Ratch - that's when it happened.

There was a hole at the knee of my favorite pair of jeans.

It wasn't the first pair of jeans to suffer this fate.

If you're constantly playing Lego or car racing on the floor with small children, a certain amount of wear and tear is inevitable.

But this was the first pair of jeans in a long time that I really enjoyed wearing.

It was a gorgeous shade of blue, fitted very well and was comfortable at the same time.

Lucy Schmidt

Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

  • Follow I follow

Other jeans, the fabrics of which gave way at some point, I sorted out relatively quickly, converted them into shorts or used them for gardening.

But this one was difficult for me.

She was just so perfect otherwise.

"You rather not anymore"

And then I suddenly asked myself this question, which I had actually always answered with: "You probably don't anymore": Who is allowed to wear ripped jeans?

And above all, how old can that person be?

I'm approaching 40, I'm a mother of two and otherwise dressed rather "conservatively".

Although pants with holes are back in vogue, I don't see them on my legs (yet).

In my mind, ripped jeans still represent rock, punk, sloppiness, and rebellion.

Of all these things, the most I would embrace is rebelling.

I quickly came up with a few things to rebel against, but I don't need broken jeans for that.

But after thinking about it for a while, it becomes clearer to me: in the fashion world, these trousers have long ceased to stand for non-conformity.

They were already as popular in the 1990s as they are today – even then, they were worn far beyond punk circles, on women's and girls' legs.

Maybe then just to mine – without making any statements about it?

At some point I come across a report that also sees ripped jeans as a symbol of sustainability in the fashion world today.

I like the thought.

Sustainability, that concerns me in many areas.

So I take the jeans off the hook again and put them on;

it is still comfortable and fits perfectly.

The first look in the mirror makes me happy, but that day I still find myself looking critically at this hole through which the knee shows with every step and some skin through which the kneecap can be clearly seen when sitting is.

I don't feel really happy, I have to admit that bitterly.

That evening I decide to take the trousers to the tailor, who is supposed to make me a skirt out of them.

Then I also show my knees, I am sustainable - and feel much better.