Lee’s new tv spot has a 20-something young woman uttering a vehement statement “I’ll never wear mom jeans”!
And she’s right. If her body stays 20-something, sleek and slim she never will wear “mom jeans”. Too bad it doesn’t work that way!
Who in their early 20’s with a knockout of a body would expect that to change in any way? I certainly didn’t. But the realities of a woman’s life: childbirth, surgical procedures leaving behind painful scar tissue, menopause, and god knows what else, don’t always leave us as they found us! In fact they rarely do.
Actually, Lee, you’re just setting that poor young thing up to be a laughing stock. She doesn’t look much more worldly wise than the three year old who never plans to have a job – she’ll just grow up to be a fairy princess.
No one has really defined “mom jeans” in my estimation. I’ve heard them described as anything from “jeans that are not strategically shredded $200.designer denim” to “ill fitting jeans that come up too high in the waist” – which are they? I’ve even heard them described as “anything worn by a 40+ woman”; I’m assuming they would exclude certain celebrity hard bodies.
So Lee, if you’re defining “mom jeans” as pretty much anything worn by a woman over 40 – you’ve just picked a fight that promises to cause you more pain than a tubal ligation.
I had to chuckle because misery loves company! I've been in a funk for days now. I call all these types of things "the mosquitos" of life. It's like one more thing and you're going to pull the trigger. What I hate and this seems to apply to m
Oh my gosh! I felt your inner pain ... and I apologize for the fact that when I got to the part about setting your hair on fire, I laughed. I'm so glad you weren't hurt, and hair grows back. Perhaps a new hair-do would not only rectify the situation 
There is no such thing as a legal separation in my state..The only way I can get husband out of the house is to force him out..He refuses to leave..I would have to file for divorce and get temporary orders including a restraining order..
I feel so
Yeah…why pick on moms? Does that mean that my married but childless friends somehow look better than me just because they never gave birth? I think the campaign was designed by someone who is either a.young male b. young female c. out-of-touch older male CEO who is trying to knock us over 40 women ‘back to their teenage insecurity’ state. If I’ve learned anything from my older wiser sisters, it’s that we don’t put up with that kind of &%#@. You don’t sell a product by putting down others – that’s really bad marketing. Especially when the ‘mom’ age consumer is growing in numbers and has more money to spend.
Companies that cater to women of our shape and taste will be the winners here (and I’m not talking athritis medicine, depends, and big button phones). Where are the companies that will step forward and use 40+ models that look like us, 40+ women in marketing to attract us, and 40+ women in sales to sell to us? Hmmm? And of course actually have 40+ female designers and 40+ female product testers to design the products and services that we want, instead of the bizarre stuff the 20-somethings and white male CEO’s think we want?
Thank you! I’m seeing this damn TV ad everywhere – and it irritates the hell out of me! The only thing I’m a ‘mom’ to is some very cute bulldogs but I’m still offended. I’m offended because I’m in that ‘mom’ demographic and with surgical scarring I can’t wear skin tight jeans or jeans that suck in your gut. The ‘mom jeans’ thing was a minor cultural shot at a group of women who hit a certain age and slip into frumpier dress – it was not supposed to be a unilateral assessment of moms or mom-like women! But thanks to Lee it’s getting a whole lot of mass market exposure. Just what we all need – something else to make us feel self conscious.
Although my memories of being 20-something are admittedly vague – I know I would have been offended at this ad back then because my own Mom never wore Mom jeans – hell, she still doesn’t.
Bad form Lee, very bad form!
Totally with you on this one. Ill fitting jeans look lousy on ANYONE;I’ve seen some pretty shabby looking, supposedly “hot” young women who should have had some fashion advice before they slipped into the denim. This ad is just one more example of profiling older women and attempting to push us into insignificance. Get over it men! Get over it hottie-totties! I am a 58 year old, dynamic woman…. Hear me roar.
Well said, Lizbet!
This is just the latest take on the long-standing trend of ad campaigns tapping into people’s fear of getting older. Products more likely to be used by women are more likely to targets of these ploys — I guess because they think we and society are more likely to attach our value to our looks (which, at some level, is true).
Just look at some of the cosmetic campaigns: I remember one where spokeswomen would say they were using these creams and potions because they intended to fight aging “kicking and screaming.” Uh, doesn’t work that way.
