Cedar's official Jeans That Fit post
I've been asked by some people to talk about my personal miracle of finding not one, but TWO brands of jeans that fit me well.
Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, in the fashion industry. I cannot sew. I cannot even hem a pair of pants. I just think clothes are interesting and I shop a lot. I'm also pretty good at seeing what does and does not look good on other people. It is very possible, even likely, that all of you reading this post know a lot more than I do about clothing and fit, so I'm sorry if I give you advice that doesn't work.
First, I should explain what I look for in a jean. I am (almost) 5'4" and hourglass-shaped. I have quite a nice upper body, if I do say so myself, a smaller waist, and wider hips. I run and do kickboxing and aerobics and lift weights, so my thighs and butt have some substance to them. I wear a US size 6, sometimes a 4, sometimes an 8, depending on the cut. But at most places I shop I end up in a 6. Although I'm not tall, I have about a 30" inseam, maybe 29". A 30" inseam usually hits right at the top of my foot, so I buy a lot of my dress pants with a 32" inseam so I can wear the 4" heels I'm somewhat partial to.
Part I: The way jeans fit is all about the proportions
Low-rise jeans are one of the worst possible things a woman with my proportions, smaller waist and low, wide hips, could wear. They're too big at the waist because they're meant to fit just over the hips. That means, on those of us who have a noticeable difference in the size of our waist versus our hips, that the minute we sit down our jeans give us whale-tail. Not. Flattering. Also, if you have hips and you're long through the torso you'll always be showing the skin at your waist. Now, some people want this and that's fine for them, but I prefer to be a little more covered.
One of the other worst possible things a woman with my proportions could wear is a pair of skinny jeans. If you have wider, lower hips skinny jeans will just make you look like an ice-cream cone. Skinny jeans look better on my friend Liz, who is about the same size as I am but has narrower hips and can wear straighter pants with a lower rise. You generally want to avoid jeans that taper at the ankle, because they will emphasize the width of your hips. The bottom of the jeans is crucial to how the top will be perceived. If your hips and legs are mostly straight up and down, a skinny jean will probably look pretty good on you. If you're V-shaped from your hips down, go for boot cut or flare leg.
With my proportions, I know I look best in jeans with a medium rise that stops maybe an inch below my belly button, and either a boot-cut or flare leg. A medium rise on me is about 7.5". Boot cut and flare legs help to balance the width of your hips. If you want to make your legs look longer and narrower, try a dark wash without fading at the front of the thigh. When shopping for a flare leg, you don't want the end of the jean to be so wide that it matches the width of your hips, but a smaller flare should look good.
Part II: The fit
Very important thing to know in jean-buying: Stretch denim is your friend. Stretch material like Lycra blended with denim will help your jeans retain their shape as you wash and dry them, and they will also conform to your shape a little better. Most stretch denim is 5% Lycra or less.
When finding jeans, you have to decide how you want them to fit through the hip and thigh. I tend to like mine more on the "relaxed" side as opposed to the "slim" side. (Oddly, I much prefer that my work pants fit slim through the hip and thigh.) If you're like me and more pear-shaped with a butt, go for the "relaxed" fit. I find the relaxed fit gives my Firm-workouted-butt enough room to curve into the jeans while still allowing me to breathe and sit down.
Two dangerous jean-fitting obstacles: Muffin top and camel toe. Let's address why these happen.
Muffin top is the term for what you see when a person's jeans fit improperly in the waist and hip, causing the skin at the base of the back or at the waist to squish out over the waistband of the jeans, like how a muffin looks in paper. The easiest way to give yourself muffin top is to buy jeans that fit too low on your waist. Fashion is not style or fit, and a lot of people are just not meant to wear low-rise jeans. Visit your local mall on a Saturday afternoon for more details.
Camel toe is what happens when your pants fit too tight in the crotch. I would think everyone would notice this problem when they, y'know, tried their pants on, but apparently this is not the case. To avoid this, do the following:
1. Make sure you're buying jeans that are the size you really are. Look, no one's going to know what size your jeans are by looking at the outside of them, but they ARE going to know if you're wearing jeans that don't fit.
