I take some small comfort in knowing that sometimes even professional stylists have difficulty filling wardrobe holes! I think my search for faded denim may be tricky, then, as well, since a curvier figure is even more likely to see "cling." I've sized up (after a big gulp) two or even three sizes trying for slouch, and I get what Suz described so well! Wit and Wisdom was a real bust for me, for example.

Oh well, I guess we must approach this like great hunters on Safari!

Oh, poo. I figured the dye would come of if one washed them.

I used to have a great slouchy pair in 100% cotton from Lucky Brand, but those would be about 9 years old now, too.

Angie, have you tried Acne jeans? Totokaelo sells them. I have one pair of straight legs and they're pretty substantial. They are very long though.

i know how u feel before i was the one who was so bummed that barely could find choices of good pair of jeans that strech and fit my body have to stick with skirts even in winter!!! but i see now lots of strechy jeans and less hard ones that make me look figureless ...I think is bit unfair of all jean industry to stick with one choice of fabric there should be variety ...cuz everybody have different taste

Angie, I ordered these three pairs to try. I have not received them yet but I figure I would share. I usually get the x-longs for extra length. You could go for long if you want to avoid the cropped look. ( I soooo hear you on that)

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/p.....d=cat90120

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/p.....cat5070093

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/p.....d=cat90120

Is 2% spandex too much for what you're looking for? I've been happy with most of my Gap jeans. They will start to bag after several all-day wears before washing and machine drying. But the first and second washes typically don't do that for me.

I'm a recent (year and a half) raw denim convert,...APC petit standard unisex and it does come in small sizes...but it does take a while to fade in.

Angie, have you ever tried Acne? With 2 percent elastane they feel to me like real cotton denim (they make some style with more stretch, beware). A few years ago I gave up a pair in a closet purge that would fit me now :(....they are a bit more pricey than many brands, but sometimes one can fine a sale or bite the bullet and say it's worth it.

They stock them at Totokaelo in Seattle (next to Eliot Bay Books on Capitol HIll now). They also have Hope, another Swedish brand, and R13, an Italian one, as well as your former favorite J Brand. Here' s link to their denim page: http://totokaelo.com/store/clothing/denim

Good luck in your search! I'll be interested to know what you find.

p.s. oops, double sugegstion, me and Annagybe!

Also, I have not seen them in person, but heard good things about the denim quality of Imogene and Willie, made by a young couple in Nashville, the old fashioned way: http://www.imogeneandwillie.com

I couldn't agree more. Thin, stretchy denim has its place, but when I look at fabric labels these days, I wonder if the material can really be called denim due to the high percentage of components that are not cotton.

I wonder if Dior Homme jeans would fit the bill?

Some details about the jeans:
http://www.milanstyle.co.uk/st.....mme-jeans/

And a pic on a real person, blogger Pret a Porter:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6.....238097254/

Thanks so much for the suggestions and thoughts ladies! I guess I am not alone in feeling this way about denim at the moment. Funny though, none of my clients have voiced the same denim fabric concerns as me. I bet this fabric is selling well at retail. But to Rachy's point - there MUST be variety.

Ah! Judy and Anna. I haven't had ACNE jeans on my own body but have a few clients who love them. I need to get to that store on Capitol Hill - in walking distance from where I live in Madrona. Thanks

Zap! That's another good suggestion. AE makes great stuff.

K can shop, the matchsticks aren't faded and cropped length at the moment. But agree that the fit and fabric is quite good. About a 9 on me. Not a 10.

Ornella, I bet you're having a crazy problem finding length!!! Can you order online?

If I look at my fave jeans:

Jodphur - thick and no stretch

Zippered J. Brand Skinnies - stretchy but VERY thick and stiff

Marc Jacobs - thick and 1% stretch

Gap BF's - quite soft and thin but not all that stretchy

Sears Slouchies - very stretchy but very thick

AG - THICK! 9 years old.

And the hunt is on.

It's so interesting your 9-year-old AG jeans are thick, whereas my new ones are on the thin side. I found the same difference between a 6-year-old pair of Paige jeans and some newer ones I recently had. Proof again that you have to know what you want and to leave no retail stone unturned!

The only thick jeans I have seen lately are SOME of the lucky brand jeans (the older styles are not that stretchy thin material) and AG's. What about outlet stores? Sometimes the outlets have older seasons clothes, maybe they will still have heavier weight denim.

I have also noticed the thinning of jeans, and I'm not a big fan either. It's making me hold off on jeans shopping for a bit longer. And my eyes are growing tired of all the super tight bottoms, tight jeans, tight leggings, I don't mind body fitting but stuff looks painted on the legs these days.

Huh, this is not on my radar at all. Since in Germany the American premium brands are priced astronomically, I just go into Diesel or Miss Sixty and I always find something exciting. They both carry low-rise styles.

I hear you and agree!

I am not a good denim long-timer except good ole' Riders and such for working in yard. So I tried to "step up" to dressy darkwash, crisp jeans.

I am finding too much spandex content and also blends with rayon or other.
Then for fit you have to go for a smaller size that fits by way of stretching over your rear--not just the effect of having a nice rear-view but more like a control-top jean instead of a good fit by way of rise, cut, etc.

NOT what I expected.

Anybody tried the Halogen trouser jean? I'm afraid it will be the same way but was aiming to experiment with some more "trouser" jeans.

My DL 1961s are thick, too...but with a lot of stretch as they're a legging type jean. So not what you want. However, they're my very best for tucking with tall boots. SUPER sleek. Very polished looking. I have not seen their recent offerings but perhaps if they made a slouchy it would also be thicker fabric.

Angie, try Barney's Coop, I've had good luck there. Rag and Bone and AG still do that stiff denim, too. And Acne, as AG mentioned.

