Within the past year or so “Dad jeans,” was a catchphrase in the media after Pres. Obama wore something like that, whatever it is, to a baseball game. It seems he was chastised for this fashion faux pas and swore not to do it again.

So the phrase hung around for a while. It pops in and out of pop culture news stories and at some point I guess I began to worry about my jeans.

I have several pair of jeans, and I like most of them. I wear them to work some times.

So the other day I was considering my jeans and the one pair of Levis I own. I was looking at them and I wondered if they were, well, “Dad Jeans,” whatever that is.

“Honey,” I said to my wife, “do I wear ‘Dad’ jeans?”

Now my wife looked at me with a sort of scowl.

“You’re a parent and a husband. So what if you’re wearing ‘Dad’ jeans?” That was the gist of her response to me.

She reminded me that it would be silly at this point in my life if I were to begin to worry about such things. She reminded me that I would look kind of silly if I was to begin to buy clothes that reflect the latest, trendiest “youth” styles.

A friend of mine did that when he was a couple years shy of 40. He looked pretty silly, I seem to remember, wearing tighter-than-normal jeans and tight T-shirts.

He was a dad and a business owner. While he didn’t really need to wear anything too “professional,” I recall that he looked like he was trying too hard not to look his age and I just couldn’t take him seriously.

So with that memory in mind I was pretty satisfied that I probably didn’t have “Dad Jeans” since I’ve been wearing the same kind of jeans most of my adult life. In fact, I’ve pretty much dressed the same way since my early 20s.

So I looked at my Levis and my other straight leg jeans and I thought, well, you know, it’s OK. While I’m someone’s dad — four someones, actually — I like the way I dress. No big deal.

Well, it crossed my mind again the other day. And when things cross my mind, I sometimes look them up on the Internet. Here’s what I found under “Dad Jeans,” according to UrbanDictionary.com.

“Jeans that are no longer fashionable and are usually characterized by a tapered leg, high waist or brand name that was cool about 10 years ago. Dad jeans are typically worn by aging men with salt and pepper hair who are in denial that they are no longer hip, have children and drive a station wagon or SUV.”

Whoa! While I have more pepper than salt at this point, I’m pretty much guilty as charged. Except, well, my waistband is not that high, but I do drive a beat up old minivan (think station wagon); the one I traded in my SUV for when we found out we were having twins.

So, yeah, I’m a dad; I wear jeans. It follows basic logic then that I wear “Dad jeans.”

And I’m OK with that.