Germany is much more than a pair of jeans (but not in this post)
Once again I travelled to Stuttgart, and once again I found myself in Metzingen, a small village dominated by outlet shops. And it seems that whenever I am here I am actually in a need for a new pair of jeans. Two years ago when I was here before my old faithful denim trousers had grown a hole in a pretty revealing place, yet despite this I was unable to make a purchase due to the massive selection, and substantial price (dispite big discounts).
This time was similar, with my New York pair showing a fair bit of the underpant area, I was due for some more pants. Unfortunately though, I found myself in a very similar situation to last, I was overwhelmed by the choice and price. Also, I feel very boring standing in a shop full of blue jeans, trying to have an opinion on which shade of blue I like best. And I didn’t have any real opinion on the jeans – until a saw a red pair! I was dead set going to pick myself up a fifteen euro set of Hugo Boss red jeans – but they were too tight and the only other pair far too large. After some considerable searching I found a Levi’s pair that fitted fine except for the leg length, but they were twice the price.
Again, I was stumped. I did need some jeans, but would a pair of long legged bright ones be the best choice? Would I wear them? Would I just be better off putting off the purchase for another day? Yes. I actually said out loud ‘I think some blue jeans would be the more sensible decision’. And that’s what cemented my decision.
Five minutes later I was the proud owner of a lurid red pair of Levi 501’s. I’m only 22, I’m living in another country, I’m learning French – I don’t want to be attached to the adjective ‘sensible’ just yet. In fact, I’ll take a shine to ‘whimsical’, ‘oddball’, ‘quaint’ or even ‘silly’. But sensible? I may as well have skipped the blue jean stage and just gone straight for the cardigans.
So call me finicky, picky, or obsessive as it is fair to say that I might put more thought into jean purchases than the average bear. Just don’t call me sensible.
What Justin is thinking... 