Once upon a time there was a pair of jeans. The most perfect jeans to ever grace my hips. They were there through thick and thin, always magically fitting, and never getting baggy at the knee. For somewhat of an impulse purchase they became a staple: classic skinny (but not too tight) black jeans, fitting like they’d been tailored for me.
Alas, one day we moved and they were lost. How? I have no idea. I think they were in a loose bag that got put on the truck when they shouldn’t have been and, since it was a loose shopping tote bag, they fell out and the movers never contacted us about it.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I burst into tears when I found out.
These were perfect – and I already knew they were discontinued because I’d contacted the company the year before saying “ya know, I love these jeans, are you going to release them again?”. Their customer service was very nice and helpful, even when I again chanced it to reach out another time pleading they bring back that style.
However, Rag & Bone would not be moved by my pleas to bring back their vintage skinny. Luckily, since I’d reached out to the company before losing the jeans, I was able to track down my sent email in which I’d put the jean info like the style name, code, and – most importantly – the fabric breakdown (98% cotton and 2% polyurethane) which put me in a good position to begin my hunt for them second hand.
I set up search alerts on resale sites, but my hopes were low. They were a style discontinued years ago and “vintage skinny” is not terribly unique to make searching seamless.
But, I persisted.
Every now and then I’d find something promising and I’d buy them, for them to not be quite right. Maybe the fabric breakdown had not been accurate (looking at YOU The RealReal!) or the seller had (quite innocently) not labeled them quite right. As I said, “vintage skinny” was not super helpful for a style name. Luckily the jeans I found were all relatively cheap, so their disappointing reality wasn’t a kick to the wallet, and in most cases I did gain a pair of black jeans. Just not the black jeans I so desired.
It sounds melodramatic to say my heart hurt every time I thought of them, but it’s true. They were such a trusty item to turn to when I didn’t know what to wear; they worked dressed up or down and paired with literally any top and shoe. As a person who had a history of ‘dressing breakdowns’ from time to time, mostly due to body dysmorphia, it was a comfort to know my magical jeans were always there. A saving grace was the majority of my time missing these jeans was during the pandemic and I rarely needed to wear anything but sweatpants. But they did haunted me. A denim specter lingering over my closet, dogging my wistful mind.
Last week, my husband had several turns of good luck (a free flight upgrade, fortuitous professional news) so much so I thought “huh, maybe the stars are aligned for us this week and I should give those jeans another look for” and on the first site I looked on (Mercari FTW!) there they were. In my size. And NEW WITH TAGS. PRICED REASONABLY!
Of course I hit BUY and the efficient seller had those jeans in my greedy paws in 2 days. As they traveled, I worried maybe my size was different? I had last had my old jeans in 2020 and it’s been 2 years. Maybe, despite the very clear photos, I was about to be scammed or they wouldn’t be quite the right ones like previous times. When I got the delivery notification there was a mix of excitement and trepidation as I tore into the bag. But… they were the right ones for sure. New with tags, odor free, the right fabric. And they fit perfectly, just as my original pair had done.
My point is: never give up. If you have something haunting you – a pair of shoes you never purchased or a doll you wanted as a kid – just keep going. Maybe don’t get quite as emotional as I did about my jeans (sorry not sorry tho) and take breaks between looking, but I can assure you that it’s totally worth it to be reunited with a dream. Sometimes it might not pan out as you wanted, but on the times it does… damn is that a good feeling.
the girl with the most cake 