“From the ages of 12 to 18, in peak early 2000s, I was rarely allowed to wear jeans. Going to a private, all-girls Catholic school meant there were quite a few stipulations on what you could and could not do, and wearing jeans was a “could not” unless it was a Friday (and you paid $4 to “charity”), a community service day, or, most importantly, an off-campus mixer with boys. In true pubescent, trying-to-fit-in fashion, I begged my mom for as many tight, low-rise jeans — the trending denim silhouette at the time — as I could fit in my dresser. But at the same time, if I wasn’t in school or wearing the tightest hip-hugging, butt-plumping denim I could get my hands on, I was a comfort queen who lived in my baggy sweatpants — something that would greatly influence my personal style later in life.”