The reality is most of us, at 20, swore we NEVER would look like our elders or do the things they did. Ah, the wisdom of age. Now it’s our turn to shake our heads at the younger generation. It’s a never ending cycle and the way of the world.
That’s an interesting theory that just came up in my office this week. Here’s my take on it: As we reach “the age of wisdom” we recall some of the misconceptions we had about women of that age when we were twenty-something. Granted, a much larger percentage of women are still “youthful” at “the age of wisdom” today then years ago, but how do we shake the feeling that the youth around us have formulated erroneous perceptions about us? Especially because they are capable of filming such a stupid and thoughtless TV campaign as “mom jeans”! I guess it all boils down to – are younger people always ignorant about older people until they become older people?
Even the ones who are so careful and genuinely complimentary usually end up stepping in it. I cringe at the thought of the 20-something woman who’s standing in the room when I complain about having to diet. “Oh,” she’ll say in a sugary sweet tone (that is so unbelievably patronizing I am gagging before she gets further) “You still look goooood.” The good is always drawn out in true patronizing fashion. When the urge to jam her into the wood chipper subsides, I have to admit to myself – she really really means well.
Women from 15 to 65 do not look good in jeans that show underwear, skin or dare say crack when sitting or bending over. In the past few years since lower rise jeans have been the trend, others like myself have seen way to much of the above. I work with men and women and have asked what the deal is? Do men find this attractive? They say no, not even on the 20 year old hottie, just embarrassing. So Lee jeans, while meaning well (their jeans do cover the areas that need covering) they still need a little work on style and fit. Lower in front and higher in back would be a start. Oh and by the way, being a Mother just happens to be the most important job any women can have. There is nothing that can bring more joy and satisfaction. And has more influence on up and coming generations than Mothers have done their job well. Maybe Lee should be marketing their jeans as MOM Jeans. Bend over sit down get things done in style without showing things that no one wants to see.
Good points, Joyce. A couple of years ago a friend asked me to go shopping to help her buy some jeans. I followed her around as she selected the garments she wanted to try on. Once she had an armload of possibilities we headed over to the dressing room. I waited outside as she prepared to model the first pair. I thought they looked stupid. They were worn and ripped in strategic places. They hung way too low and created a muffin top that was epic. When she looked at me and whined “I don’t know why they don’t fit me right” I bellowed “Because you’re in the wrong department! This is JUNIORS and you’re a 50-year old! She glared at me as she went back to her junior jean pile. At the end of our shopping trip she had overpaid for a pair of ill-fitting jeans that made her appear as though she was a “mature” woman trying really hard to make the world believe she was 21. And actually, that IS what was happening – except for the mature part, and the fact that anyone believed she was 21.
Robin, That is the reason I take my walking buddy AND my daughters when I go shopping for Jeans. They will be brutally honest because they know I trust their judgement. Even the best bargain on denim isn’t a bargain if they make you a laughing stock on the street. Style and confidence? Yes! Midlife angst and stupidity? Forget it!
Smart move. Maybe I’ll borrow them next time I need a pair!
I know that women’s clothing manufactures have had challenges since people have started buying off the rack. It is not necessary to pit one generation against another. What the heck are “mom” jeans anyway? Besides many 20 somethings start becoming moms! Are my daughters who are becoming moms less beautiful and sexy than their friends who have yet to give birth? No! Am I less beautiful & sexy just because I just went through menopause, have put pounds on over the years, and am past 50 years? My husband is still crazy over me, so go figure!
Excellent point, Audrey! Your comment makes me think, why are women such an easy target for anyone looking to put one group down to make another feel superior? They even pit women against women. That is the single largest societal problem connected to menopause, and stopping it will be no small feat. We are menopausal, peri-menopausal, post-menopausal and we’re NOT a hot flash, ill-tempered joke for the rest of the world. Let’s not start in on Moms now too!
Even if you compare the time in a man’s life that gets the most attention – mid-life crisis – it’s not the man who’s a joke. He either gets through it or changes his life and does something seemingly more glamorous or adventurous. It’s the wife that has to bite her nails to the quick hoping he’ll come to his senses and not leave her for a 20-something bimbo. Even when the focus is on “him” the joke is still on her!