I come from a very large family so my mom bought us all Toughskins too. It was so embarrassing to wear those when all my rich friends had Levi's. We couldn't afford those.
I got a paper route at age 12 so I could go out and buy my own Levi's. I was so excited the day I saved enough to buy my first pair. I'll never forget. Waist size 25. I was skinny back then.