What am I gonna do with all this ass inside these jeans?

August 26, 2012 8:11 PM

For my girlfriend: Often the waist on my jeans is too loose, and I look like a plumber when I don't wear a belt. Are there any brands of jeans that have butt/thigh room without a loose waist, perhaps? Or is this a problem for a tailor to solve? I am in NYC, so I have access to approximately every store in the world, but I don't like spending all of the money. I usually wear size 6 or 4 or so.
posted by akgerber to clothing, beauty, & fashion (23 answers total)

Check out Levi's curvy fit. They might work for you, and cost about $70 a pair (less on sale).
posted by larthegreat at 8:14 PM on August 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've seen a few good tutorials on Pinterest for fixing this yourself such as this one.
posted by beyond_pink at 8:24 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding Levi's "curve ID" line. They'll measure you in the store to figure out which curve type will fit you. If that's too expensive... try jeans with more stretch in them?
posted by synchronia at 8:24 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

A number of clothing lines have a "curvy" fit or the equivalent for their jeans: Ann Taylor, Loft, Old Navy, etc. Old Navy uses unintuitive names for their styles, but read the descriptions online and then go try some on. Old Navy's definitely at the cheap end of jeans, so adjust for pricier stores as you wish.
posted by gingerbeer at 8:41 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Similar situation recently addressed in this thread
posted by PaulaSchultz at 8:43 PM on August 26, 2012

I am older (mid 40s) and not uber-fashionable but I have a wide butt and a relatively narrow waist. I live in NYDJ and Gap Long and Lean. I recently tried the new curvy Eddie Bauer jeans and if I'd been in need of jeans, would have bought them.
posted by immlass at 8:47 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

You could also try a higher waisted jean.
posted by two lights above the sea at 8:57 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Express's Eva or even Stella might work for you, and they're currently having a $50 jeans sale.

I don't recommend Old Navy for jeans. They go saggy quickly, and don't recover.
posted by moira at 9:19 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

The hosts of What Not to Wear were always, always telling women with this issue to fit the widest part of you, then take it to a tailor to bring in the waist.
posted by selfmedicating at 9:23 PM on August 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Gap's current "Curvy" denim line and Levi's "Curve ID" have solved this problem for me. I'd damn near given up on finding jeans that fit me until those came out.
posted by erst at 10:09 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry, I'd forgotten Express doesn't sell Eva anymore. Shows you how much I shop.
posted by moira at 10:11 PM on August 26, 2012

Find jeans that fit your rear end (but are loose in the waist) and then go to an alterations shop (tailor). For $20 they'll take in the waist and make it perfect. Been doing that for a decade.
posted by intermod at 10:14 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

The husband buys jeans that fit his thighs/ass, and gets the waist taken in by a tailor. His dad does the same.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 10:35 PM on August 26, 2012

I just bought the newly-redesigned Eddie Bauer Curvy jeans and they are (on my verrrrrry curvy body, I have really muscular thighs and am a pretty extreme hourglass shape) the best fit I have ever had in a jean sans tailoring. They're available in three different lengths at the website. They still gap a little but holy crap it is a million times better than the Gap (or any other chain) curvy line. At least worth a try-on, I think.
posted by charmedimsure at 10:51 PM on August 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Or is this a problem for a tailor to solve?

I feel like this always ends up looking really weird, giving your jeans a really pouchy, drawstring-bag look. Especially if you're like me and have not only a smaller waist, but small hips, to go with your bigger butt and thighs.

