Lauren, are you familiar with truejeans.com? This is a site where you input your measurements and they recommend brands and styles that will fit you (and even give each one a fit rating from 1 to 5). Many of their brands are quite pricey (too pricey for me), but that might give you an idea of some brands to try. I have a similar problem, though my measurements aren't quite as far apart as yours. Worn brand jeans was recommended for me; I bought a pair despite the price and they are the best fitting jeans I've ever had. They also recommended a brand called "Little in the Middle" especially for those who have trouble with the waist gape. It might be worth a try. Another site that recommends jeans not quite so far up on the price spectrum is zafu.com, but there you don't put in measurements so I'm not as confident of the results.

Hi Lauren, I have similar issues (I'm 33-25-37, 5'6"),
and I have found the following helpful:

1. The tailor can take in the waist, however, make sure that you did not get a too big pair to begin with. Most jeans stretch a lot with wear, so I always get the tightest possible fit in the hip area, as long it is still comfortable.
2. Joe's Jeans 'Honey' was made for figures like ours. They are pricey, but can be found at discount places such as Filene's basement, TJMaxx etc. for about half a retail price.
3. I have no experience with custom places, sorry.

I've used Zafu.com in the past and didn't find it very helpful. The jeans they recommended are fine but not great on me. No experience with truejeans.com; it definitely sounds more helpful if you actually input your measurements.

Hi Lauren,

I don't think you're alone in this problem, and I doubt you're beyond a tailor's help. There are lots of "curvy" jeans on the market these days. Gap has them and so does Banana Republic (they're called contour fit at BR). Tanya's suggestion of Joe's "Honey" is also good. They all curve through the hip and thigh rather than go straight down. Also go for stretch denim and make sure you buy the smallest size that you feel comfortable in, since the stretch will cause it to grow throughout the day. Since there is such a large size disparity between your waist and hips you'll still probably need to get them taken in, but perhaps not by as much.

Also definitely go to a good tailor and ask for their input. Nordies does in-store tailoring as well, so if you find some jeans you like but they're not perfect, they can adjust it for you, Truejeans.com is good, but too expensive for me. It might be worth it in your case since you are hard to fit. Becky mentioned "Little in the Middle" which is probably just what you're looking for. The are sold on truejeans.com.

Thanks much for the input so far, ladies.

I've tried Zafu before. When I go to the websites of whatever jeans they recommend and check out the sizing chart it's way off for me.

Truejeans.com seems to think I'll love anything over $175... yikes! It is neat that it tells you what size to try and whether you'll need hemming or not.

I'll have to research the Little in the Middle and Worn...

At these price ranges I might as well try the custom sites and hope for the best since it's only 1/2 the price and they should fit like a glove (in theory).

I'll agree with everyone who wears Joe's Jeans in Honey. They are the only jeans I find that fit me. It's really frustrating, but at least they work on me. If you don't want to spend full price I have had good luck finding them at the Saks outlet (Off Fifth) for about half of the price.

I also find that I have better luck when the rise on the jeans is low. In those cases, the waistband isn't really coming up to my waist, so there isn't as much of a gap. I know a lot of people have very strong feelings on low-rise jeans, however, so they aren't for everyone.

As you can see, your problem is definitely not unique. The fact that so many of us share this issue, however, makes me wonder why there aren't more manufacturers catering to this body type.

Hmmm. I'm 33 inch hips, 25 inch waist (on a good day - probably close to 26 inches). I find that if it fits in my hips, it's too tight in my waist; if it fits in my waist, it's a good 2-3 inches in the hips. So I'm confused, because your measurements are typical to any size chart I've ever seen.

Are you trying on different sizes? Ignoring the label, and trying a size up and a size down? Have you tried petite sizes?

When you say your waist is 26 inches, are you talking about the skinniest part of your torso, or around the belly button? For example, my skinniest part is right below my rib cage and several inches above the belly botton. At the belly button, I'm closer to 31-32 inches - and there's only about an inch between belly button and hip.

If you are trying on low-waisted jeans, you might simply be petite, or you might have a long torso.... because on low-waisted jeans the waistband falls nowhere near the true waist.

38" hips are more like a size 8, shiny. It sounds like Lauren is a 2/4 on top and an 8 on the bottom.

Have you tried Lucky "Easy Riders"?

I have never tried Lucky's. Those look nice... but, with only a 32" inseam I'd have to wear the flattest of flats for them to be the proper length.

Apparently the Macy's closest my house carries them. I'll have to brave the mall one of these nights then.

I wish I had a camera handy last night when I told my boyfriend that the kind of jeans I'm looking to buy cost the same as an oil change + all new shocks on my truck :D

Shiny~
I measure 26 at my natural waist (just below my ribs) and 38 at the widest part of my hips. I usually prefer lower rise pants, so somewhere around 33" on me. Howerver, most sizing charts (to me at least) seem vague in exactly what part they are referring to when they claim a waist measurement. I assume that they mean natural waist, and that each individual cut varies accordingly. On top of that I'm pretty tall, so then the inseams, rise, and all that start to make it more difficult.
It's funny. I always grab 3 or 4 of the same jeans when I go to try on. I've worn size 6 - 12 depending on the brand and style.

I did check out the Little in the Middle site.. it looks like it could be promising. I think next payday I'll try to set aside the $90 or so to order a pair and see how that goes.

LOL... I had a senior moment I guess.. for some reason, I read that as 35 hips and 38 chest!!!!!!

I now own 1 pair of jeans that make me feel happy, accomplished, stylish, and sexy!!!

I checked out truejeans.com and entered in all of my measurments exactly. It recommended tons of uber-expensive brands, but I started looking at eBay and was glad to see that my size in most of these big brands could be found for uner $100.

But! I went back to TJMaxx on a whim and found a pair of Hudson Jeans in my exact size. It's like they were made for me. They're dark wash that come within 1/4" of the ground in my favorite black boots. And I don't remember the last time I felt fabric so soft... I don't even have to wear a belt with them. The rise is about 2" higher than I'm used to, but a small price to pay for this awesome find.
Plus I came away with 2 nice sleeveless tops, one black, one white, with pleating detail at the scoop neckline (yay!). So $100 over the weekend went a looooong way toward getting my "basics" built up. I'm going to totally adjust my view of TJMaxx and not shy away from the "expensive looking" sections :)

I'm going to keep my eye on eBay for the same style # and get a pair hemmed for flats.

YAY! Glad it all worked out Lauren. Nothing feels quite like finding jeans that actually fit.

Fantastic find, Lauren!

I am so glad you've found your jeans Lauren! Hooray!
Would you mind posting the name of that style for the rest of us who may want to check them out? Thanks!

Fabulous!

Hmm... I don't see a style name, but here are the details I do have:
Cut A00164
Style W565DFZ
Color AEY

I would say they are a medium dark rinse, toward the flare side of boot cut, with a rise to about 1" below natural waist. Pretty plain, no detailing except for the Hudson logo patch just above the rear pocket (which is a basic jeans pocket).

The only thing I would change:
I wish I hadn't spent so much time shopping so stingily (a word?) for all these years. I can't believe how good I feel in something so simple as a pair of jeans! It actually changes the way you look at shoes and tops... wow.