An Elegy For My Favorite Pants

Do you have a favorite piece of clothing? Does it feel like home when you put it on?

Let me tell you the story of a pair of pants that will always have a special place in my heart.

My favorite pair of jeans had the never-fail combo of fit, comfort, and longevity. They have hugged my butt and legs for a long time, and looking back, it was actually amazing that I had been able to keep one pair of denims for so long. 9 whopping years! Nothing else in my life seems to have the same iron-man endurance as this pair of Levi's. Two countries of residences, three apartments, and numerous hair colors later, it was finally time that they bid me farewell. My trusty rump companion shredded at the inner thigh, an irreparable mortal wound.

They were my first foray into skinny jeans, and were the only pair that stayed skinny throughout the years. Back in 2008, I was still not quite taken with the idea tight pants. I thought that tight pants were in fact, not tight. But a friend of mine dragged me to a Levi's store one day because she was in the market for a new pair of jeans. I instantly fell in love when I was taught to do 'the pants dance' in order to wiggle into this particular pair of jeans.

"If you can put them on without doing the dance, then they're not skinny enough," she said as she demonstrated by shimmying and jumping in such a manner that made her look like a struggling interpretive dancer. I felt ridiculous as I copied her movements to get these pants on, while wholly believing they were way too small the entire time.

But alas, once they were on, I was a believer.

And they have faithfully been with me through the seasons, the wild parties, the long work days, the happy times, the heartbreaks...

This photoshoot was done on the day that fateful rip happened. And so, it is such a poetic goodbye to them as I type this blog post with a heavy heart -- my first trek into anti-anti-fashion will be immortalized in a fashion blog. They will be imprinted in my memory in all their jolly sunny beach day glory.

So what do I do with them now? I'm learning to let go of a lot of things at this particular stage in my life... cleaning out my apartment, selling off old things, declutter, declutter, declutter. My sentimental side screams for me to keep them, but my practical side whispers, "Let go~"

Just in case you didn't know, H&M has a great garment recycling program. Simply drop your old clothes off at any H&M store, and they will either rewear, reuse, or recycle your old clothes. If you have stuff that are just a bit too tattered to donate, you can be earth-friendly and send them to be reincarnated into something useful instead of straight to a landfill.

A fitting place to send my old friend to, wouldn't you say?

Photo cred: Pauline Hsieh @lauhte | Editing: Me!

Outfit details: Hoodie: Target | Heaadphones: Urban Outfitters | Necklace: Madewell | Sunglasses: Literally bought them off some guy at the beach | Shirt: Urban Behavior | Jeans: Levi's | Shoes: Ardene | Bag: It was given away from a USC football game.