Lycra: The New Darkside that is Engulfing All

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 1:07 pm

OK.. So yesterday I needed to go jeans shopping. The jeans I had bought less than a year ago were starting to wear.. and the bloody 1% Lycra they contain was making them feel as though they were sagging around my knees! :speech:

I had been skeptical about the Lycra when I bought them, but I figured maybe I''d give them a try.... After all, it was only 1%..
Yeah right..

Therefore, yesterday was time to remedy the situation. I hit the first store and was aghast to learn that every single style of jeans contained lycra. Even worse, they had funny things around the waist.. or they were so low rise that they barely went past the...er... hairline..

I asked in desperation, "Don't you have any classic-style jeans? WITHOUT Lycra?"
I was told...."No."

Sighing, I decided to make my way to the Levi's Store. After all, Levi's are the standard.. the benchmark.. for classic bluejeans..
Thus, with high hopes, in I went... only to learn that every style of jean they stock contains... you guessed it..LYCRA!
I exclaimed in horror at this news... But..hope was suddenly on the horizon when the very nice gent behind the counter informed me that the men's jeans do not contain the stuff....yet..

"Yet?" I inquired.. Yes, indeed, apparently the company is thinking of putting this evil substance in ALL of their mens' jeans too!

Honestly, I just can't imagine a lot of guys buying jeans with Lycra...

Er..anyway.. I walked out with a couple of pairs of mens' 501s...

*sigh*
So, is it just me who finds it obnoxious that consumers are not being given a choice? And really! Lycra in men's jeans, does anyone else wonder at the wisdom of this?

Smiley:) · Post by **Smiley:)** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:06 pm

dragon wench wrote:the wisdom of this?

What wisdom??? Those guys who make jeans are even dumber than... well... the point is they're dumb. They apparently don't care about this "customer choice" thing. They do whatever they want without caring what the people think. They realy should ask the people what they want...

I am male. I never personally liked jeans. And now I will never like them again thanks to you now. Whatever jeans I ever put on they are too tight around... everything, even the... you know what. And whenever I sit down they get so low that I can see my butt. Then I found out that all the jeans have LYCRA. I hate LYCRA! Now I completely hated jeans! I don't even ware them anymore.

We should all gather to protest against the jean-makers and stop the upcoming evil that is... LYCRA! We must stop LYCRA from taking over the galaxy. We will not fall like the old Republic to the Sith! We must stand as a united force! Blah, blah, blah...... (just don't count me in, I am not old enough for this yet)

P.S. This whole thing is obnoxious.

sparky_kat · Post by **sparky_kat** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:29 pm

yes, lycra is an evil we cannot escape.... i wish mens jeans fit me properly or i would be buying them, but as a women blessed/cursed with a J-Lo-esque rear... its hard enough finding a pair of jeans to fit properly in womens cuts.

i hate that towards the end of the day... you are having to constantly pull up at the waist band due to the stretch feature lycra gives jeans..... IT BUGS THE CRAP OUT OF ME!!!!!! a saggy looking rear, and as DW said, saggy knees, oh so flattering.

but if i wear mens jean, i have to buy them in a larger size to, ahem, accommodate my butt, then i end up looking like an old school rapper who had the baggy jeans look. (no my butt isn't that big.... just making a point

)

i agree with you smiley... the jean makers are dumb. i would almost bet that the designers for womans jeans are almost all men.... ya, like they know how a pair of womans jeans should fit a girl.

hence part of the fact and reason why i hate shopping for clothes, the days i go clothes shopping are days you don't want to be around me, lol, i end up cranky, pissed, and frustrated about not being to find anything that fits decent. then end up mad at myself for not having a size 2 figure... it doesn't last long though, lol, i know i will never be that skinny... i would look like a skeleton.

and media wonders why girls have all these image issues... hmmmmm, i think clothes makers don't help with having to make everything "snug" fit.

edit: pardon my ranting...couldn't help it

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:52 pm

@Sparky kat,
lol! Yeah.. I mean, if wanted to wear something with lycra I'd put on my yoga pants. And even then, I found some yoga pants that are mostly cotton, with just a bit of stretchy stuff. If I don't do that, even yoga pants end up too saggy and baggy...

@Smiley,
well if you did decide you wanted to buy jeans... they don't put the accursed stuff in all mens' styles......yet..

It's also just that baggy jeans are not comfortable, all that excess material flapping around feels like it is dragging you down. I really hate overly tight jeans, they're unpleasant for all kinds of different reasons.. But whatever happened to "comfortably snug?"

*sigh*

I'm almost wondering if every damn company these days is almost exclusively catering to the teeny market.. Dumbed down games, lycra jeans.. Tshirts that look as though the wearer has been poured into them...

The other thing I've noticed is that the fabric of lycra jeans is much thinner than that of regular denim... and thus it wears out far more quickly....
Hmmm...

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:41 pm

I would buy jeans with Lycra.

However, I also find it ironic that the free choice of a free market so very often turns out to be a free choice between a infinite number of identical products.

sparky_kat · Post by **sparky_kat** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:36 pm

dragon wench wrote:@Sparky kat,
<snip> I'm almost wondering if every damn company these days is almost exclusively catering to the teeny market.. Dumbed down games, lycra jeans.. Tshirts that look as though the wearer has been poured into them...

