15 Ounce Premium Denim - 15 Ounce Blog

True Blue, Baby I Love You

2011-08-24T00:00:20-04:00

One of my favorite friends celebrated his birthday last week with a Madonna “True Blue” themed party. It was nothing short of a spectacular event; tons of friends all decked out in their favorite shades of blue, hosted by an amazing Madonna impersonator, and equipped with more photo ops than most parties thanks to The Magnolia Photobooth! The guest of honor had an incredible evening and for me, that will go down as one of the absolute best parties I’ve attended in recent years.

All the Madonna-mania surrounding the party had me thinking about Her Madgesty for much of the week, in preparation for the event. To wrap up the weekend and give a final Happy Birthday to both Madonna (Happy 53rd!) and my dear friend, Daniel, here are my Favorite 5 Madonna Looks (so far and with a special emphasis on my own true blue love, denim):

5. Like a Virgin - It’s hard to make this list without mentioning Like a Virgin. Though never my favorite song, video, nor #1 favorite look, the denim jacket over the dress and leggings in this video made me anxious to experiment with textures and fabrics that seemingly didn’t belong together. I remember saving to buy my first premium denim jacket (standard, button-front by Earl Jeans) and my confidence in that splurge was only reinforced by this video. Cool enough for Madonna, cool enough for me.

4. Papa Don’t Preach – This was my first memorable introduction to what would become a wardrobe staple for me: the boyfriend jean. This look was a tough-girl/tomboy look that was instantly appealing to me. All the rough and tumble of a guy’s gal (baggy, paper-bag-waist denim with a black leather biker jacket) mixed carefully with the right ingredients of sexiness (doe eyes, red lips and the short, bleached, pixie crop that Michelle Williams would later be applauded for being so brave to wear). Still a standby in my closet today, the boyfriend jean is the one that makes me want to pile on the lipstick.

3. Express Yourself - I can't let this list go any further without noting the double-breasted, suit-wearing, monocle-clad look in Express Yourself. She is so strong and powerful in this look, but in true Madonna fashion, still a woman underneath it all, as evidenced by some purposeful flashes of a black lace bra. She gives a few tip-toe dance moves and crotch-grab nods to Michael Jackson as well, and if I'm being honest...it also doesn't hurt my feelings at all that the men are wearing prison denim.

2. Don't Tell Me - Madonna kicks up some dirt in the perfect, dusty, flares. All the elements of the Old West (big belt buckle, cowboy hat and boots) get sexed up with hip-slung dirty denim and a trim-fit plaid shirt and later, even leather chaps. Oh, alright - I'll admit it: I was a Cowgirl twice for Halloween after seeing Madonna strut her stuff in this video.

1. Ray of Light – For me, this is the image I immediately come up with when someone mentions Madonna. First, I love this song. And, I love a denim-on-denim look, when executed well. I can’t think of anyone who wore it better than Madge (in this video), although I can think of numerous attempts that have failed miserably. Her whole look – from the honey-blonde tumbles of waves in her hair to the impeccable fit of the denim suit – is perfection here.

Time to Cut the Denim Strings

2011-08-07T00:32:48-04:00

This summer brought with it the unsettling realization that I needed to replace a style staple in my casual catalogue. My Chip and Pepper cut off shorts had become my go-to move. I cannot overstate how much I love these shorts. The year was 2005 and visions of Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Duke promotional photo danced in my head (as if you don’t know exactly the one I’m talking about) as I put a great deal of effort into planning my 3-day wardrobe for the Lollapalooza music festival all in an attempt to make it appear as though I had invested very little effort in the planning of said wardrobe. This “effortless” style is a delicate balance and my Chip and Pepper cut-offs were the crowning achievement.

The distressed boyfriend jeans had been my first premium denim purchase a few years prior and had seen better days by this point (in large part due to my neglect to invest in alterations, resulting in a hem that was tattered way beyond original intent). Either my haste or my naiveté led me to the scissors with no premeditated plan for the final product. Somehow, despite that strategy, or lack thereof, I emerged with what I considered a victory in denim re-design. Those shorts would go on to share many future musical festival memories with me; they saw me through the Kentucky Derby Infield; I managed to make them a transitional item for fall by pairing them with boots, blazer or sweater; I didn’t even fear a cut off shorts-themed party of 2010.

However, lately when I donned them, I felt as though I was sporting the nappy dishevelment look of the chronically depressed. With holes forming in regions best left covered, I was pushing the boundaries of basic hygiene and decency. It was time to retire my beloved shorts; but how could I possibly replace them?

