<p>Jeans are such an important part of one’s wardrobe – I think it’s well worth it to take the time and spend the money to get what makes you look great.</p>
<p>I agree with MoWC on the quality of NY and Co jeans, although mine have held up well. They’re definitely a lighter weight and even the stitching in the seams seems thinner. I’d be willing to pay more for jeans, if only they’d fit right. Grrr.</p>
<p>My favorites are Lucky and Bandolino which I often find discounted at Marshall’s and Tjmaxx. Bandolinos tend to be more forgiving, with a slightly higher waist and more give in the fabric. Lucky’s are on the low waisted side, but they fit me well. </p>
<p>Calvin Kleins used to be my favorite but they’ve changed their proportion slightly. Try on many brands until you’re happy! You don’t have to spend a lot. Boot cut is usually the most flattering fit.</p>
<p>I like Lucky -but they don’t usually have a large selection of short jeans
I also like Levis
I got my “curve ID” measured at the Levis store (I have a slight curve) and it was very helpful</p>
<p>Men or women. I would recommend taking a gander at a major brand’s website (Levi, Lee, Wrangler, etc.) to see what they call their various fits. Then, go to a department store where you can actually try on the various “fits” to find out what they do on your shape and size.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t end up buying that brand, the various “fits” are usually translatable from one brand to another. They all talk about where they fall on the waist, how much room in the hips, and whether the legs are skinny, straight, or flared (boot cut).</p>
<p>In my experience, it’s almost impossible to buy jeans without understanding the vocabulary.</p>
<p>Merona is the Target brand that I love. They’re around $20 and they hold up well. And hey, if they don’t after a year or two, no big deal. I don’t think people who buy $200 jeans are wearing them for 10 years, the styles change too much.</p>
<p>I buy most of my jeans at Goodwill. I have a pr. of J.Crew boot cuts that I like and a pr. of Vera Wang (that I’m sure originally came from Kohls) straight legs that fit well.
Also found at GW, some Levi 515 straight fit that wear well too.</p>
<p>My current favorite jeans are Old Navy MENS slim straight style. I got the first pr. from Goodwill and liked them so much that I went to Old Navy and bought another pr. I like that they are 100% cotton.</p>
<p>I’m currently trying to get a handle on what pant lengths are going to be looking like this spring and what they’re going to be called.</p>
<p>Is there is concensus about where the waist on a pair of jeans should ideally fall given the parameters of the current fashion. I think that the low-rise style is for the young. Mid-rise can be worn by us middle aged folks but is anyone one (besides my mother and MIL) wearing jeans at the waist? I was really surprised to find these at the mall. </p>
<p>I did try shopping at two local consignment stores. One didn’t have anything in my size and the other had lots to try but nothing that looked good on me. Boo hoo.</p>
<p>You can get Not your Daughter’s on Amazon for a bit less. I have also gotten some “mature” jeans from Ann Taylor, and they have petite sizes. Whenever i am on this forum, something from Ann Taylor is on here too, trying to get me to click.</p>
<p>These days I go digging through my closet to find an older pair of jeans if I’m going to be gardening because they stay up better.</p>
<p>Yeah, happy medium is what I usually aim for, not too low (ugh) or too high (although I liked that they didn’t have a tendency to slide down).</p>
<p>Last year I went on the great jeans hunt. I tried on dozens of pairs, trying to find that elusive perfect jean. I was prepared to spend $$, I didn’t care, I just wanted a pair(s) of terrific jeans. What I ended up with were Levis! I found a cut called Perfectly Slimming 512s. They come up a little higher, which eliminated muffin top, they have stretch and pull in the tummy, lift the derriere, etc. Basically I think they are Levis answer to NYDJs. Another thing I like about them is they don’t get baggy after a wearing or two. I tried NYDJs, but I fell between sizes. I now have 4 pair of the 512s, dark wash and black, one each for flats and one each for heels.</p>
<p>“Mid-rise can be worn by us middle aged folks but is anyone one (besides my mother and MIL) wearing jeans at the waist?”</p>
<p>Even my 83 year old mom doesn’t wear her jeans at the waist. She is small like me, though.</p>
<p>I have a couple of pairs of NYDJ crops or capris which I bought this past year, I believe, and they were a little higher in the waist. Last I tried, their full length pants did not run long enough for me.</p>
<p>In case my post on the other thread was a little confusing, I was referring to higher prices for the pants I was seeing. That’s a little depressing.</p>
<p>I just want jeans that are 100% cotton again. When I wear jeans with any stretch at all they’re one size when I put them on in the morning and a different size by lunch. I’m about ready to go back to wearing men’s jeans like we did before they had all these jeans for women.</p>
<p>^^ I can so relate Wellspring! I thought it was just me but spandex is making me crazy due to the fact that it ‘stretches out’ by the end of the day and it seems that the only way to get them back to their original size is to wash and dry them.</p>
<p>Alrighty. Here’s my two cents. I personally would want nothing higher than mid rise - I want nothing resting near my waist - more the belly button works for me. My current favs are from Gap - they are are skinny , a little stretchy and feel like heaven on.</p>
<p>BUT , my question to you is…what type of shoes are you going to wear with your jeans- to me this makes a big difference in what type of jean you get. If you have nice modern jeans and wear them with clunky white tennis - well you just ruined the look! If you wear flats with long curvy flared jeans …you ruined the look! This is why I sometimes like a couple styles - I am not a big spender on jeans (definitely under $50 with sales) but how I’m going to wear them - with boots? With sporty Pumas? - makes a difference in what jean looks right.</p>
<p>I do find that department store jeans - unless it’s the big buck jeans- can be dowdy. If you need petite, you need to find petite jeans- once you hem a too long pair they can lose their shape/style if you’re taking off much.</p>
<p>I LOVE talking about blue jeans. I haven’t owned any in 30 years. ;)</p>
<p>Check out the current Good Housekeeping. They did an article about finding “not mom jeans” for moms and had some good recommendations. Even better, the staffer who did the testing wears a size 14 so the winners were good for all of us. I like the idea of below waist, but carry weight in my middle so actually like waist high jeans so don’t have any muffin topping. Now I wouldn’t tuck a shirt in to jeans like that, but don’t do that much anyway. They liked coldwater creek and ann taylor…both more trouser cut. For traditional they actually liked Lee and Levi 525s.</p>
<p>Side note…they compared actual measurements of size 10 jeans…there was almost a 5 inch difference in butt measure from J Brand and Lucky. No wonder it’s so hard to find great jeans.</p>
<p>The last type of jean I would wear would be trouser cut ! Really?</p>