Raising a Bilingual Kid: Skinny Jeans and Converse

Skinny jeans as Mens / Boys Fashion

I’d actually sworn I’d never let him wear them.  The way they fit ever-so-tightly around every single curve and crevice of the lower body, from the waist down to the feet, like wearing nothing more than little tights, or even worse, leaving almost nothing at all to the imagination.  Those skinny jeans… not manly at all!  

How can guys wear those things?  They look like girl jeans!  That’s just gross.

That’s what I always used to say, not that I really thought anything less of the guys inside of them – well not all of the time at least, and even then it was more of a chuckle of disbelief than anything else (no offense intended) – but they did strike me as an odd fashion trend for men from the beginning.  For boys not so much because, well, just think of all the crazy things we grew up wearing over the years.  But to come home from work one day and find Edgar in them was really not something I was prepared for.

Edgar:  Look, do you like my new jeans?

Me:  Are those skinny jeans!?

Edgar:  Yeah, they’re cool huh?

Me:  Where did you get those from!?

Edgar:  Grandma gave them to me!  Aren’t they cool!?

I looked confused, probably a little agitated too, my mouth wide open, just staring at him for a second, before all I could muster as a response was an uh-huh. Immediately after, my brain started to plot just how exactly I was going to get rid of those hideous jeans.  Only, it’s been weeks now, and I can’t bring myself to throw those skinny pants away… or tear them into shreds with my knife as I had planned.

The thing is whenever he’s strutting around, so confident and excited in his little jeans, which he likes to wear with converse shoes and a graphic tee, I can’t help but remember what it felt like for me to sag my pants way down below my waist and walk around all “cool” because I thought I was a little pachuco.  Hard to imagine, I know… but it was just a phase.  My parents couldn’t stand it and if they caught me with my pants all the way down there they’d always make it a point to yell at me pick up your pants! I haven’t started the yelling, but I’m hoping this is a phase too!

This is the second post in the Raising A Bilingual Kid series.  To read the original post in the series, just click on the link (Raising A Bilingual Kid: Ballet Folklórico)

17 thoughts on “Raising a Bilingual Kid: Skinny Jeans and Converse

  1. Let him wear them! Total… todos pasamos por esas etapas. Ya ves tu, con los pantalones abajo y me imagino que los “chones” al aire!! uff eso si que se ve feo!
    Lo que si debo admitir es que hoy día los chicos parecen chicahs y las chicas parecen chicos. Muchas veces un niño pasa a la par mia y yo juro que era niña, más que todo por el pelo largo. Me imagino que Justin B is to blame for that!

    1. Claudia, estas en lo cierto… jajaja! A mi tambien me pasa lo mismo siempre… veo un niño y creo que es niña por el pelo y la manera de vestir. Creo que debo dar gracias por mis bendiciones ya que no ha pedido crecerce el pelo como el mentado Justin Beiber… uff que pesadilla seria eso. Algunos de nuestros amigos tienes hijos un poco mas grandes que ya han pedido el estilo… que bueno que son solo skinny jeans 🙂

  2. I can’t stand skinny jeans on boys at all! Especially, when they let them hang down in an awkward sagging-diaper look…. SICKOS! but I do understand, what my brother laughingly calls it: “The Complicated Pants Phase”. *SMH* Kids.

    Of course, I went through the complicated pants phase too. I had holes in my uber-baggy jeans during my grundge days. I had pink hair and plastic mini-skirts in my Riot GRRRL phase, and in my militant-bisexual phase I wore camouflage pants pegged at the combat boot and had my temples shaved until I was 23 yrs old… (What a weirdo.)

    1. Yeah, Viktoria… it is quite the mystery to me. I just don’t get it, lol. But I think I have not been that hard on him, because in a way I think it’s kind of cute that he is exploring what he likes and doesn’t like, lol.

      As for me, after my wanna be pachuco phase came the hairspray in the hair to keep it in place (it was literally as stiff as cardboard, lol)… the awkward haircuts, once I left only two little bangs at the front of my head, the rest of my head was shaved completely… and then a weird and mismatched sense of style that only I understood. Imaginate, combat boots with baggy carpenter pants, a flannel hoodie shirt-sweater, and lots and lots of gel in my hair, which by this point was long enough to almost touch my chin… I should post pictures of all the craziness, jajaja!!