I know very few people who are willing to buy a brand new pair of premium jeans only to cut them off, so I perused my denim collection in search of a pair that hadn’t seen a lot of action in the past year. My search ended with two options that, while loved at one time, were a bit dated and didn’t fit with my current style direction. It was definitely time to cut the denim strings on these William Rast and AG jeans.

I approached this denim alteration with much more anxiety and trepidation than I had during my pilot effort. Like the day you go for a haircut and suddenly have the most amazing hair day of your life forcing you to reconsider, I tried on my selected jeans and started to talk myself out of making the cut. What if this extreme flair leg comes back in style? I don’t know if I gave these AGs fair exposure in their pant-life. I enlisted my always effortlessly chic friend, Alison, for direction and moral support. She reminded me of some vital ingredients to creating the perfect cut-offs:

Cut at a downward angle toward the inner thigh to prevent the appearance of the forefoot of a certain desert animal ;)
Measure where you would like the shorts to hit on your leg and then add an inch when cutting (also like a haircut, you can always cut shorter but you can’t add it back).
Cut while the jeans are resting at their natural hip slant rather than trying to align the front and back waist line. That always results in the fatal flaw of cut-offs being shorter in the back than in the front.
Don’t try to roll denim shorts more than once; the attempt to do so may contribute to the diaper-bottom phenomenon.
Use your school supplies! - a ruler and a piece of chalk that can easily be wiped away from the fabric are essential.

My summer wardrobe now has two distinct styles of cut-offs in rotation. The AG denim was cut just above the knee for a sportier look and the William Rast jeans were cut only slightly longer than my old Daisy Duke style. I ultimately decided not to fold the bottom due to the back pocket detail but instead chose to get a clean hemline so as to avoid the fast-track fraying that my old shorts had seen.

Fads come and go and The Dukes of Hazzard has hopefully seen its final re-make of my lifetime, but I declare that I am a forever-fan of cut-off denim shorts (though I would like to personally ban the use of the term “jorts”). They are a flirty and casual compliment to every tee, tank or sweatshirt I can possibly rotate into my attire. Plus, when properly revived, they are a way to maximize your return on those denim investments. Don’t let those jeans hang in your closet unworn, get “snippy” and reinvent them!

When I Grow Up...

2011-08-06T17:50:34-04:00

As I enjoyed a pedicure last weekend, sitting next to a 6 year-old and her mother having a little Girl’s Day Out pampering, another adult asked the child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ahhh, the age-old, never-fail kid conversation-starter… Great question!! Especially for a person who, up until this discussion, has been making decisions largely based on favorite colors and cartoon characters. The little gal squirmed and giggled and finally, having let her mind run through the very limited number of professions that she is even aware of at this point, came up with: a Ballerina.

When I was a child (about her age: 5 or 6), I can remember being asked this same question. It was easier for me to run through a short list of what I didn’t want to be when I grew up. Cop, Nurse, Firefighter, Flight Attendant (okay, we said ‘Stewardess’ at the time) and even Ballerina were out. I gravitated toward answers like: Farmer, Railroad Conductor, and occasionally threw in Lumberjack. This was one of the first clues that denim was an ever-present priority for me from as far back as I can remember. I had no interest in pursing any uniformed professions (as I knew them), unless that uniform included denim.

I went on to wear private school uniforms beginning in Kindergarten and finally burning every last polyester piece in celebration upon graduating high school. During those years, I wore some form of denim almost every Halloween: creating and then reprising in subsequent years the dirty-denim hobo, the overalls-wearing farmer, the bell-bottom-clad hippie. For portraits, I always chose something denim (often more than one piece & sadly not yet recognizing the importance of styling in my early years) and remember a particularly jubilant birthday celebration when I turned 8 and received a perfect pair of denim sneakers – I thought I’d never need another pair of shoes as long as I lived!

Every time I was involved in a fundraiser or idea-committee in high school, my first suggestion was always a ‘dress-down’ day (where a student could pay to wear whatever clothes they wanted instead of the uniform that day), sometimes even pushing the envelope to rally for a month-long dress-down pass.

Over the years, I have either renounced or embraced every denim trend and then changed my mind about each one countless times. Anyone who has known me at nearly any stage of my life will tell you: I love to dress up, but I’d die without my denim.

So, here I am. All grown up. Enjoying my denim as much as I ever have & helping other chicks find a little place in their hearts that denim can fill perfectly. Welcome to the blog. I’m so excited to have you along…