A Sisterhood of Jeans? No way!

Me on the left and Pam--circa 1992 (can't you tell by all that floral??)

Posted on January 28, 2010 12:00 AM MST by Tiffany Kinerson

I’m happy to watch a good chickflick every now and then—as long as you make sure my husband is nowhere in the vicinity (the retching, the snickering, the eye rolling…it’s not worth the “good cry”—trust me!). But as one voice in a sea of high-pitched opinions out there, I’ve got to talk about this one movie. You know the one. Where a group of girls can all magically fit into the same pair of jeans whether the body is long and lean or short and curvy. Yeah, right!

When I was growing up, my older sister, Pam, and I did not compete against each other. Although I often thought the things she did looked fun (dance team, choir…and, yes, an occasional pageant [I am a small town Texas girl after all!]) and therefore followed right behind her white boots or high heels, I never begrudged her successes or attention. Likewise, I don’t remember her begrudging mine (Wait, did I ever actually have any? No, let’s not go there.)

Anyway, my theory on how this could possibly happen between two sisters is that when I looked at her, I knew I would never be her. Never. And I’m pretty sure she knew the same about me. Let’s put it this way: Pam had the classic long and lean body (she actually went on weight gain diets in high school, if you can believe that), she was a dark-eyed, dark-haired beauty who thought deeply and answered wisely. She did not try to entertain people, she said what she thought and moved on in intelligent competence and confidence.

Hee-hee! All I can say about all those things is I did not. Or was not.

I have brown hair now, but when I was growing up, my mom and I thought it’d be fun to “play” with my hair. It was always Farrah Fawcett blonde. And hot rolled. Sometimes permed—and severed from over-processing! I have blue eyes. My body is what I kindly refer to now as “athletic”: I am of medium height and curvy (by the way, always on weight restriction on the dance team [yes, we had weight limits (remember? Smalltown Texas) and, no, it didn’t scar me]). I talk way too much for my own good and always think people want to hear the funny quips that arise from the broken depth of my brain. In short, I was born with a silver foot in my mouth. Intelligent, maybe, but sometimes you have to wade through the silliness to find it.

My sister and I did not—nor will we ever—fit in the same pair of jeans. Never. It would be craziness to even consider such a thing.

As I think through that fact, I believe the lesson learned here is that once a woman can come to terms with both who she is and who she is not, then she can be free to live the life she needs to live. Not attempting to shove herself into some mold impressed upon her by outside forces. Choosing only to live comfortably within her skin as well as her favorite pair of jeans. Which certainly are not my sister’s favorite. And probably aren't yours, either.

Let’s do a little poll. What are your best-fitting favorite jeans? And tell us why. Let’s celebrate our differences and the beautiful variety God placed on the earth in our individual styles and shapes.

I’ll go first. Levi’s 515 Bootcut are the best! They button just above my hips but don’t dig into my stomach or pull my unders down. The flare at the leg gives my bod a sassy curve without making me look dowdy. Oh, but it can’t be the stonewashed color; I learned that the lighter color also means 1% less spandex. For some reason this matters.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment (btw, if you subscribed to us, you can leave a comment by clicking on the home page) and let's show what travelling pants really look like: multi-colored and fitted. And that's what sisterhood is really about--encouraging one another into who you are. 

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