  3. LOL – Estoy de acuerdo con Claudia. Not a fan of the skinny jeans, but I wore some equally ugly stuff growing up and I’m glad my parents let me experiment with my identity. This is what I’ve told Carlos, in preparation for when our kids want to try some outrageous fashion but he’s not as comfortable with the idea as I am. He considered it an American notion to let your kids express themselves. LOL. I will have to work on him some more. So far our boys still don’t really care if we pick their clothes for them, (shh! Don’t tell their friends. LOL.)

    BTW – You know, you could totally make those skinny jeans much cooler with a big belt buckle and some botas picudas, right? 😀

    1. Actually, now that you mention it Tracy… I’m kind of the same way to an extent, as Carlos that is, in thinking that giving kids too much freedom of choice is more of an American notion even though I grew up here. But I was raised in a very traditional Mexican household, so that coupled with my American ideology from school and growing up in this country has my own opinions on stuff like this all jumbled up. Usually I just play it by ear, lol.

      About the botas picudas and belt, I’d kind of rather have him go that route than the whole gothic look with eyeliner and stuff. That would not be cool, jajaja!

  4. I can see how your opinions would be jumbled. The whole bi-cultural thing does that 🙂

    You mentioned eyeliner which totally reminded me of The Wimpy Kid movie. (The teenage brother Rodrick wears eyeliner and plays in a band.) Have you read that series with your boy? We read the entire series so far and have seen the movies too. We all LOVE it, (even Carlos who doesn’t like to read.)

    1. We’ve seen the movies… have not read the books. Edgar brought home his Scholastic book catalog this weekend, though, and asked me for $7 to buy his first book in this series… so I guess we will be reading the books too now, lol! Whoever came up with that series… Genius!! lol

  5. Absolutely genius. How does the author remember such intricate details of what growing up was like? Some of the stuff is so weird that you think it only happened in your family but apparently a lot of people relate.

  6. Ay Compadre, que chistoso! I hadn´t thought about how opposite and yet so exactly the same these two trends are: sagging jeans down to your midpompas vs ubber skinny jeans so tight I bet they have a hard time getting into!

    This is a little off topic, but you and Tracy got me thinking about it: I´ve always thought that los estadounidenses are great at parenting little kids and suck when it comes to teens; and on the other hand, latinos are wonderful with teens but no so great with little kids.
    Have you noticed how on airplanes it´s always the latino kids running up and down the aisle and parents saying with a bored tone of voice: yaaa mijito, siéntate y cállate. Of course they´ll never obey! Whereas the gringo parents come fully equipped with reading and coloring books, traveling board games, snacks, etc.
    Is it just me or am I onto something here???

    Aaaanyways, GREAT POST! Please let your kid know he will always look cute in anything he decides to wear. Ok, maybe not cute, boys don´t like cute, do they? LOL!

  7. LOL, Sue! Your observations made me laugh! I have seen what you have, though I have to say, there are plenty of white people who don’t keep their kids under control or disciplined either. When you come back to Los Uniteds for a visit, just go to a WalMart and people watch. LOL.

    If it is how you say though, I should start an exchange student company. My selling point will be, “Teenager out of control? Send them to Mexico as an exchange student and let their adopted family deal with it!” 😉

    As for my family, according to you, I have to hand the parenting reins over to Carlos now, huh? Hee hee… 😉

    1. Sue and Tracy, unfortunately I’ve got to say… I think we’re all universally lost when it comes to parenting because kids just don’t come with a handbook!! LOL! It would be great if they did… can you imagine, if they want to act up, do this… want to rebel, do this… want to wear skinny jeans, do this, jajaja! But then again, then we’d have kids instead of robots… hmmm, haven’t made up my mind which would be better 🙂

  8. Jajaja! Okey okey, I get it! Jijiji!!
    Pero en serio amigos! I´ve seen sooo many latino parents saying “no no no” to their little kids, but when it comes to setting clear boundaries for them as teens they do a much better job con tanto “no no no”.
    And I´ve seen gringo parents do amazingly well with their little ones, so much respect and fostering their creativity, but then they become teen monsters because they expect the whole world to “foster” their uniqueness!
    Ay ay ay… por eso me sigo esperando con los hijos, until someone has a “recetario” for me please” LOL!

  9. I fear the day my children start paying attention to fashion trends. I’ll be all, “Don’t give in to the peer pressure, kid! Be your own person! Wear baggy pants just like me and all my friends did back in the day!”

    Erm…or something like that. Either way, I feel you, bro.

    I’m off to panic now.

    1. It’s definitely a scary process Simon, but I think my own parents did a great job of showing me what to value, and also just how ineffective my tantrums always were… I hope I’m doing the same. And I must confess, quite enjoy teaching the latter 🙂

      Thanks for the comment bro!

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