I ripped my pre-ripped jeans... oops?

October 5, 2009 8:18 PM

So I have these pre-ripped jeans. But, then I actually ripped them. What now?

So I have these jeans, with those designer-ey pre-ripped areas around the knees. (An example of what I'm talking about is here, although that's a lot more rips than the ones I have---but it gives you a good look at the feature in question.)

Well, one day while dressing, I accidentally poked my toe in the pre-ripped area, and now there's an actual rip. Like, a big hole, through which you can see my hairy knee. I'm pretty sure that's not a desired look. (But, I could be wrong?)

How would I go about fixing this? If you take a look at the picture I linked, you can see that it isn't exactly sewing-thread that fills in the pre-ripped areas; it's this kind of jean-type thick string stuff. Can I buy that somewhere, and do a somewhat reasonable job reassembling the old look? Should I just not worry about this at all? (Yeah, I know this whole question is a bit neurotic :P.) Throw these jeans out, and buy new ones? I dunno. I only started wearing jeans in the last couple of months, so it's all a bit new to me.

posted by Jacen Solo to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

Just roll with it.
posted by kylej at 8:19 PM on October 5

What? No, you're fine. They're supposed to get more worn in and shredded, not be pristinely "as new" worn in. Everyone sticks their toe in a rip!

The stringy stuff is worn denim and no, you really can't replace it without a huge palaver and there's no reason to. Your hairy knee is fine.

If you're really feeling neurotic, put them on and take a picture of the hole in a mirror and Ask will steer you right.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:22 PM on October 5

Haha, OK, looks like that was an easy one. Thanks guys :). As I said, clueless and a bit neurotic... but now I know!
posted by Jacen Solo at 8:24 PM on October 5

Also, in the future you should consider buying non ripped jeans. There's nothing wrong with them, but they are annoying (I do the toe thing too) and they'll look classier and will be easier to dress up if you get ones without holes. Preferably in a darker was (though I have no idea what wash yours are now).
posted by kylej at 8:28 PM on October 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

You should by non-ripped jeans and then go rollerblading in them and fall down and make your own ripped jeans. Then you can tell stories about how the holes came to be. (Seriously, my friends and I make fun of designer ripped jeans, but honestly ripped ones are always cool, even if it was only caused by your toe.)
posted by zinfandel at 8:43 PM on October 5 [2 favorites has favorites]

I had good results with Denim Therapy, although it can be pricey.
posted by paul_smatatoes at 9:31 PM on October 5

If the hole is big enough to be impractical, you can buy iron-on denim patches and apply them to the tear on the inside of your jeans. A similar question was asked last year.
posted by embrangled at 11:47 PM on October 5