2. Make sure the rise is the right length for you. If you're short through the waist and low-rise works for you, by all means, wear it. If your pants are too short through the rise and you're trying to fit them onto parts of your body they're not supposed to go on, CAMEL TOE.
Part III: Where to buy
Now, these are the jeans that happened to work for me and my particular fit issues. Your denim and fit issues may probably vary.
First, Lucky Brand Jeans. I am partial to their Classic Rider, which is a mid-rise, relaxed fit, boot cut. Lucky Brand jeans also stretch a fair bit as you wear them, so if they're a little tight in the fitting room, take them off, try on something else, and put them on again. You should notice a difference. I find their mid-rise to be just the right length and the fabric is neither too heavy nor too light. Lucky Brand makes us all crazy by listing their jeans as waist/inseam, so I take a 28/30.
Second, and promise not to laugh: Gap. This is the first time in years I've been able to walk into the Gap, pull a pair of jeans off the shelf in the size I think I need, and have it fit. My favorite is the Essential fit, which is mid-rise with a wide, straight leg. I wear size 6 pants at the Gap and I also found the size 6 jeans to be the best fit. But there's a caveat with the Gap.
When buying jeans at the Gap, you'll notice that they come in three lengths: Ankle, Regular, and Tall. Now, I've never tried on a pair of their Tall jeans because that would just be silly, but I've tried both the Regular and Ankle lengths and they do not fit the same way. The A-length jeans are proportioned for petites, which in the fashion industry means anyone 5'4" or under. A 6A does not fit the same way as a 6R. I noticed that the 6As fit more snugly than the 6Rs, which is desirable in jeans because denim stretches over time.
Being petite in fashion only has to do with your height. You can be a size 18 Petite. Just like graphic novels are a format, not a genre, Petite is a fit, not a size.
I have also heard very good things about the Victoria's Secret London Jean, especially for tall women. Never tried it, but it does come in short, regular, and long lengths. I will say that I've been pretty pleased with the way their work clothes fit, so figure their jeans probably fit well, too.
Okay, now I'm tired and have laundry to put in the dryer. Hope this helps all you frustrated jean shoppers out there. Feel free to share your favorite jean places to buy/brands/fit tips in the comments.
Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, in the fashion industry. I cannot sew. I cannot even hem a pair of pants. I just think clothes are interesting and I shop a lot. I'm also pretty good at seeing what does and does not look good on other people. It is very possible, even likely, that all of you reading this post know a lot more than I do about clothing and fit, so I'm sorry if I give you advice that doesn't work.
First, I should explain what I look for in a jean. I am (almost) 5'4" and hourglass-shaped. I have quite a nice upper body, if I do say so myself, a smaller waist, and wider hips. I run and do kickboxing and aerobics and lift weights, so my thighs and butt have some substance to them. I wear a US size 6, sometimes a 4, sometimes an 8, depending on the cut. But at most places I shop I end up in a 6. Although I'm not tall, I have about a 30" inseam, maybe 29". A 30" inseam usually hits right at the top of my foot, so I buy a lot of my dress pants with a 32" inseam so I can wear the 4" heels I'm somewhat partial to.
Part I: The way jeans fit is all about the proportions
Low-rise jeans are one of the worst possible things a woman with my proportions, smaller waist and low, wide hips, could wear. They're too big at the waist because they're meant to fit just over the hips. That means, on those of us who have a noticeable difference in the size of our waist versus our hips, that the minute we sit down our jeans give us whale-tail. Not. Flattering. Also, if you have hips and you're long through the torso you'll always be showing the skin at your waist. Now, some people want this and that's fine for them, but I prefer to be a little more covered.
One of the other worst possible things a woman with my proportions could wear is a pair of skinny jeans. If you have wider, lower hips skinny jeans will just make you look like an ice-cream cone. Skinny jeans look better on my friend Liz, who is about the same size as I am but has narrower hips and can wear straighter pants with a lower rise. You generally want to avoid jeans that taper at the ankle, because they will emphasize the width of your hips. The bottom of the jeans is crucial to how the top will be perceived. If your hips and legs are mostly straight up and down, a skinny jean will probably look pretty good on you. If you're V-shaped from your hips down, go for boot cut or flare leg.
