jeans Love... Dress up and feel cool.....

The poodle skirt. Bellbottomed pants. Neon spandex (double trouble). For reasons unknown, fashion trends come and go as each decade goes by. One trend that's always remained lurking in the background, however, is the beloved denim. Born in Nines, France and raised in America, jeans have hugged the frames of icons for years. It hasn't always been this way - at one point, denim was simply a faux pas, rather uncool, if you will (seriously)!

Created in the 18th century for miners due to the durable nature of the fabric, denim didn't become popular until the 1930s. It acted kind of like a souvenir for Americans who visited "dude ranches" (obviously they hadn't heard of postcards), and they brought home waist overalls. Then came the 1950s, teenage rebellion, and a young stunner named James Dean. Denim was the quintessential item for revolt, and some schools even banned them.

The popularity of denim grew during the next few decades, finally becoming "high fashion" in the 1980s (along with puffy pants, puffy shoulder pads, and puffy hair...). Remember the Calvin Klein ads? Nothing really did come between Brooke Shields and her Calvin's, and sales for the brand and others soared. The economic recession of the early 90s slowed down sales, but it struck back with a vengeance: the new millennium finds denim in just about every home

worldwide.

Jeans have gone in and out of fashion more times than Elizabeth Taylor's been married (impossible to keep track, we know). We know that the 60s were synonymous for hippie bell-bottoms, the 80s for the tapered leg. Nowadays, denim is all about variety, and we couldn't be happier. Designers are looking to the past and dreaming of the future, creating bold styles and keeping up with the fast-paced lifestyles of its consumers.

Apparently, these bold styles don't come cheap. Gone are the days when you could splurge on a great pair of jeans for $50. Nowadays you need to forego on a few essentials to save up the money for your favorite label (but really, who needs groceries anyway??). Designer denim labels, such as Blue Cult, Chip and Pepper, Joe's Jeans and Seven, are being created based solely on jeans retailing at as much as $400 US a pop.

So what inspired this resurgence in denim? Well, you can thank your favorite celebrities for that. Popping up on runways since the turn of the millenium, jeans are the must-have item. Gone is the overdressed formality of movie premieres and awards shows, and in its place is a relaxed attitude and the cool comfort of designer denim--so loosen that tie and unbutton that belt!

Flip through the best-dressed list of any magazine and you'll see the bodies of Hollywood's hottest squeezed into the newest designer jeans. Celebs like Kate Hudson and Jennifer Aniston have been spotted sporting their favorite brands at events normally calling for black-tie attire. Gwyneth Paltrow wore a pair of Blue Cult jeans to several NY Fashion Week events, and they have since become so popular that Blue Cult has re-named them "The Gwenyth Jeans".
Britney Spears even went so far as to wear ripped jeans during her hasty Las Vegas wedding. Brittany Murphy chose head-to-toe denim as her ensemble of choice for both the MTV Video Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards, and looked fab! More and more celebs are dressing down with denim, but still heading out in style.

Thankfully, the low (and we mean low) waist trend that's been lingering for the past few seasons seems to be on its way out. In its place is a return to comfort, as high waisted jeans muscle their way back into the spotlight. Complete with designer touches and detailing, they also come with a new special added feature - "butt-lifting". It's time to celebrate that booty, and let your jeans show it off (we can thank Jennifer Lopez for this). Darker, indigo blues are the shades for the season, and stretch is also making a long-awaited comeback. Jeans that are stylish and comfortable--what a novel idea!

Once worn for dirty work, we now see denim paired up with sexy stilettos and lace, or sneakers and T-shirts. Strutting their way down runways worldwide, cozying up to A-list celebrities, and accompanying you on your daily activities, jeans have come a long way since their grubby beginnings down a mineshaft.