Friday, February 27, 2009

Sassy Republican in Pink Denim


As if this recession wasn’t hitting home enough, I spent too much time soaking in news this week – something about 600,000 people losing their jobs weekly? What was that? As if people who CAN pay their mortgages, and invested in "responsible" ways weren’t feeling punished enough, Obama’s administration is cutting out mortgage interest deductions? Did someone say that?

That was surely a joke. No one would decrease the incentive to own a home at a time when housing starts are down and the economy is in a tailspin. Nah, I’m not buying it.

I turned it off. I already wrote something recently about “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I think my example was f@rting in the bathtub, but sometimes I’m not sure if writing a political piece would be much different.

In any case, my economic woes being what they are, I decided to put my soapbox on eBay to offset my losses, now that I won’t be able to deduct my interest.

Instead, I put on my pink jeans. Aren’t they cute?

Back in November, in some sort of twilight-zone experience, my husband flipped through the channels and landed on Entertainment Network. I saw this piece on movie stars starting the trend of wearing very tight, colored jeans. You can imagine what state of mind I must have been in, because I thought they looked pretty good.

Since my Christmas budget was tighter than their denim, I simply moved on coveting these items – like any good American would, after all.

And then I saw them. No, not pink jeans. What kind of store in the suburbs would sell pink jeans in a size larger than 4T? (OMG – if they did, suburban moms might wear them, and we know mommies shouldn't wear pink denim, unless they happen to be rock stars.)

I saw $8 denim at Walmart. They were in junior sizes, but they fit me really well (which might explain the $8 price tag?). They didn’t even have that annoying gap in the back that has caused me to leave even expensive denim on the rack. They fit great.

When my husband walked in a few evenings later, I was boiling something on the stove. He came over to admire my work – hoping for something delicious.

“I’m boiling my pants.”

“Glad I didn’t taste it.”

So, you might say, these denim jeans are even worse than just your typical fashion error. I went out of my way to cause this to happen. I bleached them. I boiled them in dye. I even altered them this morning to fit a little better through the thigh and tuck in my boots.

I think they are perfectly awesome. My pink pants brought me a great deal of sunshine on this rainy, cold, recession-filled morning.

Go on, you want to say it. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
You are right, of course.

I know, I know, go ahead and google ‘pink denim jeans’ and every site on the internet will tell you that I absolutely should NOT wear these pants.

Well, as soon as my pants become society’s biggest problem, I promise to stop wearing them. I’ll even refrain from giving them to charity - because I wouldn't want to burden anyone else with my fashion disasters (anyway, I hear charitable deductions might be eliminated too).



ps. Just in case you don't believe me - this is a close-up of the L.E.I Brand tag from Walmart.

pps. Indy took the picture at the top. Only another blogger would recommend taking a picture of pink denim in the coffee shop parking lot on a rainy morning.

ppps. Okay, maybe I won't really wear them that often, even though they are deliciously comfortable. Hmm. Maybe just on particularly sassy mornings. (Uh oh, MIT Mommy is wearing those pink denim jeans again, everyone stand back.)

pppps. I can't imagine why Cleveland.com didn't want ME to be the fashion writer. I just can't imagine. These people have no sense of style, clearly.

8 comments:

Working Glass Gal said...

Your flaky liberal (the horror!) Cali friend says:
1. You look awesome in those jeans!
2. If you tire of them in pink, they will be easy to dye a darker shade. I know you have pots and pans big enough for this task.
3. The proposed revision to the mortgage interest deduction is to limit (not eliminate) this for couples making more than $250k/year. That's not to say it's a good idea, but it will primarily impact the high-end housing market and double-income families in high-priced markets like California and the Northeast. It's just a proposal, and it's going to be very hard to implement.
4. On the plus side of the ledger (or minus, depending on how you're keeping track), the proposal also includes indexing the AMT to inflation, which also impacts that same set of double-income families in expensive areas. Maybe the two would cancel each other out? This is also just a proposal, and I find the non-indexed AMT much scarier than an adjustment to the interest deduction.
5. Again, you're rocking the jeans. No one will even notice that you're sneaking politics into your blog....

designHER Momma said...

crafty, smart and fashionable! Sport it mommy!

Badass Geek said...

What a coincidence!

I'm wearing pink jeans today, too!

MIT Mommy said...

Designher - Thanks!! I'm searching out things to sell today, per your suggestion.

Badass - PLEASE post a picture of that.

Glassy gal - Thanks for catching us up on 'the rest of the story.' I acknowledge that I shouldn't listen to half-stories. But, my frustration is real. And, even though we fall soundly below the $250k mark, I do feel for people with double incomes who live in NY or SF who may just pass it (if, indeed, the concept passes).

I'm going to try to keep off my soap box. I did say I sold it on eBay, didn't I?

On a lighter note, I'm all for responsibility and encouraging people to graduate and getting after 'deadbeat parents' and so many other great ideas I am hearing. I also vote for pink pants.

The WSJ is sitting on my kitchen table as we speak. It is primarily dedicated to the budget and I plan to read it.

Even so, my next post is more likely to be about fondant than finances (unless I can somehow combine the two - haha hee hee).

Well, it is MY blog.

Oh, and I'm glad you like my crazy jeans. (If you read my link, you'll see that we are not even supposed to call them 'jeans' the cool word is 'denim,' but I'm not cool.)

Indy said...

Fun, fun post even if you know I don't always agree when it comes to politics. You were a very skilled writer to somehow combine pink jeans and politics.

AreWeThereYet? said...

I have pink jeans ..... but not sure if I should wear them now or not.

I also have red boots, and I wear them everyday.

How's this? I vow to never wear them at the same time.

MIT Mommy said...

Indy - Don't worry, my friends always temper my views anyway. Thanks for the picture.

2Sexy - Do you mean you won't wear your pink jeans when I wear mine - or you won't wear your pink jeans with your red boots? Because, if you DO wear your pink jeans with your red boots, I'll have to sew a red heart applique on your sweet behind.

OHmommy said...

Sassy!

I have to say... I have lots of denim in my closet and none of which are pink. You can pull them off. Not as in pull them off OFF as in you can work them. ;)