A couple of years back I had a limited perception of skinny jeans. I thought that they were only for those who were literally skinny (as in the webster’s definition: “a:lacking sufficient flesh, very thin, emaciated b: lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities, or significance”)

When I saw people wearing skinny jeans who fit the definition of “skinny” (and also I am guessing the definition of hungry), I was willing to concur that the jeans were in fact fashionable and attractive.

However, when asked to consider this style of jeans for my own figure, (I am not as the definition would state, lacking in flesh, or emaciated) I argued fervently that the skinny jean would in fact be a detrimental decision for my body type, or for any other body type aside from the tall, long-legged, and hungry.

But somewhere over the past few years something changed.

And it got me thinking…

Did the skinny jean itself improve, or did my perception of its reality change as it became a widespread phenomenon and took on new and more broad definitions of itself?

I am guessing the latter.

The more that I saw people in skinny jeans who were eating three square meals a day, the more that I became comfortable with this notion. And the more that I saw this way of style evolve into body types resembling mine, the easier it was to accept my own toosh into a pair of tight trousers (and now 3 pairs actually….brown, black, and blue).

And as unimportant as it may be, I think that I look good in a pair of skinny jeans. And I think that women with all sorts of legs and backsides can look flattered in a pair of skinny jeans. And my acceptance of this definition of beauty (ie, the expanded definition of who looks good in a pair of tight from top to bottom jeans) is directly related to the non-verbal conversation that I was having with community, and the community was having with me.

Now. At some level, who cares? Jeans? Really? On another level, I think that this exposes something incredibly relevant to everyone.

How do you see the world? Who are you conversing with (on both verbal and non-verbal planes), and what statements are you sending to the rest of the world to read? Simply put, how does what you do impact others?

Questions of kindness, of politics, of lifestyle, of gender roles, of racial identities, (and of course of fashion), are constantly being asked and answered by the way that we show up in the world.

I guess my communication with the world today might look something like this….it is ok for people with adequate flesh to wear skinny jeans, it is good to spend time alone resting, coffee shops are acceptable places to drink beer, brushing your teeth is important, dogs need love too, small computers are better than big ones, etc etc. (ok, so I didn’t have the most exciting day of my life)

And so I say! Wear those jeans, love that person, speak your mind, and defy that “norm” because your “voice” might be able to chip away at some strangers limited perception of the world.