next stop, a store that I could go to and not stand out like..well, like Ed at a Young Jeezy concert; Dillards. Once in Dillards I was faced with a huge wall of, yes, Levis. Ugh. Will I have to pay $35 per pair for the privilege of advertising my waist size to the world? I tried on a few and thought, “Well, I’m in a mall. I’ll shop around a little”.

Here is where the blog takes you somewhere you didn’t expect…As I walked through the mall I passed a store I hadn’t been in since Jimmy Carter was president; JC Penney. Nothing says “Shop here if for no other reason that you are not cool any more” like JC Penney. And yes, I bought two pair of jeans at a great price and they fit! So, to honor JC Penney (MY new store for jeans), let’s take a trip down memory lane and visit the JC Penney catalog from 1975. Enjoy.

let the teasing begin:

What you wore when you wanted to be beat up at school:

What you wore when you wanted to be beat up around the neighborhood: (The catalog had lots of men and women in matching outfits. Evidently that was popular in 1975)