Tired of mostly leggings! Help me find pants!

brittanystebbins95
brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
in Motivation and Support
I love leggings, don't get me wrong. But a girl needs at least a couple pairs of nice jeans.

I currently only own 3 pairs. One, fits my butt and thighs phenomenally. Perfect length, but waayyy too big in the waist. The second, fits my butt and thighs really nice but they're like 3 inches too short on my already stumpy legs, and the waist is HUGE (surprise, surprise.) The third, fits my waist okay but the top rolls down and gives me a weird muffin top. The thighs are SO baggy.

I wanna invest in some nice pairs but I can never find any that fit my butt and thighs without having a huge gap in the waist. I've looked into Fran Denim, but can't justify $93 for a pair of jeans without an opportunity to try them on first. Has anyone tried them? Are they worth it?
Or can any of you recommend a brand that are made for athletic bodies that can be found in stores, so that I can try them on and test them out before I buy them?

Replies

  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Unless you sew your own jeans to fit your body, nothing is going to be 100% perfect in terms of fit.

    I have had great luck with the Wallflower brand, they run $20-$40 on Amazon. They are not totally consistent on their sizing, but I get the curvy, boot cut, tall with the stretch denim (I think all of them might be stretch denim) and it's big enough to fit my round booty and long legs without being too big at the waist...they are still a bit roomy in the waist, but the stretch denim doesn't gap the way the non-stretch does, so they still look nice.

    They have a lot of different cuts and lengths, and usually lots of reviews on Amazon, so it's easy to find someone who has a similar body shape/size and see what did or didn't work for them.

    Good luck on your hunt...a nice pair of jeans is priceless!!!

    Also, try thrift stores for cheap jean options, you can always buy new once you find a brand and style that work well for you.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    You might consider investing in a pair of almost perfect, and then getting the rest tailored.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    You might consider investing in a pair of almost perfect, and then getting the rest tailored.

    I had not thought of that. I will have to look around for tailors.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    brittanystebbins95 wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    You might consider investing in a pair of almost perfect, and then getting the rest tailored.

    I had not thought of that. I will have to look around for tailors.

    Most large nicer department stores have tailors on staff and will alter clothing for you at reasonable cost when you buy at the store. That's what I've done in the past. Now I just try on a thousand pairs until one fits.
  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited November 2019
    If you wear your jeans until the seat rips like I do, you might want to go and get some pieces of jean material from old jeans from the lower leg, that area never really suffers from wear.

    Go to a seamstress and ask them to sew two pieces into the inside seat of your new jeans. One on either side. The seam is barely noticeable unless you look for it. As the seat wears the added part takes the strain so the original seat wears out but never rips in a "OMG my jeans just ripped and everyone can see my upper thighs" fashion. You'll get more wears out of the jeans.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    threewins wrote: »
    If you wear your jeans until the seat rips like I do, you might want to go and get some pieces of jean material from old jeans from the lower leg, that area never really suffers from wear.

    Go to a seamstress and ask them to sew two pieces into the inside seat of your new jeans. One on either side. The seam is barely noticeable unless you look for it. As the seat wears the added part takes the strain so the original seat wears out but never rips in a "OMG my jeans just ripped and everyone can see my upper thighs" fashion. You'll get more wears out of the jeans.

    While I appreciate that advice, I'm searching for jeans that fit me right, not for ideas on how to make jeans last longer. That's not a bad idea, though. One could easily reinforce the inner thighs like that.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    brittanystebbins95 wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    You might consider investing in a pair of almost perfect, and then getting the rest tailored.

    I had not thought of that. I will have to look around for tailors.

    My dad does mine because he has the same issue - we both have legs that are big around but with a short inseam, so all of our jeans have to be tailored. I probably need to learn myself, but I've been a dress fiend recently so I've been putting it off.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I like tcunbeliever's suggestions a lot, and agree.

    I don't have a super hard time finding pants/jeans to fit my body but it can be a little challenging at times with a big hip to waist ratio and longish torso. I've not had great luck ordering pants and jeans online because I really need to try them on.

