College Wardrobe Tips for Jeans with Holes

There is a circle of life when it comes to jeans: purchase, wear for two years until the sight of the first hole, hang in your closet for two years trying to deny the existence of holes, and then eventually throw away or give away. What if there was a way to prolong the inevitable and extend the life of your favorite jeans? Consider me your jean genie for I am about to make your denim dreams come true.

Turn your jeans into shorts

You might be thinking that any 3rd grade student with a pair of safety scissors could turn jeans into shorts but hear me out. Cut off jeans have had negative connotations for years – visions of trailer parks and booty shorts may be dancing in your head as you read this, but there is a way to wear cut offs and still look respectable. Try cutting them right above your knee and roll them up once leaving the frayed edge visible for a casual surfer look, or cut them at your mid-thigh and roll twice for a more polished summer look.

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Patch up your jeans

Visit your local fabric store and buy a dynamic print to sew into your jeans. For a contemporary look, pick a simple black and white print or go for complete whimsy and use Winnie the Pooh or a tie-dye print. As long as you love the fabric you chose, you’ll wear your new original jeans with pride.

Turn your jeans into a purse

Cut straight across your jeans where your hips would be and sew straight across the jagged edge. Voila, you have the makings of a cost free handbag. Sew straps by using strips cut from the legs of your jeans. Don’t be alarmed! – when you wear your jeans on your arm you may be self conscious about displaying the size of your bottom as an accessory, but you’ll get over that the moment you get your first compliment.

Make your own bell bottoms

Okay, this doesn’t make the holes in your jeans go away, but it will make them 70’s chic. At the bottom of your jeans, cut a triangle on the outside of each pant leg with the base of the triangle at the hem of the jean. Use the cut out triangle and trace it on a piece of fabric with an extra 1” around the shape and sew the larger triangle into your jeans. The extra fabric will give them retro flare.

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Wear your holey jeans!

A few years ago the trend was to wear distressed denim. Jeans had so many holes that they looked like strips of fabric connected by a zipper and a button. We now understand that less is more. One hole in the knee of your jeans is sexy. Six holes mean you’re trying a little too hard. If your denim wear and tear has occurred naturally then wear those holes with pride (maybe not as much pride as if they were a congressional medal of honor, but still some pride)! There are stories behind those holes and they deserve to be shown off – especially if they are in a place that shows just a little bit of skin in just the right spot. Wear a pair of brightly covered tights if flesh is not the color you want to show under the rips.

With these ideas, and maybe a few of your own, you are well equipped to breathe new life into those jeans sitting idly in your closet. After all, they are your favorites for a reason! So, don’t abandon hope. Fight for your denim, holes and all.

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