“We earned the holes in our jeans back in my day”
That is one of the dumbest thing people from older generations say. I don’t care that you bought your jeans in one piece and then destroyed them yourself; I didn’t, and that’s just how style develops. It doesn’t mean our clothes aren’t as “cool” as yours, and frankly, you sound dumb when you say things like that!
Style changes and evolves over time, just like people. Part of what style is about is finding what people will spend their money on. In the 60’s and 70’s, punk became a trend in music and clothing and the Rolling Stones made ripped jeans and leather jackets a uniform for cool. Viviane Westwood capitalized on that style and made it extravagant and turned it into fashion in the 80’s. So, yeah, maybe the holes in your jeans had more meaning because you were rocking out and mosh pitting and smoking cigarettes. You were the OG of the DIY scene, and that’s definitely a big part of fashion, but you were following a trend, created by people who wanted to capitalize off of how you dress, and that’s the same thing we’re doing.
Since The Stones and the Sex Pistols, punk and grunge have developed as styles and become part of everyday fashion. Buying ripped jeans became popular in the 90’s and we haven’t stopped since then. So please, don’t talk about how you earned your holes, it’s really not that revolutionary. We’re paying for a style we think is cool, the same way you paid for shoulder pads because you thought they were cool.