With my proportions, I know I look best in jeans with a medium rise that stops maybe an inch below my belly button, and either a boot-cut or flare leg. A medium rise on me is about 7.5". Boot cut and flare legs help to balance the width of your hips. If you want to make your legs look longer and narrower, try a dark wash without fading at the front of the thigh. When shopping for a flare leg, you don't want the end of the jean to be so wide that it matches the width of your hips, but a smaller flare should look good.
Part II: The fit
Very important thing to know in jean-buying: Stretch denim is your friend. Stretch material like Lycra blended with denim will help your jeans retain their shape as you wash and dry them, and they will also conform to your shape a little better. Most stretch denim is 5% Lycra or less.
When finding jeans, you have to decide how you want them to fit through the hip and thigh. I tend to like mine more on the "relaxed" side as opposed to the "slim" side. (Oddly, I much prefer that my work pants fit slim through the hip and thigh.) If you're like me and more pear-shaped with a butt, go for the "relaxed" fit. I find the relaxed fit gives my Firm-workouted-butt enough room to curve into the jeans while still allowing me to breathe and sit down.
Two dangerous jean-fitting obstacles: Muffin top and camel toe. Let's address why these happen.
Muffin top is the term for what you see when a person's jeans fit improperly in the waist and hip, causing the skin at the base of the back or at the waist to squish out over the waistband of the jeans, like how a muffin looks in paper. The easiest way to give yourself muffin top is to buy jeans that fit too low on your waist. Fashion is not style or fit, and a lot of people are just not meant to wear low-rise jeans. Visit your local mall on a Saturday afternoon for more details.
Camel toe is what happens when your pants fit too tight in the crotch. I would think everyone would notice this problem when they, y'know, tried their pants on, but apparently this is not the case. To avoid this, do the following:
1. Make sure you're buying jeans that are the size you really are. Look, no one's going to know what size your jeans are by looking at the outside of them, but they ARE going to know if you're wearing jeans that don't fit.
2. Make sure the rise is the right length for you. If you're short through the waist and low-rise works for you, by all means, wear it. If your pants are too short through the rise and you're trying to fit them onto parts of your body they're not supposed to go on, CAMEL TOE.
Part III: Where to buy
Now, these are the jeans that happened to work for me and my particular fit issues. Your denim and fit issues may probably vary.
First, Lucky Brand Jeans. I am partial to their Classic Rider, which is a mid-rise, relaxed fit, boot cut. Lucky Brand jeans also stretch a fair bit as you wear them, so if they're a little tight in the fitting room, take them off, try on something else, and put them on again. You should notice a difference. I find their mid-rise to be just the right length and the fabric is neither too heavy nor too light. Lucky Brand makes us all crazy by listing their jeans as waist/inseam, so I take a 28/30.
Second, and promise not to laugh: Gap. This is the first time in years I've been able to walk into the Gap, pull a pair of jeans off the shelf in the size I think I need, and have it fit. My favorite is the Essential fit, which is mid-rise with a wide, straight leg. I wear size 6 pants at the Gap and I also found the size 6 jeans to be the best fit. But there's a caveat with the Gap.
When buying jeans at the Gap, you'll notice that they come in three lengths: Ankle, Regular, and Tall. Now, I've never tried on a pair of their Tall jeans because that would just be silly, but I've tried both the Regular and Ankle lengths and they do not fit the same way. The A-length jeans are proportioned for petites, which in the fashion industry means anyone 5'4" or under. A 6A does not fit the same way as a 6R. I noticed that the 6As fit more snugly than the 6Rs, which is desirable in jeans because denim stretches over time.
Being petite in fashion only has to do with your height. You can be a size 18 Petite. Just like graphic novels are a format, not a genre, Petite is a fit, not a size.
I have also heard very good things about the Victoria's Secret London Jean, especially for tall women. Never tried it, but it does come in short, regular, and long lengths. I will say that I've been pretty pleased with the way their work clothes fit, so figure their jeans probably fit well, too.
Okay, now I'm tired and have laundry to put in the dryer. Hope this helps all you frustrated jean shoppers out there. Feel free to share your favorite jean places to buy/brands/fit tips in the comments.