no, YOU mind the gap.
It’s unclear whether the preoccupation with the “thigh gap” trend exists anywhere besides Instagram “fitspo” accounts and Tumblr pages (short for “fitsporation” – yeah, they’ll make portmanteaus out of anything these days), but this fascination with the space, either existent or non-, between the inner thighs has garnered enough attention in the press that people are taking a stand against it. One of the biggest problems with the thigh gap goal is that many body types won’t have a thigh gap until the person is incredibly under weight. And some bodies will always exhibit a thigh gap even at weights considered to be heavier. It’s like a hip thing (no, not like “I’m a cool mom,” but an actual hip thing) – you can eat everything in the world hoping that you’ll be able to add some size to your bust, only for it to settle automatically around your hips and midsection. Sad to admit, but sometimes it’s out of your control.
To combat this fascination with the inner thigh, the denim company Barbell Apparel is hoping to send the message that strong thighs are just fine with a line of jeans designed to prove just that. According to their Kickstarter campaign, the brand is: “designed for athletes… made to fit comfortably over muscular legs by accommodating your quads and butt without forcing you to buy larger sizes for the small waist you work so hard for.”
A-ha! You mean someone is finally making jeans that fit a variety of shapes? The company’s co-founder Hunter Molzen told ABC News: “These are the anti-thigh gap jeans. Athletes work hard for their strong, meaty thighs, and they should be proud of them. It’s how human beings were built to function.”
The jeans will be available for both men and women and will be made in a flexible denim fabric. This hybrid denim is supposed to move comfortably with the body and will fit all body types, thin or thick, and will keep those panties (or boxers) from bunching up when engaging in physical activity, like moving furniture or boxes. The Kickstarter page even features a picture of a girl doing the splits in them. Try sitting into a split in your 501s! A nice pair of jeans is great and an arguable necessity for the modern wardrobe, but sometimes they’re so uncomfortable that sitting down seems like a Herculean task, forget bending over. So we’re not just talking about jeans that will fit different sizes, we’re talking about jeans that will fit different lifestyles as well.
That Kickstarter campaign is still in process, but they only needed $15,000 to meet their goal and they have already cleared over half a million dollars with 23 days left of the campaign. Okay, then. That’s happening. With all the financial and emotional support they’ve been receiving, the company plans to expand their functional dream into chinos, dress shirts, socks, blazers, and slacks as well.
Kudos to a new brand for creating something to support strong bodies, instead of just saying that they do. Can we get on the mailing list, please?
