A test – and a mindless post

So, after seeing several people post during NaBloPoMo (thank you, San!) that blogging a bit daily is easier than long posts every once in a (long) while (ahem), I’m posting a rather, well, minor post today. I have a whole post queued up on connection and disconnection and how I struggle connecting. And it occurred to me that, to connect, sometimes you have to reach out. Duh, me.

I’m running a test today. Of what, you ask? Something in class? Nope.

Jeans.

I have had a hard rule for the past almost-four years that I will only wear pants with a comfortable waistband. I held true to this and happily donated a bunch of pants that were not comfortable, that I didn’t like for various reasons, and that didn’t work for me in this season of life. But the two “regular” pairs of pants that I could not seem to get rid of were my favorite pre-COVID jeans. They’re nothing special – one is a thrift store special and the other pair is who-knows-how-old from Old Navy. But I just couldn’t give them up.

So today, a long day at work for me, I’m testing out the real jeans. In a way, it’s a test of my post-pandemic self, and who I have become in the last four years. Because, trust me, it’s not who I was before the Fall of 2019. (I had an interesting Fall of 2019, so for me, this change came a bit earlier than March 2020…) Will they work for me, now? Or will I go home and happily chuck them in the donation box?

Check back tomorrow. 😉

24 thoughts on “A test – and a mindless post

  1. Ha! Let us know!

    And I agree with that method of more frequent shorter posts – that’s what works for me to do (and I am more likely to read them when others post them tbh).

    1. Let’s see how the shorter post thing works out. I know you’re all waiting with bated breath for the results of the Great Pants Experiment. 😉

  2. Oh, the real jeans test is such a moment, right? I love a comfort-forward waistband. When I had to start going back into the office 2x a week, I bought NEW jeans for my business casual look, but it was such a whole thought process to get back into “real” pants on the regular. I can’t wait to hear how this went!

    1. I think I’d tried them on once before, to make sure that they kind of fit? (I mean once since COVID, sorry…) It’s… different, to be sure. Full report to follow tomorrow. (I know you just can’t wait!)

  3. Good luck! This is a great experiment because either it will work out and you’ll have new wardrobe options or it won’t work out and you can donate them with no guilt! I’m also excited about the idea of posts two days in a row from you!!

    1. Oh, so true. (And, I keep things forever, so these – if I keep them – will likely be what I’m wearing in 20 years…fashion shmashion…)

  4. I hope the jeans pass the test!

    I struggled to find jeans that work for my bigger body – nothing dramatic, just went from a 6 to a 10. The problem with bigger sizes is that they expect you to be taller, which I am not so the fit gets really awkward. I finally found a style at Old Navy that works for me and bought 3 pairs.

    1. I am super-short. As in, can hide in a crowd. So, regardless of the size, all pants are long on me. But I can’t wear skirts/dresses, so leggings actually work the best for me (no one notices scrunching at the ankle… and I also have NO fashion sense, so it’s not like I pay attention. :>).

  5. Hiii friend, I am here for a shorter, seemingly less-thought-out post but super-curious about your jeans experiment. I feel that people either love or hate jeans (I love jeans and will wear them daily… they don’t have to be uncomfortable ;)).

    1. Oh, jeans were my favorites pre-pandemic. I’ve just embraced the longer-top-with-leggings approach. I do look like I’m swimming and/or playing dress up in most clothes. That is, adult clothes. I sometimes debate shopping in the Target kids section, since it seems like most kids who are in middle school or later are taller than me. 🙂

  6. I have always had a deep love for Soft Pants, but they became almost inseparable from my body in 2020, and it’s been hard to transition back to hard pants! I hope your jeans test went well though. Jeans are a good alternative to soft pants.

    Yay for being inspired by NaBloPoMo!!! I hope you feel moved to post more often (but no pressure).

    1. Jeans ARE a good alternative, Suzanne. It just took me a long time to get to the point of, you know, actually putting them on again. Ha! I’m back in soft pants and a fleece today and Life Is Good, for sure. 🙂

  7. Don’t underestimate writing shorter posts! I’ve realised myself that I’ve been making blogging so hard for myself, by thinking every post has to be fancy and meaningful. Just write!
    Personally I think jeans are comfy, provided they have a nice fit. No matter what trends and more are saying, I love low rise jeans and will never stop chasing low rise jeans. And I’ve understood it’s me against the rest of the world, but I always wear proper clothes when I work from home, because to me it’s a form of self-respect. Talking of which, when I work in the office I wear leggings and performance tops! (Simply because I always work in the office in training days now that I’m mobile again)
    I hope you enjoyed your jeans!

