@Tex Dennis Almost everything native to our Desert plant-wise has protective thorns, needles, sharp-edged twig-ends......cattle grazing open range have often been seen with tongues and mouths loaded with cactus needles! Frank
I cant count how many packs of iron on denim patches I have bought, iron them on then sew them and they hold much better. When they are a lost cause they become shorts for the house work.
Fashion means nothing here to me really worn jeans most all my life don't plan to change, my Wranglers are comfortable, fit good, serve purpose, wear about everywhere.
The number of rock and pop entertainers who wear jeans that are slit or torn out at the knees is striking; there was a time when such "distressed" clothing would have been rejected for sale at charity stores and second hand shops. My jeans with frays or holes I usually relegate to lawn work, or wear to paint in...
Maybe it has something to do with making it “appear” as though one does something to achieve those wears and tears in one’s clothing. For example: It is said that in the martial arts, there were no black belts, brown belts etc. One started with a white belt and as it grew darker and tattered with wear and age, the more experienced a person was seen to be. Now, people just simply buy the belts as a show of their ranking and experience. Possibly it’s the same with jeans in particular. Instead of taking the time, effort and work to do the damage, folks can just buy the clothing that exudes the appearance of work.
Ah, then there are the pretend gangstas who really like these types of clothes...... https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=clothing sold with bullet holes in them&id=FD1FACA76C8879A488FC978624CAFAD5432ACACD&FORM=IQFRBA Amazon has them for a pretty decent price it seems.....