Opinion: America's zest for trends supports jeans retailers

I mention this because due to the miracle of modern marketing, some folks are willing to pay unbelievable prices for certain jeans.

Americans go for the trendy products. Look at the outlandish price some will pay for a cup of coffee, which tastes no better than most other brands, just because of a trendy logo on the cup.

As for trendy jeans, there are mysteries at both ends of the spectrum.

At one end, there are young people who will pay top dollar for worn-out blue jeans. I did some checking and found that for about $45 you can buy brand new completely worn-out jeans – some even come with precut holes in the legs. I have no idea why anyone, regardless of age, would pay twice the price of brand new jeans for ones that look like costumes from Depression-era movie “The Grapes of Wrath.”

As much as trendy worn-out jeans are hard to grasp, the demand among adults for high-dollar new ones truly boggles my mind.

In an effort to gain some insight into the trendy jeans phenomenon, a recent Wall Street Journal article looked at jeans costing more than $150 a pair. Who would be foolish enough to pay that much for blue jeans? My answer: Nowhere in the WSJ article was mention made as to whether the jeans under discussion were for men, women or both. As you read, draw your own gender conclusions.

Apparently, these jeans, consisting of bells and whistles such as embroidery and beading, are sold only at high-end stores. To offer insight into the mysterious world of designer jeans, WSJ turned to twin brothers Chip and Pepper Foster, described as hip Los Angeles jeans designers who expect to rack up $40 million in sales this year of their Chip and Pepper-brand jeans. They plan to open three stores next year to market their goods.

The twins didn’t critique their own brand; rather they took WSJ reporter Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan to a couple of New York City luxury stores: Inter Mix and Scoop.

No jeans costing less than $150 are mentioned. The first to be examined cost $198. This model is dark blue and manufactured by Seven For All Mankind and labeled Margot. This little number is said to be “dressy enough for work” and as having a “slimming vertical trouser-like crease.” At that price, I would hope they wouldn’t have fattening vertical creases.

The next item shocks me: rugged, down-home Levi’s offers a $178 pair of jeans called Stacked Skinny. (Old Levi Strauss must be spinning in his grave.) According to the Foster twins, the placement of the pockets on this item creates a “more flattering line.” What’s up with that? A flattering line where?

For a paltry $170, you can own a pair of jeans called Skyline Drive, sold by a company called Paige. Its greatest asset appears to be a “fabric waistband sewn into the jeans to give trouser-like construction, ensuring a better fit.” If trousers fit better, why not just wear trousers?

Siwy, a jeans company, offers its Hannah jeans for only $198. Chip and Pepper prefer the smoke-gray color; however, it also comes in pale blue and gray. A word of caution: These jeans are quilted in the back and can look unflattering. You decide which part of the anatomy will not look flattering due to quilting in the back. But $198 will buy a pair of jeans with soft cotton pockets that “won’t look lumpy.” We all know what a social faux pas it would be to have lumpy pockets.

One last tip from Chip and Pepper: At the time of purchase, folks should select tight-fitting jeans because they will stretch out over time. But then, the bodies of some folks might also stretch out over time.

Earlier I asked who would be foolish enough to pay so much for a pair of blue jeans? The answer is easy: someone with way too much disposable cash on hand and too much leisure time to spend it.

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.