    1. Check out today’s post for the answer! 🙂 I do wear leggings to work – to me, those are real clothes. Not pajamas, or flannel pants, or sweatpants. But leggings are within bounds for me, for sure. If I am clean, neat, and everything is covered, that is (thankfully) acceptable.
      And yes, I am loving two short posts two days in a row! Not going to keep it up forever but oh, the freedom of not writing a dissertation for each post. (And it’s freedom for all of you, too… ;>)

      1. Yes, leggings can definitely be appropriate (and good looking!) depending on what you wear with them! In the past I was only comfortable wearing leggings to the gym. But then when I was injured and in the boot, I found jeans so uncomfortable to wear under the boot (and definitely too hot in the summer) so I went for leggings with some nice top. Then I got used to it and learned to like leggings, if they have the right fit. Now I’m back to only wearing them in the gym (and in the office since I find it pointless to change clothes for the gym when I stare into a screen most of the day anyway), post-boot I now love having the freedom of wearing jeans, but I wouldn’t mind leggings either if I had something nice to go with them (which I don’t for the cold season). And after I bought a pair of short leggings/biker pants, I realised there’s a big trend wearing them in fancy outfits, and I really liked the look of it.
        But when people during lockdown talked about working from home in pyjamas, it was a big cringe to me!

        1. YES! Embrace the leggings, I say. 🙂
          Today was nice yoga pants + fleece. I am grateful to work somewhere where our Dean wears jeans. Thank goodness. (I interviewed at one school where they required suits. Daily. I left after the interview and thought, nope. I cannot imagine. I’m an academic. Suits? Really?)
          I’m just glad to have OPTIONS! YAY! But I will always gravitate towards the comfy pants, for sure. And yeah, pajama pants are a hard no. What on earth?

  8. Oh I love this. LOVE IT. I am so relieved to hear other people struggling with the return to real pants. I swear I never had issues with being uncomfortable in the waist in jeans in the past. I wore jeans for years! Then covid hit at the same time that I received my first ever pair of Lululemon Align leggings for that Christmas 2019. Well. Those are like the King of All Comfy Pants. Literally feel like butter smooth on my body. I lived in them. Literally lived. (Still mostly do). Then, when I went back to trying to wear regular pants, it became this whole THING. Like, I apparently can no longer tolerate even the slightest pressure on my waist. Even pants that I can pull out several inches from my body (i.e. they are not too small), or have stretch… when I sit down, if I can feel them AT ALL (which, I think probably everyone can kind of “feel” their pants when they sit, or else they would be humongous when standing?), I am dreadfully uncomfortable and cannot stand it. My husband thinks I have gone nuts and that it’s all in my head. I don’t even know! It drives me literally nuts because I see women all over wearing cute outfits with jeans and I WANT to wear them, but despite even trying to buy new ones, different brands, etc. I somehow still feel uncomfortable! It’s almost like I can’t breathe if I can feel something touching my stomach at all. I have a couple pairs right now that are “sort of” ok but I still get itchy thinking about wearing them sometimes. Anyway. I’m pretty sure I am just crazy.

    1. Oh, I feel you on this. And I think the same thing – how can all of these people just put on their old pants (literally) and look great and seemingly feel great? My pants cannot be tight around my waist. I can’t do the high-rise thing, sorry. At least now, it seems like people are just doing what they want in terms of style, so I don’t feel compelled to buy anything that is not comfortable. But I will always, always gravitate towards comfy pants. (I can’t afford the Lululemon leggings but they get such fantastic reviews…)

  9. I love comfy pants and I guess the pandemic did really get me to appreciate them so much more. I have a black pair of well, what are they? Yoga pants? Just straight cut black stretchy pants. So comfy. When I leave the house in them, I bank on people not noticing that they are as crappy/ancient as they are.

    1. If anyone is looking that closely at your pants, they need a life. Seriously. It’s the same with shoes. I say, wear the comfy pants (they sound like yoga pants? maybe “athleisure”, although who the heck knows what that is?) with pride.

  10. I loooove jeans. Love them, love them. Like you, I am also very short so it can be difficult to find options that fit me. (I’m also oddly shaped with chicken legs but a wide waist.) Old Navy used to make a specific style of jeans that fit me PERFECTLY but they discontinued the style. HOW DARE THEY. I need to read your follow-up post to see how to experiment went!

    1. I hate it when they do that. Dang it. They haven’t brought it back, either? I cannot imagine you are the only person with your body type in the country. Just sayin’. Also? Here’s a question. The only kind of pull-on jeans are super-skinny jeggings. Why is that? Will a straight leg or boot cut create a rift in the universe or something? (This goes on the list of “things I think about when I definitely need more caffeine…;>)

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