Denim de jour.

By Mandy DelVecchio

I am embarrassed to say how many pairs of jeans I own. I buy jeans, a lot of them. It is a terrible addiction, and I refer to it as an addiction because no matter how many pairs I have, I never feel satisfied. I always want just one more hit.

The biggest problem with my jean dependence is that I very rarely wear them – that is all but one pair. My favourite, 5 year-old, faded blue, fit-like-a-glove, never-feel-tight, never-too-loose skinnies.

Recently my trusty ol’blues gave way. I don’t just mean a little tear or a couple of holes, I’m talking two gaping, big openings for my sun-starved knobby knees to poke out of – not even a patch could save the day. Bye-Bye baby blues.

I spent a couple of weeks trialing several pairs of ‘replacements’ from my wardrobe but to no avail. Sure, some of them were cute, they worked with certain outfits, a few of my collected works received some attention–wanted and unwanted – but still my hips were not happy. I just wanted to feel the comfort again of slipping into a failsafe pair of jeans, a relaxed slack.

Time to go shopping. My wallet was screaming at me, my wardrobe was mocking me, I was getting a migraine just thinking about shopping for jeans – again. But then I remembered a place I had heard about through some friends. A denim heaven, the holy grail of drill pants. A place that was said to change the way you buy jeans forever. Every pair made to fit, every pair made to last, every pair $50!

The name of this outlet of mythological proportions –  Dejour Jeans, Brunswick.

So off I went to Sydney Road.

Dejour Jeans is heaven. They were right. Wall to wall jeans. Every colour under the sun. The catch, and it was a good one, your only choices are ‘low-rise, mid-rise or high-rise’ waist. Oh and of course the colour.

You move toward the pigeon hole of your size, pick a colour and grab. You can try on three pairs at a time, there are loads of fitting rooms and no one bothers you with brainless boutique banter like they do in the designer stores.

When you have chosen your ideal fit/colour/waist height – and you will find it, this is a jeans oasis – it is time for the fitting. The streetwise and sassy Brunswick ‘salesgirls’ mark your jeans to suit the fit you like – super slim leg in my case. With an air of nonchalance they take your contact details and send your new blue besties to one of the several machinists out the back, to be altered.

Half an hour and a couple of tasty A1 bakery, middle-eastern treats later and my durable, stylish and svelte skinnies were ready to come home with me. All for a neat $50.

I wouldn’t say my addiction is cured, but perhaps I’d be safe to proclaim I have but one trustworthy dealer now. I will never shop for jeans anywhere else again.