Splurge of the Moment: Hollister Jeans

You might be asking why I should consider Hollister a brand to splurge over. Quite true. It's a pretty pedestrian brand compared to, say, Balmain. However, after becoming a reformed shopper with strict expense guidelines, shopping for clothes and accessories has become a splurge. Plus, I justified this purchase because I really needed to replace my (accidentally) paint-splattered H&M jeans that's fading on the thighs and swiftly losing its shape.

I actually never shopped in Hollister before. In high school, only the cool, pretty kids shopped at Hollister and its East Coast sis, Abercrombie & Fitch. My family never had the luxury to get into those barely lit, pungent retail establishments because my mom says it's just a bunch of hype (she is an accountant, which might explain her cynicism against marketing hoopla).

Her other argument: my taste in clothes will change in the future. Ergo, there is no need to spend a lot on high school clothes.

Fast forward five years. I saw that Hollister was having a sale on jeans, so I grabbed this opportunity to--finally--step into one of their retail stores. I kinda wished I went inside when I was younger because I literally couldn't see anything inside. I had to turn on the torch on my phone to read the tags.

And like the old fart that I am, I complained to one of the sales associates that the store is too damn dark. To think that they're also selling magazines compounded my disdain for this over hyped store.

Trying It On

Before stepping in the store, I researched online which style and color I want exactly. I know that I'm going to buy something that isn't black (too many black pants), but I want the color dark enough so I can wear it to work. I couldn't choose between their skinny fit and their super skinny fit, so the only way to find out is by visiting the store.

Once I paid the store a visit, I headed straight to the jeans counter and rummaged through the super skinny stack. To my surprise, they still had my size in the wash that I wanted (it's called Rinse). When I tried it on, the waist was pretty snug but not too tight. The legs, meanwhile, took me by surprise. Unlike H&M's skinny jeans (which gets too tight around the legs), Hollister's super skinny fit is loose enough to be deemed skinny but also comfortable enough that I won't keel over from blood constriction.

The material is also worth mentioning. It definitely feels like a rugged pair of denim. Although it has 2% of elastane in the fabric, the stretch isn't obvious when worn. It really feels like I'm wearing the denim from the good old days. Further, the construction is decent enough for my taste. Though the hardware (like the button fly) could be a tad heftier in my opinion.

Road Testing

I only wore the pants once so I can't really comment on its durability. However, I can attest that the pants are quite comfortable compared to my H&M skinny jeans. In addition, the snug fit around the waist was a nice feature because that means I don't have to wear a belt. I'll report more about the jeans once I get a couple of week's worth of usage. Right now, all I can say is these jeans are doing pretty darn well for the price!