Skinny Jeans: A thread

Written by: Mia Anhoury

Dear skinny jeans, 

I’ve tried fitting into you since I was ten. You haven’t always made me feel good about myself. I started wearing your look-alike at first… yes, you are picturing them right, I used to wear jeggings (don’t judge me! At least I wore the ones which had actual pockets). I liked them because they were stretchy and comfortable. 

And then, circa 2010 I started wearing the skinny mid-waisted version of you. Those were fine, I didn’t think they were the most flattering, but then in 2015, I discovered the skinny high-waisted version of you. That’s when I fell in love. For the first time, I truly thought they fit me. You see I don’t think I would be considered a stick-thin girl. That’s true for two reasons. Firstly, I am not a girl, I am a woman, and obviously, my body will not look the same as when I was a teen. Secondly, because I have hips, thick thighs, and I definitely don’t have a flat stomach. This made it hard to find something that fit me properly, which started a love/hate relationship between us. For at least a year, I tossed all my jeans to the back of my closet and almost exclusively wore leggings and trousers. 

On some days, wearing skinny high waisted jeans made me feel snatched and good about my body and hence, I felt good about myself. And on other days, I felt the complete opposite wearing them. You see the problem lies in your sizing; you have such a wide variety of sizes that you have become intimidating to most women. In some brands, the smallest size they have fits me and in others, the size that fits me best is closer to the largest size available. I started despising going shopping to find you. I believe I was 18 years old at the time and my body was changing a lot, this meant that I was wearing you less and less often as my old jeans didn’t fit me anymore. Your lack of consistency is very problematic. 

As I got older, I learned that I shouldn’t be the one changing to fit into you, I shouldn’t have to squeeze into my jeans. You’re the one that’s supposed to fit me and not the other way around. I also realised that the size on the tag is only a number. It does not define me.

If we’re being honest, as a teen I used to wear skinny jeans because I thought they would make me look “skinny.” Whatever that meant. Now as an adult, I’m focusing a lot less on being “skinny” and more on wearing you in whatever shape you come in that makes me feel good. I still have to remind myself that your size is just a number, but it gets better every time I go shopping to find you. Between 2010 to 2020, I never would have considered wearing a loose version of you, but I can officially say that you could find a couple wide-leg and mom versions of you. And the best part is, they make me feel good about myself. 

So, thank you for teaching me a hard lesson, but you should also apologise to a whole generation of women who've had to squeeze into you every morning before heading out the door. 

Yours (for now at least), 

Mia