Shopping for jeans

Ok- confession time. Somewhere around 7 years ago, a friend who was cleaning out her closet, gave me a pair of jeans she didn't want anymore. I tried them on, and they became MY jeans. I mean, these things fit like perfection. I'm pretty sure I had never worn something more trendy than the basic boot cut jeans from Old Navy. But these jeans...these had been bought at Nordstrom and were some brand I had never heard of. In no time flat they became the only jeans I ever wore.

At least until that fated day when a hole appeared in one of the knees, entirely uninvited. It's true- I had legitimately worn my jeans out. So I did what any bargain hunting person would do.  I found another pair on eBay for about 10% of the retail cost. Now, when you have one pair of jeans that you wear every day (and I do mean every day literally), you wear out jeans every few years. At least I do. So I've gone the eBay route a few times. And it's worked every time. Except this last one. Maybe they were mismarked. Maybe they were a different style and I didn't realize it. Don't know what happened, but it wasn't love like in the past. And because it's eBay, I'm stuck. Couple that with another recent eBay disappointment (but that's another story!) and I decided that I needed to actually attempt shopping for jeans again. 

Now, since it's been a fair number of years, I really didn't have any starting point. I mean, I know my size, but what style? Brand? 

So for Valentine's Day, my sweetie suggested we hit the mall in a nearby city to try to find me a decent pair of jeans.  He was even kind enough to suggest we hit up Nordstrom since that's where my other favorite jeans had been from before Nordstrom stopped carrying them.  It sounded like a lovely idea until I pulled the first pair of jeans off the rack.  "Distressed" is not my chosen style, after all, I can create that all on my own if I just wear my jeans long enough.  And the $209 price tag made me nearly faint.  This bargain hunter just couldn't handle it.  (Nor could my husband who buys his jeans at Costco for roughly $15 a pair!)

So we ditched the mall and headed for Nordstrom Rack across the street.  After the previous price tag shock, all the price tags looked good to me.  Ten pairs of jeans and I had it out in the dressing room, and to my pleasant surprise, I was able to declare two winners!  The first pair on felt like a long lost friend that I never wanted to be separated from again.  (And we have been quite inseparable ever since.) The second winner was the lone non-denim pair I dared to try on.  Bright coral, they were definitely a risk.  But they felt amazing.  And looked trendy!  Seeing the "compare at $128" made me feel slightly better about $56 for jeans that I can't guarantee I will actually wear on a regular basis.  And honestly, I was still questioning my sanity for spending that much.  But I decided to splurge and go for it. 

Now, this is when things got good.  At the register, the helpful guy ringing up my purchase pointed out a slight discoloration so small I had to ask him to point to it again to see it.
"Are you sure you want these?"
"Where is the stain?"
"If you buy them, just keep the tags.  If the stain doesn't come out after washing, just bring them back!
"Ok - I'll take them!"

And then it happened.  He rang them up.  And for some amazing unknown reason, $0.01 showed up on the register.  The poor guy almost lost it.  "Oh my ***!  Oh my ***! Did you see this!? They are only a PENNY!  You are so lucky!  Oh my ***!" 

Who knows who mislabeled those suckers, but I hit the jackpot.  Um, YES! A thousand times YES I will take those jeans.  And I don't care if that stain never comes out.  I had to ask twice to find it in the first place. 

(Pardon the mess I call "reality" in the background.")

So I guess it turned out to be a good thing my eBay jeans didn't work out this time...