My wife and I took a stroll into a store in Santa Barbara last weekend. I had some gift cards that I paid for in frequent flyer miles, and they were burning yet more holes in my slated-for-replacement jeans.

The retailer has been touting its new line of denim and since I have pared away a few pounds I thought I'd try on some, for size. Ever the fashionista, my wife needed no excuse to wriggle into a few pair, one of which came torn at the knee-a deliberate look that is going to take some getting used to, for me.

As I studied the color and texture, which weren't that appealing, I noticed in big letters the phrase, "Made in China."

Two reactions to that:

(1) At $68 a pair, the seller may be looking for a markup that is ten-times or perhaps twenty-times its cost; and
(2) In light of the fact the retailer has branded its jeans to summon images of the 1960's and 1970's, why aren't these pants manufactured in upstate New York or in San Francisco? At $68 you'd think there's enough margin to onshore this work.

So, I returned my prospective pair to the pile and waited for my wife to do the buying, which she contentedly completed-almost.

She rushed up to me and exclaimed: "You need to go to the counter to show your citizenship!"

"Are we boarding to London, yet?"

"No, to get a discount you have to prove you're an American."

She left her I.D. at home. I flashed my driver's license and summarily saved $40 on her purchase of two pair.

But as we walked out, I couldn't help but bristle at the incongruity of it all.

What was the company saying: We manufacture overseas, but if you're a tourist from overseas in Santa Barbara, shopping, we're going to "stick-it-to-you?"

Is this trendy outfit a supporter of free trade or protectionism or for a weird combination? At $68 a pair, with or without discounts or funny-money, I think we have earned the right to know.