I am usually around your size and always have a lot of luck in little hole in the wall urban/hip hop shops. If you're looking for inexpensive just go with more no-name brands. Lately I've happened to lose a bit of weight, which has come a bit more from the butt/thighs, and am finding that the Charlotte Russe "Refuge" jeans are fitting well.
posted by cairdeas at 12:18 AM on August 27, 2012

I could see the Refuge jeans fitting well, because I just bought some and they're very forgiving of my thighs. (I'm a pretty small "athletic" type, but I've been getting more junk in the trunk lately and I liked how they fit my legs and butt but didn't give me a pouchy look in the crotch.)
posted by stoneandstar at 12:32 AM on August 27, 2012

If she is okay with spending some money, I'm around the lower end of her range and, fed up with pants falling off my butt and belts cutting into me, finally splurged on nice jeans. I have found that Paige denim (skyline, if she likes skinnier cuts) and AG jeans will accommodate my butt and refuse to sag. Insanely comfortable and ample coverage. They were expensive but not top-of-the-line price range and Nordstrom at least seems to put Paige on sale sometimes. I also have a pair of Tommy Holfiger outlet twill pants (not quite jeans- less give) that held up far better and with a more supportive waistband than jeans bought at the same time.
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:46 AM on August 27, 2012

Higher waist jeans. If you don't like that look, find a good tailor--it is truly remarkable how beautifully they can make jeans fit. I never had any luck with any of the so called curvy fit jeans myself.
posted by Go Banana at 6:34 AM on August 27, 2012

For those recommending the tailor option, can you please tell me the terms for what to *ask* for? How does a tailor make this fix, and what do you call it?

For those recommending curvy jeans, what is it about how the jeans are structured/sewn that makes them fit differently?
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:35 AM on August 27, 2012

First, find your measurments. I have an over ten inch differential between my waist and hips and my thighs are not slim. Most of my life I've had jeans that didn't fit, they *always* gapped at the waist.

Until I found Silver Jeans, Suki cut. They are cut wider in the hips but the waist comes in nicely. They also have a bit of lycra that allows them to give a bit. I've found that they are the best fitting on the second day of wear. Also, their sizing is based on waist size and it's very, very close to the real number. Like if your waist actually measures 29 inches, the 29 waist jeans will actually fit.

The tailoring thing will look awkward on jeans unless your tailor is extremely good. I know you don't want to spend a ton of money, but Silver jeans are moderately priced and honestly very much worth it. They last forever and hold up really well. The only reason I've had to buy new jeans since I started wearing Silver is because I got a bit bigger.
posted by teleri025 at 6:53 AM on August 27, 2012

If you usually wear a belt, or untucked tops, here's a cheap and easy fix-make two cuts through the waist band and a bit into the yoke, at the back of the jeans. I usually center my cuts right above the back pockets. Overlap the cut ends as much as necessary to get a good waist fit and zigzag the cuts closed. I'm pretty small, and the adjustment difference doesn't mess up the fit at all. In most cases, it makes my butt look pretty nice! I wear mostly thrift store jeans, so you could certainly hit up your local Goodwill or Salvo and see how this works for cheap. It's especially good with stretch jeans. I used to do a complicated adjustment that involved picking apart the waistband and making darts in the yoke, then cutting and fitting the waistband back together, but the cut and overlap method actually works much better. And it's not rocket science; you can eyeball how much gap you have, and adjust the overlaps to compensate.

If you match thread color to jeans color, the fix is not terribly noticable either. (I don't even do that. If the jeans are worn and light, I use white thread, if newer or dark, black.)
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:49 AM on August 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have had pretty good success with Gap Long and Lean, and another MeFite turned me on to Lucky's Sofia jean (wait for their sales, which are often). If you can, avoid the tailor, it can be done, but you often end up increasing bulk in the waistline with the added seams.

(Curvy jeans are simply cut with a different curve from waist to hip, both on the sides and on the back, the back is called a swayback adjustment, good for women with large waist/hip ratio, it brings in the back of the pants so it doesn't gape).
posted by nanook at 12:19 PM on August 27, 2012

I have a very curvy figure with a narrow waist, and used to absolutely dread buying new jeans. A few years ago I discovered Vigoss brand jeans and have never looked back! Their jeans all have a yoke in the back tailored to fit a narrow waist, along with pleasantly well-reinforced belt loops. I like also like Vigoss because I can get a variety of cuts (skinny, boot, etc) and know they'll all have the narrow-fitting waist that I need. I stock up on them from Nordstrom Rack (when they have them) for about $35, and they're also available with more regularity (but higher prices) at Nordstrom.
posted by copperdrake at 3:12 PM on August 27, 2012