A Designer's Quest - The Boyfriend Jean

I've been on a mission lately and with no success so far. I would think it'd be a fairly simple search for the perfect "it" jean of the moment - The Boyfriend Jean. It's in all the magazines and celebrities have been ditching their skinnies for their broken-down ex-boyfriend's jeans. With a wod of cash ready to burn, I set out to two Santa Monica shopping locales - the mainstream Third Street Promenade with it's chock-full-of-chains and the chic little Malibu Country Mart.

First stop, Madison Malibu. I've always had good success with my jeans here, purchasing my first post-baby sexy jeans from AG (Angel style) and most recently my fabulous Anlo wide leg jeans. But I was sort of bummed to find that my only jean shape options were bootcut and skinny. And this is a store known for showcasing trends before they're trends. On a lonely rack I did find two pairs of the of-the-moment denim maker, Current Elliot. But I was not impressed. For one thing, I'm not looking for a pair of cropped boyfriend jeans because I want to roll them up myself à la Katie Holmes. And I would like distressed, but please no holes in the knees (been there done that.) On top of that, per usual, the customer service was non-existent to say the least. Customer service is only for the Brittany Spears of the world I guess.

Second stop, Planet Blue Malibu. I'm a big fan of the one-stop-shop were you can even find yours truly, Stacia. They have the largest wall of denim in Malibu for sure, but still no luck. Bootcut, skinny, bootcut, skinny, bootcut...was pretty much my only options once again. What's up? Did I just miss this trend? Retail is in an all time slump so why wouldn't stores jump on the trend that's in all the mags and even in the mainstream J.Crew catalog? Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot, when it's a down economy, buyers play it safe. Meaning it's the same old crap that has proven to sell, rather than diving into a new, unknown trend - the boyfriend jean.

Yes, even J.Crew has gone out on a limb and styled their entire catalog pretty much with the same distressed, cowboy wash, boyfriendy-looking jean that I've been craving. But low and behold, no luck at their retail post at the Third Street Promenade. Once again, it was the Matchstick and the Bootcut option, but at least they had grasped the wide leg trend with my new favorite jean, the High Heel jean. I asked the salesguy, what's up, where's the jean that's all over their catalog? He said they were sold out. Yeah, right. Every display was clearly all about the Matchstick - in skinny corduroy, dark denim, white denim...but no slouchy, distressed jean in site. Oh well, back to the streets...

Next stop, American Eagle. I know I feel a bit old when I go in there, but at least it's not as bad as the loud, thumping techno music at Abercrombie where I REALLY feel old. But American Eagle is the affordable choice for teens looking for trends on a budget, and denim is supposeably their forte. I was pleasantly surprised and giddy to find they actually had a "boyfriend jean" in their style range. Whoopie! I grabbed a few washes and ran to the dressing room rather hopeful. When I envisioned the boyfriend fit, it was to be a slouchy, sort of "I've lost some weight!" feeling when you slide into them. But at AA, it's more like, "I'm a teenager and need to show my butt crack even in my boyfriend's jeans." Yes, the leg was an easy fit and I could roll up the cuffs just so, but the cut of the waist was way too low and fitted for a real boyfriend jean. Believe me, I did not feel like I was sporting Tom Cruise's Prps jeans, but rather Hilary Duff's. Strike out once again...

Last and final "I give up" stop, Levis. The original denim maker of the classic 501's. Why didn't I think of this earlier? Brilliant! Buy a pair of old-school 501's in a light wash, wear them to death to beat them up, and roll 'em up with some bronze flats. I'd surely feel like Katie Holmes wearing Tom's jeans! Boy, has the world have Levis changed since 1988, the last time I wore my 501's. It's skinny again! Everywhere. There was one display of the look I wanted, and yes, it was the women's version of the 501. But, they did not have any in the store! Hello Levis! Wake up, you need to keep your classic 501's in stock. They did have the men's 501's which I tried on, but then I remembered why I finally ditched my 501's in 1995. I felt like I was missing "my package" in the front and there was just toooo much fabric at my pelvis. Not a good look. Yeah, if my husband had an ass the size of my thigh, I could look cute in his jeans like Katie Holmes wearing Tom's, but that's just not going to happen. My husband is actually built like a man and I would be swimming in his jeans.

So I'm sad to say, I left with a wod of cash and empty-handed once again. Sort of bummed since I was dreaming of wearing my slouchy, cuffed boyfriend jeans on the plane tomorrow with a Sharon Segal tee, my new favorite bamboo Stacia scarf, and my bronze flats. I would have been soo chic and comfortable too! I guess the search goes on...will keep you posted if I succeed. But by that time, I believe the trend will be over or at least I'll have moved on in search of something else I must-have...