    By far my favorite way to find pants and jeans is going to off-price retailers (TJ Maxx is my favorite but anything like that works) and trying on a ton of different pants and jeans in my size range. I find that some of those cheaper versions and brands that I've never heard of before sometimes work out to fit me best. It's a trial and error thing, but totally worth it.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I usually wear Old Navy Rockstar jeans. The lower rise extra stretchy ones seem to fit the best, pop color not so well. I found a friend with a sewing machine to take in all my jeans that were too big around the waist. She just put a couple darts in the back, nothing fancy, and I didn't have to pay a tailor! Ask around and maybe you'll find someone you can barter with. I used to trade babysitting for tailoring.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    I've never heard of Fran Denim, so I've nothing to add on that score. However, I've had good luck at Old Navy (I like their Rockstar brand -- though I'm not savvy on the different variations of that brand as I literally just found pairs I like there in the last 6 months), as well. Maybe look into some jeggings -- the stretch will help hold at the waist and give room in the legs. I've had good luck at American Eagle, as well.

    So I'd look for jeans with some stretch. And try on a thousand pairs until you find one that fits well enough!
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    It so depends on your personal shape. I have a smaller waist and wider hips. I find Lee brand to fit very well especially the flex motion style. They even carry both petite and short petite for small inseams.
  • jeagogo
    jeagogo Posts: 179 Member
    I have a small waist compared to my hips so I have a similar problem, especially with high waisted pants. Whenever I look at size charts my bust and hips put me at one size, and my waist is always a smaller size, which makes shopping online a real challenge.
    My favorite pants right now are Everlane authentic stretch high waisted jeans. Not exactly cheap, but they have just the right amount of stretch to fit comfortably over my big butt and thighs while still fitting at the waist. The fabric is decently think and quite soft feeling.
    On the ultra cheap side, I also like the high waisted jeggings from H&M. The fabric is definitely thinner than my Everlane jeans since they are jeggings, but they feel pretty good to wear.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    I like tcunbeliever's suggestions a lot, and agree.

    I don't have a super hard time finding pants/jeans to fit my body but it can be a little challenging at times with a big hip to waist ratio and longish torso. I've not had great luck ordering pants and jeans online because I really need to try them on.

    By far my favorite way to find pants and jeans is going to off-price retailers (TJ Maxx is my favorite but anything like that works) and trying on a ton of different pants and jeans in my size range. I find that some of those cheaper versions and brands that I've never heard of before sometimes work out to fit me best. It's a trial and error thing, but totally worth it.

    That's a good idea! We have a TJ Maxx nearby and a Ross. Goodwill I like, but I search forever and forever and don't usually find anything that's my style. I have to like set aside a whole day to go to Goodwill and then usually I don't find much anyway.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I usually wear Old Navy Rockstar jeans. The lower rise extra stretchy ones seem to fit the best, pop color not so well. I found a friend with a sewing machine to take in all my jeans that were too big around the waist. She just put a couple darts in the back, nothing fancy, and I didn't have to pay a tailor! Ask around and maybe you'll find someone you can barter with. I used to trade babysitting for tailoring.

    I'm thinking I may have to learn how to do that myself. I'll have to start out with a few really cheap pairs as a trial and error thing, so if I mess them up I wont cry lol
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    dhiammarath wrote: »
    I've never heard of Fran Denim, so I've nothing to add on that score. However, I've had good luck at Old Navy (I like their Rockstar brand -- though I'm not savvy on the different variations of that brand as I literally just found pairs I like there in the last 6 months), as well. Maybe look into some jeggings -- the stretch will help hold at the waist and give room in the legs. I've had good luck at American Eagle, as well.

    So I'd look for jeans with some stretch. And try on a thousand pairs until you find one that fits well enough!

    That's two now for Old Navy Rockstar, looks like I may have to check them out.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    bold_rabbit wrote: »
    It so depends on your personal shape. I have a smaller waist and wider hips. I find Lee brand to fit very well especially the flex motion style. They even carry both petite and short petite for small inseams.

