Whatever happened to …

… patches?

I feel so badly for today’s youth.

Last night, as Jaimie and I were taking our evening walk through the Navy Yard, we kept noticing teenagers walking around.  Most disturbing were the rips and tears in their blue jeans.

Photo Credit: MrLongBG Flickr via Compfight cc

I actually had a pair of blue jeans that ended up with a rip right at the right knee.  I blame it on the keys while driving the car.  They hang down, rub and I think they just rubbed through the denim.

Anyway, they end up being discarded.  Blue jean wearers will know the feeling when you lose a favourite pair.  You’ve got to break in a new set.

But, back when I was a kid, I would have had a solution for today’s impoverished teens.

My mom used to buy iron on patches that would go over the rips in the knee that inevitably would show up.  At the time, I think I probably had two pair of jeans that would be worn to school and then the hard work of play after school.  In addition, we had our good pants for going to church on Sunday.  That’s probably my pants story in a nutshell.

Jokingly, I said to my wife “Can we get a patch for my jeans?”.  I then got the look and comments.

• Where would I even begin to find a patch?
• You would look like a jerk.
• Just go to Walmart and buy another pair.

I did the last option and am working on breaking in a new pair.  It’s not going well.

For a Sunday, I hope this brought you a smile and a memory you could share with us.

• Did you ever wear patches on your jeans?
• How long should a pair of jeans actually last?
• Lees?  Levis?  Wranglers?  Marks?  Calvin Klein?  Do you have a brand loyalty?
• Did you ever or do you wear a suit jacket with patches on the elbows for the university professor look?  (I had one when I started teaching; the kids weren’t fooled)
• Would you ever wear blue jeans as part of your outfit if you were going somewhere formal?
• How long do you figure the current ripped or distressed jean fashion will last?

Please have some fun with this and share your thoughts via comment below.

This is part of a regular Sunday feature here.  You can check out and comment on previous posts here.

Do you have an idea or thought that would be appropriate for my “Whatever happened to … ” series of blog posts?

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