Distressed Jeans? I Can’t Even Wear Them Frayed

I read recently that the 1990s trend of distressed and ripped jeans is happening again. I never noticed it had stopped happening—I think I’ve seen torn jeans wherever I look for at least the last twenty years.

Distressed jeans are a fashion statement I’ve actively avoided. They distress me.

When I first noticed ripped jeans in the stores, I wondered why anyone would pay to buy pants that looked like they were ready to throw out. My opinion hasn’t changed. When I shop for jeans, I have to sort through racks and racks—each pair seems rattier than the last.

And what is it about pant sizes that is so hard to standardize? I can try on the same sizes in three different brands and get three different fits. Even within the same brand, same sized pants can vary. Too tight. Too loose. Too long. Too short.

No matter what, I have trouble finding pants that fit. I’m short overall, and even for my height I have short legs. I was delighted when ankle pants became a thing. Ankle pants in Misses sizes hit me about right as full-length pants.

So when I shop for pants, I look for Misses ankle-length pants in my size. Or Petites. But with jeans, I am almost always stopped by the rips and tears.

Recently, I skimmed through online offerings of jeans in a brand that usually fits me pretty well. I ordered two pairs—one Misses in ankle length, and the other Petites in full length, meaning that both pairs of pants had the same inseam and allegedly the same waist size.

I almost didn’t order the Misses ankle length pants, because they had frayed hems. Frayed hems, I thought. Surely, I can handle that. Frayed hems aren’t rips and holes. It’s just at the hems.

The pants arrived. The Petite were tight, but wearable.

The ankle-length Misses pants were . . . frayed. The fit was good, but there were strings at the hems.

I wore them. No one I encountered seemed bothered by the strings at my hems.

I washed them. The fraying turned fuzzier. Too fuzzy, in my opinion.

And I realized—I was not going to be comfortable wearing frayed hems. So I bought finishing tape at the fabric store and hemmed up the frays. Now I can wear my new pants in comfort. If not in style.

What style trends have you ignored?