Staples: Jeans.
If the perfect white tee is born of whisper-thin fabric, then the perfect blue jeans are its antithesis.
They pair up like fraternal twins, though, sharing effortless and ease at their core, and together establishing the foundations of the perfect, minimal wardrobe; but where the perfect white tee slips off the racks and into your closet as if born of your very own DNA, the perfect pair of jeans require breaking in.
Authenticity.
The pillars of the perfect pair of jeans lie in the kind of denim that can stand up on its own. It shuns stretch, and embellishments, and maintains its austere, core pillar of purpose: functionality.
Japanese, raw selvedge denim is the most covetable, for its exquisite development and natural indigo dyes. When people speak about raw denim, they are speaking of a fabric with whom you build a relationship; they require breaking in, like warm vinyl, and as such they mould to one's own shape; wearing pale and soft selectively, as opposed to arriving on the shelves, bleached into appearing pre-worn.
Essentially, once you find the perfect pair of jeans, you'll know them forevermore; like the back of your hand.
Mastering the basics.
Jeans should be so basic, and so honest, that they become individual by their discretion.
This means that they don't stand out for their fake whiskering or loud logos; but for being synonymous with the very ageless models who showcase their debuts - bare, languid, and solemn.
Those are the sorts of understated threads that run through the perfect pair of jeans.
Where many struggle to find their preferred fit, and whether or not they want to zip themselves up to the navel, or have them barely hanging on, jeans should be comfortable only after you've earned it.
Many people walk into a dressing room in the hopes that jeans will fit like a glove the moment they pull them on; and that may happen, in the presences of stretch denim that only lasts a season; but you can spot the sheen of elastane a mile off in broad daylight, (or under the harsh glare of office lighting.)
Riding high or low.
As with the perfect white tee, that the Olsen duo tested out on various shapes and sizes, believing that it should drape around any silhouette; jeans seem to have adopted the reputation of being far less forgiving, or versatile.
The internet abounds with guides for dressing to your shape, stipulating that waistband-height and leg-width have nothing to do with preference, and everything to do with your proportions.
But this isn't about how to wear the perfect jeans perfectly; this is about the jeans themselves, and too much emphasis gets placed on whether or not you decide to flare them up, or pare them down.
The fact remains that the perfect pair will leave those who favour spray-painted denim, coveting a bootleg revival; and die-hard distressed fans looking for something polished.
Why? Because the quintessential pair should give bragging rights to a glimpse of a life you should like to wish you had.
Distressed pairs insinuate the secrets of nightlife, with the lingering perfume of strangers and smokers, their casual disarray suggesting nights on hotel room floors and other escapades. They dishevel beautifully the crispest of shirts, and polish up crushed sweaters and tee shirts.
Whatever it is you pair them with, the perfect jeans, with their flecked denim, elegant frays, and unapologetic honesty, embrace duality; living several exciting lives instead of struggling through just one.
They tell their own stories, that are built to last.
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