In search of the unobtainable (aka Goldilocks: A Cautionary Tale)
I have not owned a perfect pair of jeans for about a year now. And this is hard going, because I live most of my life in jeans (being one of those lucky people who can wear jeans to work if they wish).
It was fine for a while. I had a lovely stretchy pair from Dorothy Perkins which were flattering and a good colour. They were casual enough for just bumming around, but dressed up smartly when required. In short, they were the perfect pair of jeans.
Naturally, I wore them and washed them so often that the colour faded, to the point where they no longer went with some of my outfits and were starting to look distinctly casual. And then the denim lost quite a lot of its elasticity, the way it does when you've had a pair of jeans for about a year; suddenly, they were no longer flattering, either. They had to go.
Trouble is, it's hard to fill that hole in my wardrobe. I've scoured my usual haunts without success: at Dorothy Perkins, their jeans this season are just the wrong shape for me, whereas Gap, my trusty fallback these last few years, has abandoned me for some teenager. Next, with whose jeans I have always had a very ambiguous relationship anyway, offered up one pair of black stonewashed jeans that I am living in (though they don't solve my blue-jeans dilemma) and has been completely unable to give me a pair in blue that fits the same, feels the same or is cut the same, despite the fact that there were ostensibly a gazillion such pairs on the rail. I tried on several pairs and eventually bought one, though that proved to be a mistake of the kind where you don't realise it until the jeans have been washed. So, back to the drawing board.
I then bought a pair of darkish blue jeans in MK One (or the other one; I can never tell them apart). Despite having rather lurid leopard-print interfacing and pocket linings, they were comfortable and, as far as I could tell, reasonably flattering. Unfortunately, they are Just Not Quite Right; I end up hitching them up all the time, and the denim leading into the pockets is cut too stingily, so that I'm always pushing the pockets back in to hide the leopard-print.
On the advice of a friend that those with a small hip:waist ratio often do well at French Connection, I tried there, but nothing fit right (I have big legs for my small hips). Thank you anyway, C.
I had a brief moment of hope when I found a pair of Monsoon fairtrade jeans, which looked good in the shop, so I bought them (and this fairtrade cotton t-shirt). Having washed and worn the jeans, I am now of the sad opinion that they are merely adequate, and not my Prince Charming of jeans after all, just a well-meaning frog.
Yesterday, while waiting for a train and feeling immensely dissatisfied by the (Monsoon) jeans I was wearing, I tried on seven pairs of jeans in TK Maxx. None of them were any good except for the £45 Tommy Hilfiger pair, and those were only as good as the pair I'd walked in with, so I left them there.
Jeans currently trying and failing to plug the gap in my wardrobe:
1) The deep navy pair (from Dorothy Perkins, two years ago): too smart and too dark for "just jeans" outfits.
2) The Next black stonewash jeans: brilliant, though apt to fall down over my hips. Not blue.
3) The pale blue boyfriend-cut jeans I got from MK One a year ago: great, but not even remotely smart.
I also own a few other pairs, either the aforementioned buying mistakes, or those that have been languishing in my wardrobe for reasons of poor fit or fatigue. I suppose I should get rid of those, because I really don't enjoy those moments (sadly occurring all too often since my jeans dilemma kicked in) of "Oh bugger - I should not have worn this".
My final thought is that this season's jeans are just not made for me. All the boot-cut jeans seem to have too much room in the thigh (this does not flatter me, though YMMV) or be cut so low that I will spend my days nervously hitching them up. I see a lot of women wearing these jeans and wearing them well, but I think I'm just going to have to give up, stop throwing money away, and accept that I will not be filling that gap in my wardrobe anytime soon :-/
It was fine for a while. I had a lovely stretchy pair from Dorothy Perkins which were flattering and a good colour. They were casual enough for just bumming around, but dressed up smartly when required. In short, they were the perfect pair of jeans.
Naturally, I wore them and washed them so often that the colour faded, to the point where they no longer went with some of my outfits and were starting to look distinctly casual. And then the denim lost quite a lot of its elasticity, the way it does when you've had a pair of jeans for about a year; suddenly, they were no longer flattering, either. They had to go.
Trouble is, it's hard to fill that hole in my wardrobe. I've scoured my usual haunts without success: at Dorothy Perkins, their jeans this season are just the wrong shape for me, whereas Gap, my trusty fallback these last few years, has abandoned me for some teenager. Next, with whose jeans I have always had a very ambiguous relationship anyway, offered up one pair of black stonewashed jeans that I am living in (though they don't solve my blue-jeans dilemma) and has been completely unable to give me a pair in blue that fits the same, feels the same or is cut the same, despite the fact that there were ostensibly a gazillion such pairs on the rail. I tried on several pairs and eventually bought one, though that proved to be a mistake of the kind where you don't realise it until the jeans have been washed. So, back to the drawing board.
I then bought a pair of darkish blue jeans in MK One (or the other one; I can never tell them apart). Despite having rather lurid leopard-print interfacing and pocket linings, they were comfortable and, as far as I could tell, reasonably flattering. Unfortunately, they are Just Not Quite Right; I end up hitching them up all the time, and the denim leading into the pockets is cut too stingily, so that I'm always pushing the pockets back in to hide the leopard-print.
On the advice of a friend that those with a small hip:waist ratio often do well at French Connection, I tried there, but nothing fit right (I have big legs for my small hips). Thank you anyway, C.
I had a brief moment of hope when I found a pair of Monsoon fairtrade jeans, which looked good in the shop, so I bought them (and this fairtrade cotton t-shirt). Having washed and worn the jeans, I am now of the sad opinion that they are merely adequate, and not my Prince Charming of jeans after all, just a well-meaning frog.
Yesterday, while waiting for a train and feeling immensely dissatisfied by the (Monsoon) jeans I was wearing, I tried on seven pairs of jeans in TK Maxx. None of them were any good except for the £45 Tommy Hilfiger pair, and those were only as good as the pair I'd walked in with, so I left them there.
Jeans currently trying and failing to plug the gap in my wardrobe:
1) The deep navy pair (from Dorothy Perkins, two years ago): too smart and too dark for "just jeans" outfits.
2) The Next black stonewash jeans: brilliant, though apt to fall down over my hips. Not blue.
3) The pale blue boyfriend-cut jeans I got from MK One a year ago: great, but not even remotely smart.
I also own a few other pairs, either the aforementioned buying mistakes, or those that have been languishing in my wardrobe for reasons of poor fit or fatigue. I suppose I should get rid of those, because I really don't enjoy those moments (sadly occurring all too often since my jeans dilemma kicked in) of "Oh bugger - I should not have worn this".
My final thought is that this season's jeans are just not made for me. All the boot-cut jeans seem to have too much room in the thigh (this does not flatter me, though YMMV) or be cut so low that I will spend my days nervously hitching them up. I see a lot of women wearing these jeans and wearing them well, but I think I'm just going to have to give up, stop throwing money away, and accept that I will not be filling that gap in my wardrobe anytime soon :-/