The Jeans Paradox

ythannah

AnnPT77 wrote: »

P.S. Admittedly, I may put jeans in a more limited orbit partly because of my age. When I was young, jeans were seen as dungarees, work wear for tough jobs, then later what the hippies wore (NB I was a hippie). Tailored trousers were more the thing in my youth, for women not wearing dresses/skirts, and the latter were much more common to see in daily life then vs. now. I'm not saying we need to go back to that time, either, just that it's doubtless colored my perception. I wear both jeans and leggings very regularly these days, skirts nearly never. Overall, expectations about public dress have become much, much more casual than they were back in the day. Emmy, that may explain some of your older colleagues' reaction, perhaps.

My father (83) has the same perception of jeans, they're something durable worn by manual labourers. He has never owned a pair. It was quite a battle as a teen to be allowed to wear jeans, as ALL my peers did (1970s), because to him they were a garment of the lower class.

Fast forward 40ish years. When he was doing physio at the chronic care hospital, I was asked to buy him some pants suitable for exercising. Sweatpants ended up being too bulky/heavy so we settled on flannel "sleep pants". He liked those things so much that flannel sleep pants are what he mostly wears out in public. Just like a teenager. He only wears his usual polyester dress slacks for doctor appointments. It amuses me no end that the man who wouldn't be caught dead in jeans now goes around in pyjama pants.

CurvyEmmy

VRyder1 wrote: »

When I weighed 149 pounds, I fit in a size 14. I now weigh 185 and wear a size 14; and sometimes fit in a size 12. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime and free returns!!!!

When I was 185, I wore size 16. Now I’m 270 and wear size 24 sometimes 22. I’m apple shape so my butt is flat, my legs and arms are pretty slim, but my belly is large. My waist is like 46 inches, it’s my fattest area and that’s the only reason I need to wear bigger sizes than most girls my weight. It makes it really hard to find stuff that fits properly because if it fits my waist it’s loose around my butt but if it fits my butt tight and snugly like I want, I can’t button the waist I wear leggings because the stretchy elastic waistband makes them so much easier to fit into. I wish I could find jeans that work but jeans are such a struggle for plus size girls It’s not just a matter of finding a pair big enough, they need to be shaped the right way to fit your specific body shape or they’re not flattering. Ugh why does life need to be so hard

SafariGalNYC

for me it’s about what is flattering..

I don’t wear jeans often, which is interesting because in high school I lived in them. Fast forward .. I do like a nice structured moto legging with a oversized cashmere sweater and a pair of heels.

But mostly.. I’m going to be the outlier here … once I started wearing tailored clothes to work.. I never looked back. I find my dress pants to be the most comfortable items I have. I love to dress up for work.

I think what we wear to work is a reflection of our own office culture.. it’s different geographically but also in different industries… I tend to work with a lot of artists and fashionistas … so anything goes…

If it’s a Friday .. and nothing is planned we are casual… if it’s a meeting day or a event is planned.. my team dresses to the nines. My assistant has more heels by her desk than office supplies. ☺️

A word about age… I saw a prior discussion that seems a bit ageist to me.. about older women not wearing leggings… at what age are we “old”?

I can say in my neighborhood in NYC.. there are some hot women in their 60s ++!who take care of themselves and definitely flaunt their hard work in leggings and everything else!

I hope I look that good when I am 60! 💪🏻

RetiredAndLovingIt

Regarding the Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans, they are pretty much the only ones I wear. But it makes a big difference in how they fit by where they were made. I have a lot of them, all the same size, but can fit in some & others don’t even come close to fitting!

MsCzar

I think GV might be one of the few clothing lines that hasn't embraced vanity sizing. When I finally got down to a U.S. size 12, GV size 16s were still too snug to button, much like my vintage 70's jeans.

lynnwolf007

I just discovered Old Navy slim-straight jeans and I love them!!! I also like plain old jeans that I grew up with and they were Levi's. My issue is I'm not a youngster anymore so the lightweight denim is ok sometimes and I got them for $12.50 a pair and can't pass that up! I wear a 10 now rather than a 16 and really needed some not falling off me. BUT, I lost a lot of weight in my BUTT and now have old lady flat *kitten*! Glad I found the slim-straight style, wish I knew how to get a nice round butt again!

ythannah

lynnwolf007 wrote: »

I just discovered Old Navy slim-straight jeans and I love them!!! I also like plain old jeans that I grew up with and they were Levi's. My issue is I'm not a youngster anymore so the lightweight denim is ok sometimes and I got them for $12.50 a pair and can't pass that up! I wear a 10 now rather than a 16 and really needed some not falling off me. BUT, I lost a lot of weight in my BUTT and now have old lady flat *kitten*! Glad I found the slim-straight style, wish I knew how to get a nice round butt again!

Also "not a youngster any more" and don't have much of a butt My rear view definitely improves with pants that are cut smaller in the rear otherwise the extra fabric just sort of hangs unattractively and all suggestion of a shape vanishes. I have a pair of Jessica Simpson jean-style pants that are either very fine wale corduroy or velvet and make my butt look amazing. Which is odd because I thought Jessica Simpson pants were designed for curvier figures and I would never have bought them except for the colour and the fact they were on mega clearance.

I don't even attempt Levis, they've never fit me properly. Too short in the rise and too much extra fabric in the thigh.