The other thing I've noticed is that the fabric of lycra jeans is much thinner than that of regular denim... and thus it wears out far more quickly....
Hmmm...

i agree, the companies need to realize not everyone is a size 2 with a perfectly taught tummy.... there again, thats how female body image issues arise.

yes, i also think the lycra blend jeans seem thinner. i can go through 2-3 pairs of newer jeans per one pair of older jeans..... and the older jeans are still wearable where the newer ones are not.

@dotti - i also agree with the irony.... you have 10 different pairs of jeans your looking at and the only difference seems to be the bedazzled design on the butt pockets, lol

Moonbiter · Post by **Moonbiter** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:31 am

What bugs me the most is the unbelievably crap quality of jeans these days. I bought a new pair of Levi's in August, and by the end of October I had to return them because the seat was completely worn through and the pockets were torn. I have jeans from the early 90s that show less wear in 18 years than that pair did in 2 months!

You can feel the difference for yourself: They're saving on the cloth, so denim today is so thin it doesn't feel like denim at all. Even the thread they use is of poor quality. If you want a "better" pair you have to shell out $550 or more. Yeah, right!

When I buy a pair of jeans I expect them to last for at least 2 years of moderate to hard daily use. This is work-clothes, fer crying out loud!

Smiley:) · Post by **Smiley:)** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:57 am

First LYCRA, then quality, what's next?

[QUOTE=Smiley

]First the Lycra issue, now comes up the quality question, so what will be next?

The whole LYCRA thing is, well, really anoying. Quality of most jeans these days is pretty poor (mildly said). What will be next? I have a susspicion that it will be the desing. I saw many, many wierd jeans these days.

They are all torn appart, and they say that that is the new fashion trend. Many jeans look as if they were taken out of a garbage can!

Then, the pockets are too small. And so on, and so on...

Sorry for the quote form, I just thought it would be cool.

[/QUOTE]

Spoiler

.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:19 pm

I don't think I've ever seen Lycra in my jeans. I don't think it can swim....

If I ever did I'd be annoyed. Sure, I wear lycra sometimes. But even Superheroes need time off.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:27 pm

That's your deserved punishment for wearing jeans!

Honestly, I never understood what was so good about it in the first place. I find them uncomfortable as hell. You can barely squat in them. Moving around in jeans feels like wearing Power Armour without servoes, without the added strength and the coolness factor.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:25 pm

dragon wench wrote: So, is it just me who finds it obnoxious that consumers are not being given a choice? And really! Lycra in men's jeans, does anyone else wonder at the wisdom of this?

I do find it annoying that the pluralism of the free market gives us freedom to make a million completely meaningless choices. Lycra however, I like. I like to wear very tight jeans, and when sitting down, bending over or generally moving around, it's more comfortable with stretchy jeans.

The wisdom of lycra in men's jeans is obvious to me - you can get a better look at their ass and thighs.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:42 pm

Actually, Lycra in jeans makes sense for some people.

sparky_kat · Post by **sparky_kat** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:42 am

lol, well of course Chuck likes lycra... it makes him manly dont ya know

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:35 am

I keep trying to read this thread, but I keep getting stuck on:

dragon wench wrote:.. or they were so low rise that they barely went past the...er...

and:

sparky_kat wrote: but as a women blessed/cursed with a J-Lo-esque rear...

:speech:

thantor3 · Post by **thantor3** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:55 am

Given the new list of the seven "social" sins (also known as Sins 2.0), which are hot off the Vatican presses, I think the wearing of Lyrica (also known as Satan's Skin) would be consider a bio-ethical violation. For more information, and to guarantee your salvation, please go here: Thou shalt not kid thyself: The Vatican unveils fresh new sins, as the world just rolls its eyes.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:40 am

nice article. Salvation for the 21st century. I feel cleansed.

Lycra is really a movement in the advancements of synthetics to rid the world of zubaz.

Soontir Fel · Post by **Soontir Fel** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:49 pm

Why do people want to wear things that wrap around them tight?

And there is a thing called "Deformation", and even lycra will not turn to its original form if you stretch it too much, or heat it. So you cant wash clothes with lycra over 30 degrees -we use celcius thermometer here- or they will deform.

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:58 pm

Soontir Fel wrote:Why do people want to wear things that wrap around them tight?

Ease of movement, if the object is like a second skin. Also it can be sexually stimulating to the right viewer.

My wife has a pleasantly Rubenesque figure. In tight jeans? My gods...

Soontir Fel · Post by **Soontir Fel** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:14 pm

fable wrote:Ease of movement, if the object is like a second skin. Also it can be sexually stimulating to the right viewer.

My wife has a pleasantly Rubenesque figure. In tight jeans? My gods...

Yeah that was my point. Nowadays its all about sexual stimulation!

Now I have a moral dilemma, should I follow my instincts and see women as mates or should I respect them as equals? Can one do either of these?

Oh and by the way, Tesla was robbed!

Aztaroth · Post by **Aztaroth** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:17 pm

I've never cared much what materials clothes are made out of, as long as they look and feel good, and seem like they'll last. Sadly, I've proved to be a poor judge of the last point.

I don't wear jeans, though. I honestly have no clue what the pants I am wearing now are made of

EDIT: A quick check reveals they are 100% cotton. Now I know.

And knowing is half the battle!!