I might try this sometime, but I suspect that men’s jeans don’t look as good on me or fit as well as women’s jeans.
I have had that experience SO many times with women’s jeans. LL Bean is one of the few places where I’ve been able to buy women’s pants that fit me reasonably well and also have decently-sized pockets. Eddie Bauer also used to have decently-sized pockets but I’m not sure if that’s still the case. Note that both of those are more “sporty” kinds of retailers so they’re liable to attract people who are more interested in function than form, though LL Bean also sells what I’d characterize as dressy casual kinds of pants.
The thing about mens’ pants is no one pays much attention to them absent some obvious concern. With a modicum of effort it is usually possible to purchase pants which fit adequately without much extra fuss. Of course one brand’s 34 waist equals another’s 38, of course. There are companies whose stuff always looks good and ones that never do, and quickly shrink besides. And pockets are usually adequate in mens’ clothing except on cheaply made things (which does not mean they are priced low). This does not seem to be the case for everyone, however.
I wore ill-fitting men’s jeans for years because they were cheap and long enough for my tall self. But I am a high-waisted, full-figured female and men don’t possess high, small waists compared to their hips. While I can wear them, I find men’s jeans to be uncomfortable and unflattering. Back when I was in high school, women’s jeans had real pockets I could use. Those are the ones I want now.
Wait, there was a time in the past when women’s jeans came with useful pockets? If so, I’d agree that’s one of the ways that the past might have been better. I really did think that the current situation was the state of affairs since the inception of the idea of “Women’s Jeans”. I’m apparently not alone. I just informed my wife about this, and she asked “What the fuck happened?”
Hehehe, as I said before, I’m not really sure men’s jeans fit anyone well. If they do, I’m not that anyone. In addition to a marked lack of buttocks, I also have short legs. If I don’t want to hem the jeans or just turn up the cuffs, I’m going to a specialty store or a tailor. And I’m probably wearing a belt to keep them up, either way.
And really, go to a tailor? I can run a sewing machine just fine, I’m just too lazy to either pull it out or visit a tailor. So, a belt and turning up the cuffs is what I usually do.
Craft stores. The craft aisles of both Walmart and Dollar Tree. Basically anywhere that sells craft beads will happily sell you 1"x2" or 1"x1.5" bags to sort them into.
Here’s a video I just watched on women’s pockets, based primarily on what has happened between the 1920s and now. The presenter talks about how the influences of styles, of teen girl magazines, and actually compared some jeans.
Her claim BTW is that, as long as you buy from smaller companies, the pocket situation is a lot better for women than it was 10 years ago.
I used to wear men’s jeans when I was an early teen. They were cheaper. But then mid-teens my proportions shifted, and men’s jeans were hella uncomfortable.
“Fits perfectly” for women means “conforms tightly to their personal individual contour.” Comfort has nearly zero to do with it. Functionality has exactly zero to do with it.
“Fits perfectly” for men means “Usually doesn’t fall off, doesn’t ever bind, and has room for all my pocket crap.” Comfort is primary, functionality is secondary, and concerns about matching your contour are simply absent.
It is not surprising jeans are very different for the two shapes of people when their measures of merit are far more vastly different than are their physical shapes.
There is a product for women that mirror’s men’s profile of desiderata. They’re called pajamas or sweat pants. Shapeless bags with pockets, and potentially pockets galore.
That’s not my definition. My definition of fits perfectly is comfortable, has pockets, and I’m not forever trying to yank them up to my waist because the damn spandex expanded when I sat down but didn’t contract again when I stood up. Yep, that is an issue with modern women’s jeans, especially for fat ladies. But it is a problem for me with men’s jeans too, not because spandex but because the proportions are wrong.
Neither men’s nor women’s pants fit me right. I have too much hip and thigh for the men’s versions, and too thick a waist for the women’s versions. I’m too short for either; and while I might be the right inseam for women’s petites, women’s petites also have a short rise, and I need a long rise. In men’s the rise and the inseam are independent; but even the shortest inseams usually available are a little too long.
And I don’t sew; and can’t afford a tailor.
So I wear men’s loose-fit pants with the cuffs rolled up. At least that way I get pockets that function.
This is not a technique that would work if I had the sort of job at which you’'re supposed to be dressed a certain way.
Granted. That’s probably not most women’s definition either.
But for some reason it does seem to be most clothing designer’s definition, whether we’re talking “designer” = fancy or just ordinary clothes.
Why that disconnect persists over time is one of the great mysteries. You’d think somebody would make a fortune selling clothes that meet your definition of “fit”, not theirs.
Actually, I’ve been wearing men’s pajama pants for years, because comfort, pockets, and long enough for me. But they have two drawbacks A) I can’t wear them to the office and, B) they are no good as heavy work wear. But they are good enough for kicking around the house; that I’ll grant you.
A number of years ago I bought several shirts that had a narrow buttonable pocket on the upper left arm. I can’t remember if they were advertised as having any particular purpose, but they were just the right size to hold the flip-phone I used at the time. This was particularly useful when I was flying, because it was much easier to get at my phone in that pocket than to try to dig it out of my pants pocket.
Unfortunately, the pocket isn’t wide enough to hold my current phone, so now it’s essentially useless.
I don’t know about that - I wear jeans that I find comfortable and that have useful pockets although they might be a little smaller than the pockets on men’s jeans. ( I don’t actually have a problem finding jeans with usable pockets , it’s other sorts of pants that don’t have pockets. ) Butwhat I mostly see around me is women wearing form-fitting pants - they fit tightly from the waist to the ankle and if they have pockets, they must be useless because of the way the pants fit. These women could absolutely buy the same straight-legged relaxed fit jeans I do - but since they choose not to , I assume they prefer the form-fitting styles ( some of which look like denim)
