My girlfriend Erika emailed me recently asking advice on her next denim purchase. She wrote, “I am finally getting ready to replace my designer jeans. What are your faves?”

Our email conversation quickly brought me back in time about six years ago during my first year as a working professional… Erika and I were at the mall ready splurge on our first pair of designer denim. Sound like fun? Nope. It was an emotional rollercoaster. “They’re so expensive! But I want them! They look sooo good! But I can’t do it!” I moaned, she groaned, and then we finally handed our hard earned cash to the foot tapping salesperson.

It was a tough decision: to splurge or not to splurge? We both could have probably settled for non-designer pants. But I would certainly rather have one or two pair of the well-fitting cute jeans in my closet than four pairs of these-are-a-little-too-short-and-I-need-a-belt-and-the-knees-look-funny non-designer jeans. Less resources, more hotness, and in the end, probably the same amount of money.

One rule always comes to mind when I’m looking for day-to-day fashion: try to get clothing under $1 per wear. Is that $60 shirt going to be worn at least 60 times? If Erika wore her jeans once a week for six years (probably an underestimation) they cost about $0.48 a wear. Not bad!

So what jeans should Erika buy next? Luckily for her, a current runway trend is light distressed denim. She can add at least another season to her old pair by cutting them just above the knee, fraying them with sandpaper, and including them in her next ten loads of laundry. Voila. Runway ready.

And if that doesn’t cut it, Erika has plenty of options because in spring and summer of 2008, all silhouettes are in! From skinnies to high-rise, anything goes. So she should do exactly what she did six years ago — buy a classic long-lasting pair of jeans that look and feel great. And extra special bonus points for organic and fairly made, or secondhand.

Photo: Marcio Maderia