    Thank you! Before I gained weight, I was roughly this size, and I don't remember ever struggling to find jeans. All I ever wore was jeans. Since losing the weight and getting back down to my normal size, its suddenly impossible. The only real difference I can think of is that I lift heavy now and back then I did not. I was also only about 16 or 17 though so maybe my hips changed? I haven't grown since 15 so I dunno.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    jeagogo wrote: »
    I have a small waist compared to my hips so I have a similar problem, especially with high waisted pants. Whenever I look at size charts my bust and hips put me at one size, and my waist is always a smaller size, which makes shopping online a real challenge.
    My favorite pants right now are Everlane authentic stretch high waisted jeans. Not exactly cheap, but they have just the right amount of stretch to fit comfortably over my big butt and thighs while still fitting at the waist. The fabric is decently think and quite soft feeling.
    On the ultra cheap side, I also like the high waisted jeggings from H&M. The fabric is definitely thinner than my Everlane jeans since they are jeggings, but they feel pretty good to wear.

    I don't mind spending a lot on jeans that I like. Its just a matter of shopping online and then trying to return them if they don't fit right. So I'd rather not spend a whole lot if there's a chance I'll hate them. I'll check out both of those, thank you :)
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
    I second a tailor! I do this occasionally with my clothes and it is so nice! Also, along with the great suggestions of finding a brand at a place like tj maxx and branching out from there, there are also those online thrift store type websites- thread up and the like. I’ve been thinking of trying them out, especially for jeans. I have trouble finding jeans I really like too, but also really dislike shopping after about 10 mins of lots of crowds (and right now, ‘it’s the season 🙄) , and ALSO grit my teeth at the thought of spending $100 on buying jeans online without getting to try them on first, so those thrift store websites definitely interest me!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    brittanystebbins95 wrote: »
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I usually wear Old Navy Rockstar jeans. The lower rise extra stretchy ones seem to fit the best, pop color not so well. I found a friend with a sewing machine to take in all my jeans that were too big around the waist. She just put a couple darts in the back, nothing fancy, and I didn't have to pay a tailor! Ask around and maybe you'll find someone you can barter with. I used to trade babysitting for tailoring.

    I'm thinking I may have to learn how to do that myself. I'll have to start out with a few really cheap pairs as a trial and error thing, so if I mess them up I wont cry lol

    It's reversable! Lol. You can take the darts out🙂
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    brittanystebbins95 wrote: »
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I usually wear Old Navy Rockstar jeans. The lower rise extra stretchy ones seem to fit the best, pop color not so well. I found a friend with a sewing machine to take in all my jeans that were too big around the waist. She just put a couple darts in the back, nothing fancy, and I didn't have to pay a tailor! Ask around and maybe you'll find someone you can barter with. I used to trade babysitting for tailoring.

    I'm thinking I may have to learn how to do that myself. I'll have to start out with a few really cheap pairs as a trial and error thing, so if I mess them up I wont cry lol

    It's reversable! Lol. You can take the darts out🙂

    Oh, awesome!!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I've also found some jeans at Ross. Sometimes you just get lucky and find something around $10. I found some I think called "monkey ride" (Junior's size) that don't gap at the waist.
  • Je55ica_79
    Je55ica_79 Posts: 278 Member
    Oddly enough the jeans that fit me best right now are from Walmart. I take my 11 year shopping with me she tells it like it is and has great suggestions. Even my 20 year olds go to her for help lol.

    Back in the day before I gained the weight low rise were my friend. But now 20 years later a higher rise is the way to go for me. Try on a bunch of jeans in different styles and cuts. Don't stick to one size either go up or down in either direction. Also women's and juniors fit differently so try out both of those too. Don't be down if your size numbers go up because juniors seem to run smaller.

    It will be time consuming and sometimes disappointing but shop shop shop and don't buy till they are exactly what you want.
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    Do you have The Buckle stores where you live? Their sales people are great at bringing you the right brands/styles for your body type to try on. And they do alterations for free.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    yayamom3 wrote: »
    Do you have The Buckle stores where you live? Their sales people are great at bringing you the right brands/styles for your body type to try on. And they do alterations for free.

    They have great pride in their jeans for sure. I went in there one time looking for dresses and the sales lady just WOULD NOT HAVE IT. I MUST TRY THEIR JEANS. She came up to me like three times to offer jeans for me to try and I was only in there a few minutes!
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    They were already recommended, but I have the greatest success with Lee brand jeans.

    I would also suggest paying attention to the material type. Stretchier jeans might fit your shape better than ones that are stiffer.

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