What Do Poverty Jeans Mean?

Somebody once wrote book correlating hard/good times with fashion, theorizing that hemlines (when women wore dresses) went up and down with the economy--lean years, recessions and depressions, brought long skirts; fat, prosperous ones, minis with lots of knees on display.

It is certainly true that when the flappers went to short, slim dresses with drop waistlines, that required a fraction of the cotton bustles and drapes of the Gilded Age required, the cotton industry about bit the dust.

But what do you make of these pix I have taken of "poverty" jeans I have taken in the windows of local shops, which seem to be all the rage for spring? Of course, January weather in Iowa discourages running around with holes in your jeans.

But beyond the weather, does this fashion wrinkle say something about us at this moment? I fear it does--something rather unfortunate about the level of empathy for people who might find themselves in a position where they might not be able to afford new jeans. 

The ubiquity of this fad hit me between the eyeballs this morning. I got an update email from the folks at Ralph Lauren. I never buy anything from them, but they are always thinking positively and sending me emails anyway. 

This morning they sent me this very get-up: a new, pristine white shirt and a pair of poverty jeans. But if you decide to buy them, don't be surprised if somebody comes up, snarls and congratulates you on your empathy!