Denim jeans that fit. How hard can it be?

June 27, 2008 3:53 AM

Where in the UK can I find women's jeans that fit me? Levis high-waisted styles fit in the waist and hips, but anything labelled 'skinny' or 'slim' does not agree with my thighs. And I would really prefer something 100% cotton, but at this point I'll try pretty much anything.

It seems that most styles I find are either cut so low as to reveal my appendectomy scar, or gape so much in the back that I have a builder's bum without even trying. Or both. And what is with stretch denim?

My last pair of Levis came from a charity shop in excellent condition, but have now succumbed to the inevitable. My current best-fitting jeans were stolen from my brother. I've been to a Levis store, but the two high-waisted styles they have are too tight for comfort on my legs.

posted by Lebannen to shopping (7 comments total)

Try the ubiquitous H+M? Their jeans in style sqin (dumb dumb name) are skinny and comfy. You may need a belt to avoid the builder's bum though.
posted by eponymouse at 4:51 AM on June 27, 2008

I have the same problem. The only jeans that fit me like jeans are supposed to fit are the bootcut style (both the regular and the 1969 version) from the Gap.
posted by meerkatty at 5:45 AM on June 27, 2008

One thing that I've found makes a significant difference for me is buying 'tall' jeans and then hemming them. That's part of the reason for the gapping at the back. It's generally caused more by their not being enough fabric vertically for the jeans to reach the waist (especially when you're sitting/bending and there's simply more ass sticking out for them to have to wrap around) rather than there being too much fabric in the circumference of the waist.

Though I'm not that tall, and have to hem 4-6 inches off the bottom of a pair of 'tall' jeans, I am quite long through the torso, so buying tall and hemming them gives me much better fit. That obviously won't work well if you want boot cut or flared hems, but for straight leg, it's a pretty good solution.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:51 AM on June 27, 2008

jacquilynne makes a good point, the jeans that fit me best are the "long" length in Marks & Sparks. The best fit of all are their stretch jeans - apparently I look about 2 dress sizes smaller in them so yes, I tend to live in them ;-)

I got my last pair on Ebay, the seller willingly measured from waistband to crotch so that I could be sure that they matched the last pair - you could have a look to see if the old style Levis are on there.
posted by ceri richard at 7:57 AM on June 27, 2008

Seconding the M&S stretch jeans - the Roma range from Per Una sit really well on me and don't do the weird gaping at the back. Obviously, they can't be both stretch and 100% cotton, but they're inexpensive enough and got me back into wearing jeans after years of having nothing but a thrift store pair of Levi's I bought in the US in a fit of dumb luck.

I'm about 90% leg so I can't vouch for the hemming thing, but I do know that they've stopped making all but the boot cut at the moment, although there's the odd pair of straight legged ones still on the racks, and I found two pairs in my weird size yesterday.
posted by carbide at 10:00 AM on June 27, 2008

Hah! Here's another one coming in to say M&S. If the thought of well fitting, well priced jeans grates though, I also found that Replay does some really comfy boy-jeans that work on girls. Also girl-jeans, but I don't know how they fit.
posted by Iteki at 1:11 PM on June 27, 2008

Thanks everyone! I've already tried H&M and Gap with no joy (I found a really lovely style of not-quite-jeans in Gap, but they just did. not. fit.) but I'll be heading to M&S next, and trying Ebay as well. Replay looks like they'd be a little more expensive than I'd like, unless I found the absolute perfect pair!

I've also got a longer waist-hip distance than average, apparently, so I'll start trying on the longer styles with an eye to cutting bits off (or getting someone else to do the hemming, heh).
posted by Lebannen at 8:20 AM on June 28, 2008