monday manifesto: is there such a thing as the "perfect pair of jeans"?

so remember last week when i said i'd be back tomorrow, but instead disappeared for several days into a blissful world of admittedly self-indulgent solitude? i'm sorry about that. part of that world also included not being able to locate an appropriate camera to photograph the ensemble that resulted from my thirsty thursday shopping spree, so i also apologize for that. and now that all my apologies are out of the way, let's get started on my monday manifesto about the eternal search for that elusive holy grail of wardrobe staples: the PERFECT pair of jeans.

now, i am not exactly a disbeliever in the idea of the perfect pair; i'd just say that i'm a bit more polytheistic about it. i believe in many perfect pairs: the perfect trouser jean with a flat-front, high-waist, and front seam; the perfect skinny jean, all washed out with acid and embellished with studs and zippers; the perfect casual jean, which is hands-down 7forallmankind's A-pocket in just about any wash or weight; even the perfect dress jean, in the kind of deep wash that will leave inkmarks all over your suede shoes and jacket (a rookie mistake that i've never made...especially not two or three times). i never really subscribed to the belief that i could have a very favorite pair, a desert island pair, a pair that, more than any other pair, i would rescue from a burning building. now, i'm not sure if this is just fashion folklore, but i read someplace that 7forallmankind came up with its name because, on average, a person (woman?) owns seven pairs of jeans at any given time.

that person is not me.

i probably own more than seven pairs of sevens at any given time.

i feel about jeans the way i feel about relationships; i can't possibly be exclusive and still get everything i need. i'm sure that with maturity and a shift in priorities, my opinion on the latter will likely change, but i never anticipated that i could consider a paradigm shift when it came to jeans. until today.

i don't think 7forallmankind intended to make a pair of jeans to end my quest for the holy grail, but while idly online shopping (not during work hours) today, i may have stumbled across The Perfect Pair of Jeans. and so i bought them. tell me you wouldn't have done the same.

what i love about a great straight-leg jean is that, when done properly, it is never the wrong jean to wear. i'm talking about a true straight leg, with absolutely zero taper or flare, whose opening could go both over and under a narrow, mid-height boot (think cowboy). it's not exactly boot cut, not exactly skinny--if goldilocks were looking for a pair of jeans, this would be the one she'd pick. it's juuuuust right.

ladies and gentlemen, i give you PERFECTION:

.

yes, sweet, extraordinary perfection. these straight legs in valiant joan wash have everything you could ask for from a jean; perfect rise, exsquisite whiskering and fade, and the most crisp, delicious cerulean blue wash i've ever been lucky enough to slide my stems into. though i managed to snag these for less than the $189 price tag, i would have paid it without batting an eye. these jeans are perfection in every possible way; but if my apartment were burning to the ground, these wouldn't be the pair i'd grab on the way out. they would be the pair i'm already wearing.