Holey jeans

When I was in middle school, my best friend gave me her old pair of jeans that had bleach stains and holes all over them.  I thought they were gold.  They were so comfortable and, I thought, super fashionable. I remember wearing them to lunch with my mother at a restaurant, and she was horrified. "But, Mom, they're in style."  They looked kind of like this -

...except these jeans cost $230 on shopbop.com. 

Now, I wouldn't even consider wearing ripped jeans to a real social event, but lately I have seen photos of famous women wearing them with nice outfits.  A friend told me that ripped jeans never go out of style, but they seem particularly in style at the moment. 

I wish this New Yorker wasn't talking on the phone, because I really wanted to ask him if he bought his jeans with the holes or made them himself -

His jeans look like he took them off someone who died in battle.  However, the question is -

Would you wear holey jeans for something more than just "hanging out"?