Legless jeans: Has denim gone too far?
The past few days have been weird for denim.
On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that Unravel Project, a streetwear brand worn by Kim Kardashian West and Rhianna, had revealed a pair of crotchless, legless jeans. According to Net-A-Porter, one of the retailers carrying the bizarre piece, it's "designed to appear like it's been sliced from the top of your favorite jeans." It costs $405.
The "denim waist belt" looks like this:
It's literally just the waistband of a pair of jeans, complete with buttons, belt loops and pockets.
Net-A-Porter says it's styled to "nip in the waist of slouchy and oversized pieces" and "it looks even cooler with a slim leather strap over the top."
Which, you know, could be achieved with an actual belt.
Then on Wednesday, Twitter users found ASOS' recent product: the "Vintage Re-Worked Denim Bustier Over T-shirt."
Again, it's the waistband of a pair of jeans, but this time attached to a plain white shirt. The product description suggests wearing it "if you're partial to a textural switch-up." At least this questionable denim is only $56.
Milk It, the brand behind the jean bustier (or justier) has also designed rhinestone-studded crotchless "military chaps" and a "vintge t-shirt" held together by safety pins.
Some people pointed out that even the model looks done with her denim-wrapped outfit.
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And some, like cartoonist and author @rubyetc, took ASOS' statement piece pretty personally.
"So I see this piece was modelled on me coming home drunk and trying to get undressed by removing my skirt vertically," they tweeted, "Getting stuck, then being sad forever."
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This isn't the first time the internet's gotten riled up over ridiculous jeans. Last March, Topshop released $95 "clear knee mom jeans," which had plastic patches (or were they windows?) over the knees.
And in April, Vetenment unveiled its collaboration with Levi through a risqué Instagram post: jeans that unzipped in the back to expose the wearer's butt crack. They originally retailed for the super low price of $1,870 on MyTheresa.
Has denim gone too far? Is there a line between adventurous fashion and design mistakes? Or are companies just creating ridiculous fashion for the PR?
ASOS doesn't think so. The retailer shot back at @rubyetc with, "One hun's mistake is another hun's style."
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What's next? Back to the Future's inside-out jeans? Actually, they already exist, and you can get them at Barney's for only $975.
