ARE YOU TOO OLD FOR THIS?

I Made My Peace With Tight Jeans, but These Rips Are Too Much

As God is my witness, my knees and thighs will stay covered

David Dennis, Jr.
LEVEL
Published in
5 min readMar 25, 2020

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Illustration: Moya Garrison-Msingwana

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

I’m 33 years old. It’s a weird age, teetering between being in touch and stuck in my ways. And I know I’m not the only one standing at the intersection of Young Buck and Old Head. Every time something comes along, whether it’s slang or pop culture or a new tech platform, you confront the same question: Am I too old for this? That’s why I’m here — to work through these conundrums on your behalf, on a weekly basis. Together, hopefully, we can face some harsh truths about our own washed-ness.

BBuying jeans used to be so easy. I knew my size and never had to worry if they’d fit or not because, in general, the jeans would either be baggy or sorta baggy. You know what they never were: too tight. Then things changed. When? Where? What happened?

Let’s take a trip back in time. The year was 2007 — a simpler era, before the recessions and pandemics and when the idea of a Black president was just a twinkle in our minds’ eyes. It was a time when I could go to the mall and buy some goddamn pants that…

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David Dennis, Jr.
LEVEL

Level Sr. Writer covering Race, Culture, Politics, TV, Music. Previously: The Undefeated, The Atlantic, Washington Post. Forthcoming book: The Movement Made Us