To say that my parents were not style conscious would be a massive understatement! They had no interest in fashion and so I arrived at my teenage years with a terrible wardrobe that was in danger of turning me into a laughing stock. However, becoming a teenage meant that I could start to earn my own money and gain a little independence and one of the first things I resolved to do was buy a pair of jeans.

Changing Times

It would be an incredible feat these days to arrive at the age of 13 having never worn jeans. With such a focus on fashion in the media and the universal popularity of denim, everyone wears jeans. Everyone except my parents that is! They would be as horrified today as they were back in the day at my decision to go jeans shopping.

Clueless

But I did go shopping and with some trepidation. Until that point my clothes shopping expeditions had been to uninteresting department stores and children’s shops. Now I faced the peril of walking into a cool looking jeans shop and I wasn’t wearing jeans! I had no idea what style was in fashion or what would suit me best.

Finding a Winner

I had that terrible feeling that everyone was staring at me and I felt completely out of place. I ploughed on, however, and randomly selected a few pairs to try. In those days there was no such thing as stretch denim so getting into every pair involved an act of contortion and I felt like I was trussed up like a chicken! I examined every pair of jeans carefully in the mirror and one style was a clear winner.

Loving Lycra

I really loved the Lee jeans that I tried last. They were what were known as drainpipes which I guess could be considered the forerunner of the skinny jean. Following the flares of the early 70’s the punk movement had given rise to a trend for jeans with narrow legs and turn-ups. The punks probably favoured this look because it showed off their “bother boots” – Doc Martens to you or I. The skinny jeans of the current era were not possible due to the lack of stretch in the available fabrics. Looking back jeans were not the most comfortable things in the 70’s and Lycra would have been something of a revelation.

Changing Rooms

There was nothing like the breadth of choice in jeans back then that there is today, nor were there so many places to buy them. I am sure that were I buying by first pair of jeans now I would cheerfully avoid the embarrassing trip to the local denim specialist and buy something online. I could experiment with style in my own home which would be a much more enjoyable experience as back in the 1970’s virtually every fashion shop had communal changing rooms. My extreme difficulty in squeezing into those drainpipes was a very public performance that I have no desire to repeat!

Article By Sally Stacey