Jean Therapy

Growing up, I had a disdain for jeans since they were heavy, stiff, and it'd be hard to move around wearing them. (The comparison was with shorts, of course.) Though I had a stash of pretty cool, bell bottomed ones (including the infamous niknik and bang-bang varieties), my first choice would be to wear my trusty shorts.

During my high school era, we were introduced to the concept of "Casual Fridays" and students would really look forward to this day when they're allowed to wear jeans with whatever funky top they'd find -- and during that era, the choice was a Top 40 shirt with either Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet emblazoned in front. But despite the fact that everyone was wearing jeans, I eschewed from the norm and still wore my cozy slacks. This was paired with penny loafers from Spain, and a checkered polo over a printed Top 40 shirt. (THAT bandwagon, i wholeheartedly jumped on.)

This fashion statement automatically branded me as a "nerd."

"Nerdhood" continued when I reached college. Since UP never had uniforms, it was "Casual Everydays" from thereonin. While this would have been a perfect opportunity to beef up the jean arsenal by running to the nearest Levi's store and buying all the 501s you can afford, I opted to go to our family sastre and had more slacks made. So my first 3 years in college saw me wearing slacks day in and day out and day in and day out.

What made this jeanophobia quite odd is the fact that my parents and siblings were all into jeans. I'd look at our old family photos and see everyone wearing their funkiest pairs of ultra-flared pants. Mom would have photos during her "Azenith Briones" stage, pairing slinky jeans with high-heeled shoes, a strappy top and a head band. Dad had so many jeans in his cabinet. My brothers and sisters would all have their favorite denims ready for any gimmick.

And I would have 2 pairs, relegated to the farthest corner of my closet. Never seeing the light of day.

It was during my senior year in college when Dad took matters into his own hands. He began enlightening me about the joys of wearing Levi's and how cool i'd look if only I tried wearing them regularly. To further prove his point, he lent me his jeans, shirt and shoes, making me the first beneficiary of the "Daddy Makeover Project."

After looking at myself in the mirror, I thought to myself: "Not bad..."

This didn't make me a convert, though. When I got my first job -- a creative one at that -- I still preferred chinos over jeans. Making me look more like an AE and not a Copywriter. There would be jeans once or twice a month, but nothing that regular. This carried on for the next 7 or 8 years more.

Now, more than 3 decades after hating jeans, I opened my closet and discovered that I have more than 80 pairs already, it might even run up to a hundred in a year or so if I don't stop browsing for and buying some more. It must have been all that pent-up jean emotion, but jeans are now as essential as breathing and eating. I'm now at home with jeans, and it has welcomed me with open arms (or legs) like the prodigal son.

Looking back, it was definitely worth the wait.

(Originally, i just wanted to write about a great pair of Bench jeans I got for my sister, and now this... Oh well, i'll just write about THAT later.)