A & F

At Rocky River High School, your entire worth as a human being was determined by how many pieces of Abercrombie & Fitch apparel you owned (bonus points if the insignia was splashed across). Plenty of time was wasted agonizing over spending $40 on a tee shirt and how that might increase your cool factor (I still have a pair of American Eagle shoes that I keep for nostalgic purposes). I walked too close to the store entrace a couple of years ago, the heavy smog of perfume temporarily stunned me and I found myself surrounded by plaid and teenagers. After realizing that the extra large tops would actually become "midriff" tops, I made a quick exit.
It is, however, an undisputed fact that they make great pants. With the price of name brand jeans skyrocketing, I jumped at the chance to accompany my coworker to the store this week. Hello- at least then there would be two old people in a teen store. Maybe we're buying for her younger sister- or my younger sister. Whatever.
I grabbed some shorts, bootcuts, then started hunting down the flares. Unfortunately my size was on the top shelf. I had to ask a young salesman (read child) to grab me a pair. After conferring with another youngster, he monkey climbed to the top, grabbing a lone size 10 before tumbling back down. If I could make any sort of eye contact with the employees before, I certainly couldn't now.
I still have a pair of prized American Eagle jeans that I count as my "skinny jeans." The jeans that you just want to fit into one. more. time. They don't go up past my thighs and they're a size 8! I was a bit afraid that these Abercrombie jeans may be sized the same way- a cruel trick to make High School girls feel fat. But I was pleasantly suprised to find that I was not only able to fit both legs in, but also zip and button. Go me. Super skinny!
The moral of this story is that you can get great jeans at a good price, you just have to be willing to sacrifice your dignity. Also, only shop with someone older than you. Or a teenager.