Nov 18, 2014 3 min read

Those who read this column regularly know I am fascinated by studies, in particular, studies that prove the obvious.

So, I’m happy to report as we near Thanksgiving – traditionally spent in warm, fuzzy moments with family and friends – a study conducted by a German magazine reveals 5 percent of women surveyed would rather get rid of a boyfriend or husband than give up their favorite pair of jeans. As they say in Berlin, “Eine kleine Calvin Klein!”

Other findings revealed, on average, women wear favorite jeans for about four years, longer than they spend with a male partner, and 20 percent of respondents could not throw away a favorite pair of jeans even if they no longer fit or were out of fashion. One in 12 women said they have a pair of jeans they love so much they’re saving them to pass on to their children. I know we all inherit some of our mother’s genes, but I would have been vaguely troubled had my mother bequeathed me her jeans.

If she wore jeans.

I would have been permanently scarred if she willed me her girdle.

Interviewees said they do everything to wear a favorite pair of jeans as long as possible, including washing them only once every three to six months to maintain their original color and shape. One-quarter of respondents cleaned their jeans in vinegar or put them in the freezer so they continue to look like new. (Guys, this may explain why that woman you met through Match.com smelled like salad dressing on your first date.)

Men, of course, are not such slaves to fashion. Sure, we may have a favorite tie that we keep knotted and take off over our head so we don’t have to remember the nuances of the four-in-hand. But we usually have only two pairs of jeans: one to wear every day and one to put on if the first ones disintegrate when we accidentally wash them after 10 years. We’d rather spend our money on important things. Like guitars.

Because not one but two new studies reveal a man who plays guitar is “instantly sexy.” A study by researchers at a French university centered on a 20-year-old man who approached 300 women of like age, said hello, told them they were pretty and asked for a phone number. Thirty-three percent of the time he carried a guitar case; in another third, he carried a sports bag. For the last third, he was empty handed.

When he carried the guitar case, 31 percent of the women gave him their phone number. Only 14 percent surrendered their number when he was empty-handed, and the figure tumbled to 9 percent when he carried the sports bag. (In your back-to-back, six-touchdown games, Roethlisberger!) Meanwhile, an Israeli study sent Facebook friend requests to 100 female university students. Half the requests included a picture of a man playing a guitar, half included a man sans six-string. Twenty-eight percent accepted the friend request of the man with the guitar, while only 10 percent accepted the non-guitar hero.

This explains why I carry a guitar case everywhere I go.

That, and my backup jeans are in it.