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Hey it might take some truly genius (or just really nerdy) people to explain what EMI Shielding and why it is necessary to the unknowing in a manner that anyone can grasp but it’s a no brainer that Europeans and Americans just have to be in on the latest fashions. And in places where labor and materials are cheap it’s a now wonder other countries are cashing in on greedy fashion enthusiasts.

AVISSAWELLA, Sri Lanka (AFP) - The denims look tattered and frayed, but shoppers in Europe and the United States are prepared to pay good money for “distressed” jeans and Sri Lanka is cashing in.

In the industrial town of Avissawella east of the capital Colombo, it takes workers around 13 minutes to cut and sew basic five-pocket denims.

They then spend another four days torturing the pants by dying, bleaching, and sandpapering them to get a “distressed” look.

“Each garment is dyed or dipped around 16 and sometimes as many as 30 times to achieve the proper torn, tattered look,” explains Indrajith Kumarasiri, chief executive of Sri Lanka’s Brandix Denim.

“We earn more money by making denims look dirty and torn, the classic clean look doesn’t bring us much,” Kumarasiri told AFP during a visit to the 10-million dollar plant, which can make over three million pairs of jeans a year.

Basic denim jeans cost around six dollars to make, but the shabbier “premium” ones cost twice as much.

“In many ways, premium denims are replacing the little black dress as the wear-anywhere fashion staple,” he said.

(Full Article)

Hey, I love my jeans. If I can get away with it you can expect to see me in jeans or cargos, that’s a fact of life. But maybe it’s because I can get my jeans faded, ripped, and worn without breaking a sweat, but I’ve never understood the point of shelling out a bucketload of cash for jeans that look “distressed” or “worn”. What the hell for? Give me a pair of jeans and I can get that look for you with no effort what so ever. That said, if I can buy a pair of $16 jeans and rip, fade, stitch, patch, or whatever them myself why would I go and pay $40 for a similar effect? It makes no sense to me which is why I got a kick out of this article. Why did I laugh when I read this? Simple. These people are cashing in on the stupidity of the fashion conscious!

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