OH!!! Vintage Helmut Langs, Angie! What is your waist size?

I usually prefer my jeans on the softer side and like a bit of stretch assuming that they don't bag. But I also enjoy having a variety and sporting different looks, so I don't stick strictly to one type. I find J Brand has quite a bit of variation in types of denim. And I just bought a pair of Current and Elliot slouchy stilettos that feel like nothing else in my closet. More along the lines of what you are looking for maybe. Not much stretch, thicker but still able to slouch. They are interesting.

Angie--I have a pair from Madewell that are far thicker and more structured than my other jeans and have no discernible stretch. They are higher rise, but I wonder if they offer various rise options. Plus, can't beat the price.

However, I know you won't be TRULY happy with your denim until you get yourself a pair of custom made jeans from Imogene + Willie. I've yet to make the pilgrimage (to Nashville) but have long been obsessed with the story, the process, the product (they look VERY crisp/structured), the whole thing!
Check it out: http://www.imogeneandwillie.com/
They do also have some pre-made/ready to wear options, though I'm not sure the cuts are what you want.

I have - and love - these:

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=243791002

100% cotton! Cheap! Good fading! Comes with a 35 inch inseam for all you long-legged lasses. But not really low rise.

I tried the ones CF is talking about. I had hopes because they look super fab on her. But they didn't work for me. Too big. ;-(

How dissappointing, Angie! If it's that hard for you to find the right jeans, imagine how hard it is for us regular folk. I can see why you prefer the stiffer fabric of the older jeans, I wonder why they are so hard to come by. You are probably just ahead of the curve a little and perhaps they are just around the corner. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Have you tried Wranglers? They're an official sponsor for the Calgary Stampede as well as other professional rodeos. You can bet those cowboys as well as the gal barrel racers aren't about to put any flimsy stretch denim on their hard-working, but good-looking backsides That's where I'm going to start my search for jeans this year. We're lucky to have several retailers that carry them around here.

It's funny how we are all different - the only reason I'm willing to wear jeans now is because they stretch. I think the old denim was so uncomfortable, and I hated how it shrank every wash. At the same time, I don't think the stretch fabric works for every style. I think they should offer both - funny how fashion is so black/white with this sort of thing.

Thanks, ladies!

I do not want another pair of Gap jeans at this stage. I know their collection well because I am there frequently with clients, and things aren't tickling my fancy for now.

Dana, most of my jeans are size 25. The MJ's are a 26. But I am sizing up on ALL my jeans these days because I'm being rebellious about things looking tight - so a 26 is better. Must be quite low rise. I've tried the entire Rag & Bone collection (relaxed styles) and the fabric is unfortunately just the same. AG no better unless it's bootcut.

Auburn, I will try Madewell. I haven't had those on for a while. I do like a low rise though. I tuck and belt into skinnies half the time, and low rises look much better on my body type to my eye when I style like that.

I will keep you posted!

Angie, I was about to suggest Madewell too. I have a pair of skinnies that is made out of fairly rough, typical "jean" material. The contrast between that material and the material of my COH Ambers is pretty stark.

How frustrating!

Come to think of it, I have noticed that there don't seem to be many non-stretchy jeans out there. My two-year-old Paiges are stiff, but not really any since then.

I am dreading the return of high-waisted jeans -- they truly do not work on my short-torsoed body. And count me as another who is very frustrated with the cropped lengths and short inseams -- a few years ago, you could find 34" inseams, but no more. I am sticking with straight and skinny jeans for as long as they're just not making the jeans long enough for me to have PPL with at least a little bit of a heel.

Sadly, this is the nature of fashion and retail. What is not considered on trend is generally not made because most retail outlets won't stock it. When I was very young, virtually ALL jeans were raw. That's simply the way they were made, and every kid started school with cardboard stiff, deep indigo pants. Then people started putting them through the washer with bleach and rocks, until finally manufacturers caught on and did the distressing themselves. When I was in junior high, girls' and women's pants ALL had a high waist - most came up to my ribs. No one made women's pants with a lower rise, and it wasn't until younger women started buying and wearing men's jeans that they started making and selling "boyfriend" jeans. In college, they started making the legs on jeans narrower and narrower until almost all jeans had zippers at the ankle. It wasn't until alternative kids started sewing panels into the bottom of their jeans (this was all over college towns) that suddenly wide legs - REALLY wide legs - came to retail again.

And every trend is taken to its ridiculous extreme before the tide starts to turn again. Distressed jeans became OTT in the 80's, with threadbare jeans being sold everywhere. Low rise went extreme to the point where people couldn't wear underwear without it showing. Wide legged jeans for young people looked more like skirts than pants. And now the little bit of stretch that made jeans more comfortable for a lot of people is being taken to the extreme and everything fits like "pajama jeans" *shudder*

I don't know what the answer is, except time. The trend will change, but it seems that denim trends come after people want them and are sick of what's out there and never before.

I second Mona's recommendations for Levis. I just ordered a pair and they're definitely thick and slightly stiff. They remind me of the pairs you had as a kid where you had to wash them once or twice to loosen them up.

For a while Levis was also making a higher end line, but unfortunately I don't see them on the site anymore. This is my first try with the curve ID (I ordered slight curve) and they do seem to fit better.

Angie, I have been finding the same thing! That is why last fall when I found myself forced to renew my denim stock due to weight change, I was very discouraged. I found something that worked for me with substantially thicker denim, still a bit of stretch in it, but so far they have held well. (Talbot http://www.talbots.com/online/.....on=Regular). Now these work for my shape, being very conservative, but I don't know if they are the trendiest! This thread has been very informative, with lots of great suggestions and eye-opening comments.

Echo, LOL! Great comment.