So the good news is that I’ve… mysteriously lost almost all the baby weight at 2 weeks postpartum? So, you know, that’s cool. But it doesn’t mean anything FITS. I think there’s been a certain amount of… redistribution. My maternity pants don’t work for me now but I can’t actually wear my prepregnancy jeans either. The good thing is that mostly I wear pajama pants anyway, but I can’t do that forever, you know?
And I get the feeling that I’ve sort of, you know, missed the jeans boat at some point. I’m still wearing boot cut because that’s what I wore in college and anything else feels weird? And too young! I’m 34, and the past two winters I did dabble in the whole jeggings-and-long-shirts/sweaters thing, but it felt a little… weird. (I called them my “sorostitute pants”.) I felt kind of exposed. And kind of fat. And kind of like nobody would tell me if it looked bad and I can’t trust my husband on this one. My husband wears dad jeans and does not understand what “dad jeans” are or that jeans can be anything other than “just jeans”. Although I do think he understands the concept of “mom jeans”. With patented front-butt technology!
So am I… supposed to be wearing skinny jeans now? (Please don’t say “wear what you want to wear!” - that’s not really the question I’m asking.) I assume I am because I just got an e-mail from Lands End of all places about their new denim and most of it is skinny jeans, and if Lands End is doing it you know you’re behind the curve. If I am, where the hell am I supposed to get them that isn’t for teenagers and isn’t expensive? I wore around a 12 pre-pregnancy and sometimes have issues with muffin top. God knows what I have issues with now (besides porn star boobs, THAT’s a change.)
If I’m not supposed to wear skinny jeans what am I supposed to wear? And how do you figure out what shoes to wear with the skinny ones if you arent’ wearing Kardashian-style heels? What do you wear with your sandals or your tennis shoes? How are you supposed to figure it out now? I swear I feel like I’ve suddenly turned into my own mom - I was just looking at jeans online and actually said out loud and to the baby “Well, I think it’s ridiculous that people pay for jeans with holes in them.” Hi, mom!
Land’s End does still have a lot of straight leg and boot cut jeans, plus three different rises. Ignore the skinny jeans. One day, their tyranny must end!
See, that’s not my question - if I wanted to I could still assuredly buy a pair of those fly-ass Gap overalls I wore in high school, but that doesn’t mean it’s what I ought to be wearing.
That’s something else I don’t get - how on earth is what they’re calling “straight leg” these days not a skinny jean? That looks like a skinny jean to me.
Avoid the skinny jeans unless you are in fact quite skinny. I’m about the same size as you and I prefer straight leg jeans with a mid-rise. I’m cheap, so I go for basic Levi’s. I used to buy them at a local Western/tack shop, but now I buy them from Amazon.
If you are interested in more…adult jeans, try Ann Taylor or their related stores (Loft, Ann Taylor Outlet). I still prefer my Levi’s but the Ann Taylor jeans are more appropriate for work.
Unexpectedly, I’ve found that the one time skinny jeans work on me is during pregnancy. I’m currently 5 1/2 months along and I love my skinny jeans from Motherhood Maternity. I think it’s because they balance out the bigger tops and they aren’t skin-tight skinny.
Mid-rise skinny or straight leg. You can get them from Gap, Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor - basically anywhere that doesn’t cater to a teen customer. Try on different sizes and get the one that fits, not the number you think you should be. Women’s sizing is ridiculous and arbitrary.
I have several styles of jeans that I wear, so I’m probably no help. Most are mid-rise, which thank god is a thing now because regular waist jeans have always too high for me.
I have a pair of boot cut, a pair of straight leg, and a pair of “skinny”. I don’t really think skinny is the right word for them even though that’s what the label says. I would more call them “tapered leg”. Which pair I wear depends on what else I’m wearing that day.
On “What Not To Wear” they said you should never wear a retro style if you already wore it when it was new. That means I’m exempt from all skinny-cut, patterned, & colored jeans, hooray! (my light pink with black spatters jeans were easily the coolest garment I owned in middle school.)
I personally think skinny jeans (meaning painted-on tight through the whole leg) are extremely unflattering if you are not a tiny-assed 14 year old. And lets face it, following teenaged trends starts to look pretty pathetic after a certain point.
I usually buy my jeans at Old Navy; bootcut, in the “sweetheart” cut which is for ladies that have a big difference between hip & waist. They’re still selling boot-cut, as is the Gap, so while it’s not “fashion forward” its not out of baseline fashion either. I usually buy low rise but not “hey wanna see my pubic hair?” low rise. Kind hits under my bellybutton.