Ugly pants

I can't seem to take off these pleated acid wash jeans, despite my boyfriend's wishes

Feb 18, 2024

It was Sunday morning when I found the “ugly pants”. We were avoiding the day’s chores with multiple cups of coffee and unnecessary trip to the vintage shop.

I always go straight to the denim section. My eye scans the wash and texture of materials first, so it’s no surprise these babies practically jumped off the rack onto my lower half.

When I walked out of the dressing room my boyfriend gasped and said, “these are on a level you have yet to cross.” Which I mistakenly took as a positive reaction.

Acid wash and the overly saturated aesthetics of the 80’s / 90’s have never been my thing. But, I’d recently seen a woman wearing very faded acid wash jeans with a tan puffer jacket. I’d never seen acid wash look chic, modern, and unironic. The mix of a natural color with the manufactured texture took the outfit to a new dimension. I was completely smitten.

I believe in buying clothes that feel like they have a point of view. I want to wear jeans, but I don’t want them to just be any jean. I want to wear t-shirts, but I want them to have had a life before me. I’m always looking for basic items with just a little quirk – interesting stitching, an oversized pocket, transparency, asymmetry.

This to me explains the allure of the B SIDES Vintage Lasso Jean. I’d never seen anything like them when they came out years ago. They felt daring, looked cool, and honestly were a little ugly (my friend’s husband calls them clown pants). When you pass someone wearing the lasso jeans, its impossible to not see the pants. They challenge us to decide if we like them, and twist our little brains into articulating why (or why not).

These crazy pleated acid wash jeans achieve something similar to the B Sides for me. They are a little ugly, a little clown-like, but my outfit instantly becomes more interesting when they are in the mix. They make me a more active participant in my own dressing. I have to decide each time if I like them enough to be subject to the scrutinizing eye of society.

Leandra Medine Cohen

recently wrote that the fashion motto of the winter is: “It’s good to look a little weird.” Leandra is basically the queen of this fashion sentiment (having started a very popular publication based on the premise of fashion that is so ugly-cool it repels men). So, take it from the expert if not from me (your best friend).

Below are a handful of “ugly pants” for your consideration.

Warning: If you do your own search for a vintage pleated acid wash jean, it’s surprisingly hard to find waist sizes above 25, which is insane. I did my best to find a diversity of sizes!

Mary Roblyn

Feb 18

More Mom jeans, please. I need something to wear with my padded-shoulder sweaters with the peach-colored abstract print (or maybe kid vomit, same thing) and my bright-white Reeboks.

Expand full comment

1 reply by Best Friends

Christina Loff

Oh those acid wash pinstripes !! Very into those.

9 more comments...

Ugly pants

I can't seem to take off these pleated acid wash jeans, despite my boyfriend's wishes

Warning: If you do your own search for a vintage pleated acid wash jean, it’s surprisingly hard to find waist sizes above 25, which is insane. I did my best to find a diversity of sizes!

Discussion about this post