The four year old grandson looked so adorable at his birthday party wearing jeans. The jeans were bought by this Grandma for the first grandson who is now eleven and a half. I love to amortize the cost of clothing over the number of grandchildren who are going to wear the items.
The four year old grandson was the only child at the birthday party, which included his whole class, who was wearing jeans. He would not own jeans if it were not for his oldest cousin. His oldest cousin does not wear jeans. None of the children are into jeans right now. They want elastic waistband loose pull on pants. These athletic track pants are the rage. The parents of the grandchildren were slow on the uptake and tried to force the hand-me-down jeans on the eight year old. He resisted and would have nothing of it. The four year old is going to follow soon.
So, this Grandma was not surprised to read in the New York Times, March 11, 2015, “Jeans? Some Boys Shout, `No Way!’ “ By Dionne Searcey. She writes:
“In a sign that America’s embrace of casual wear has trickled down, way down, the nation is now teeming with throngs of little kids in track pants looking as if they just stepped out of an episode of “The Sopranos.”
“The culture of casual has invaded every place from airport runways, where plane cabins are filled with passengers in yoga pants, to fashion runways; Tommy Hilfiger last month offered an athletic-themed line complete with a catwalk designed as a football field.”
“It used to be that moms couldn’t get boys out of jeans for formal affairs. Now, they can’t seem to get their sons into them. While some girls also eschew jeans, it is a particularly comic phenomenon that part of a generation of boys – reared by dads raised in Sears Toughskins and in an era in which tightly woven Carhartts became a fashion trend – won’t do denim.”
“Jeans are too uncomfortable, these boys complain. They’re stiff, itchy and just too tight. Instead, as their parents wince, the boys demand pants that are baggy and easy to pull on.”
“Many families experiencing denim rejection have a nickname for nondungarees that their boys adore: swish-swash pants, slippery pants, slicks or soft pants. These pants proliferate on the racks at Target, Old Navy and Baby Gap. They need frequent replacement as they fray at the hems, succumb to tears in the knee area or show other signs of wear.”
Manufacturers are listening to the boys and working on new versions of jeans or of athletic soft elastic pants. “Designers of boys clothing are trying to help by creating sweats and track pants for boys that look more fancy and by making jeans out of more pliable, soft denim.”
This Grandma listens too. One of the favorite visit gifts is a new pair of athletic soft pants or shorts, now that the summer season is coming. The old jeans are still packed away, maybe for the great-grandchildren to rediscover! Whatever the grandchildren want as their generational style is what this Grandma finds brings her
Joy,
Mema
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