A few years ago, many women in high school who cared about their appearance would only be seen wearing designer jeans. Now, that generation is in college and members of it are letting expensive jeans collect dust, while they wear less expensive jegging choices.

Is it because those people are now college students with college budgets and have become more price conscious? Or is it because they see no reason to splurge their entire paycheck on one item?

It may be a mixture of both. Because of their limited allowance, they have been forced to look elsewhere for their jeans and in turn, realized less expensive jeans are just as good or maybe even trump their True Religions.

Whatever the reason, designer brands that exclusively carried denim, such as Lucky Brand Jeans, have opted to add more products to their sales in order to increase revenue and continue to thrive as a company. One can assume the businesses had to do so because of the dwindling interest in their only product category.

With trends leaving just as fast as they emerge, it’s difficult to invest in clothing. Even the basics, like your favorite skinnies, will probably not be as popular in a year because of a particular style element. The trend of having excessively shredded jeans were popular this summer, but now with the cold weather nipping at any bare skin, exposed knees are not an option.

However, your ASOS jeans probably don’t have an innovative addition that provides an ultra soft feel and won’t stretch with wear. Yes, Paige has made a claim that their Verdugo-Armstrong jeans will not stretch even with a soft hand. These jeans come at a stealthy price of $169.

So here is when the calculations come into play to figure out if the jeans really are worth it. If one were to buy the Paige jeans for $169, they might assume they will continue to wear these until an E! News reporter states that jeans with a slight fade in the thigh are the worst inventions ever and then the jeans will be taken to a consignment shop. Or, a change in the shopper’s weight happens, which will most likely have to progress over a couple years because these jeans don’t look as though they’ll diminish in quality in the near future.

Now, what if they buy ASOS Rivington High Denim Jeggings. These jeans are $56.85 but are made with 37 percent polyester, making the pants very stretchy. The jeans are first seen as very basic but have a single rip in the right knee and also start quite high on a model’s waist. Both elements, actually all if you include the simple aesthetic, are in trend, so you take a chance that they won’t be the most stylish look next fall. As mentioned earlier, they are also going to stretch and with multiple wears, won’t be as snug unless you wash and dry regularly, which will fade the original color and dilute the saturation.

It really comes down to personal opinion. Do you want the highest quality because you wear jeans a lot, but opt for a plain appearance, so it doesn’t go out of trend in a matter of a season? Or would you rather have adorable jeans that will probably become faulty after wearing them repeatedly for four months?

Choosing the right pair of jeans can be tricky, but researching, reading consumer reviews and weighing your options will help you make the right choice for yourself.