It's all in the jeans

I saw a story on one of the morning shows saying denim is going out of style, even though it showed recent magazine covers with photos of celebrities and designers hawking denim. Hey, folks, this ain't Star Trek with stretch pants and faux turtlenecks, this is the real world, and denim is here to stay.

According to the report, which wasn't on the morning show that promotes itself for having real news (and no concerts), denim is losing ground to casual athletic wear and yoga pants. Yeah, right. I might get away with athletic wear on my decidedly unathletic body, but yoga pants? Uh uh, no way is that happening. It'd be like shoving a hog into straw. I don't even want to picture me in yoga pants in my mind's eye, that's how horrific it would be.

Now the folks I've seen in yoga pants, for the most part, have looked nice, even if a little snug. But, as far as replacing denim, I don't think so.

Even though it originated in Italy or France — there is some debate — denim is an all-American fabric for all-American clothes, specifically jeans. In these noble trousers, people built America. Levi Strauss was a saint to the miner 49ers for whom he originally made pants from tent canvas then switched to denim with those little metal parts that still can be found on the jeans that bear his name. Those humble jeans proved to be reliable and comfortable pants for those sourdoughs squatting beside rivers panning for their fortunes, or digging through soil and rock for a glimpse at gold.

Can you picture an old 49er with his mule and his gold pan, and wearing yoga pants? I didn't think so.

Other folks started making jeans, adding little variations for their versions of the original Levi jeans. Farmers and laborers really made them popular, even though fashion was far from their minds. Although they didn't initially wear jeans — those were for sodbusters — eventually cowboys took to wearing jeans, too, and today jeans are as important as a hat for being a cowboy, real or drugstore.

Those denim pants even evolved into that favorite of farmers, carpenters and railroad men everywhere — bib overalls. Overalls were sort of an original cargo pants with enough pockets to carry almost anything you needed. Plus, denim overalls are comfortable, especially after they've been washed a few times and softened. I have two pair, and love them.

There are few clothes as comfortable as a good pair of denim jeans, the older and softer the better. Jeans are like an old friend who has been with you through trials and tribulations, good times and bad, adventures and casual moments. For many people, jeans are their go-to choice of pants. The more battered and worn they become, the better they are. I like mine a little loose, although like some other folks I see nothing wrong with a tight pair of jeans, although I prefer being the observer of them rather than the wearer.

There are songs written about jeans. Who could forget Neil Diamond's Forever in Blue Jeans? Or Conway Twitty's song about those Tight Fittin' Jeans and Between Blue Eyes and Jeans? Dr. Hook had Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk and there was Mel McDaniel's song Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On. And don't forget that classic line from House of the Rising Sun: "My mother was a tailor, she sewed my new blue jeans."

Show me one song about yoga pants.

Jeans are the true icon. Think of the '50s, and there's James Dean and Marlon Brando being rebellious in their jeans. Youngsters watched TV Westerns in their rolled-up jeans and dime-store hats, then ran outside to play cowboy.

Along came the '60s, when jeans truly became a symbol of rebellion for many, although for us country folks they were just our everyday clothes. Bell-bottom dungarees worn by sailors suddenly become a fashion trend, and pretty soon there are all kinds of bell-bottom pants.

The '70s and '80s were a continuation of the '60s, although there was that polyester period and leisure suits, although there were denim leisure suits. Along came the '90s and the '00s and raggedy jeans became the big fashion statement. Before, you had to wear jeans for years to get them faded and collect little scratches or holes in the material. Then, folks started buying brand-new jeans that looked as if they'd been soaked in hamburger and tossed to lions.

Today, for those of us whose middles are thicker than our hair, we can get jeans with a little stretch to them. Bet those 49ers would have liked that when they had to squat beside those creeks all day.

While fashionistas and big-city types may think denim is becoming a thing of the past, those of us in the real world know denim may fade, but it will never go away.