“…learning to accept her “rat tail” fashion…” Laura D Field

The one thing I have learned over time, is that despite my best efforts, my youngest daughter will still not allow me to hem her pants that are really too long when she buys them.  It causes me to laugh as I see these rat tail hangings that eventually show their wear, at which point I tell her that the damage that is happening will not allow enough seam allowance to repair.

For many years as a seamstress, my job would be to hem pants in order that they did not drag on the floor or cause one to trip and fall.  When I was young, I would cuff them until the shrinkage was out (or until I had time to properly hem them).  A new pair of jeans was a treat, as I was most often required to wear dresses, and the last thing I would want would to have them destroyed from dragging on the ground.

Today’s teens and young adults feel comfortable in this long length and the side effect of their scuffed pants from being too long.  The tattered look is “in style” as my daughter would share.  There is a part of me that wonders what she is thinking, as I so often offer to make them look nice and less sloppy.

There are some things in life that are best left alone as we raise our children.  If the worse that she does in the style she wears is frayed pant hems, then I have much to be thankful for.  Despite my efforts to refrain from grabbing my scissors and cutting these ratty ends off, I find humor in my struggle while knowing she really does love the way they look and how they feel when she wears them.  Fortunately, these are not work jeans, but rather jeans she wears on campus, around town and at home.

Although I have come to accept her fashion statement, I look forward to the day when she desires to have her pants properly hemmed.

Laura