Advice For Jeans Purchase - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Shopping

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Advice For Jeans Purchase

Windchime

Veteran

Hello, YLFers--this is the first post I've started here, and I'm asking for advice. My next shopping priority is one pair of terrific (I hope!) jeans. I've found NYDJ that fit me well and could purchase those but want to do more research first. I am tall--5'11''--and have long legs. I'm about ten pounds overweight and most of it is in the middle of my body--pear shape? Until YLF, I was blissfully unaware that all my jeans are actually too short! Yes, sometimes ignorance can be bliss. Also, I'd never heard of premium denim. Incredibly, I did thrift a pair of Nicole Miller wide leg jeans a couple of years ago, without realizing what they were. I'm going to let out the hem on them and the length will be fine but I want something additional that's not wide leg. These jeans will need to go through a cold, snowy Midwest winter--no crop length right now! They will be mainly for casual activities but could sometimes go to work. I wear a lot of gray, navy, black, and some turquoise, purple, pink, and white. Footwear will be ankle boots, ballet flats, and snow boots. (hopefully dress boots eventually) I've really been admiring narrow leg jeans in your posts here but would feel self conscious in something too tight fitting.
Okay, here are my main questions:
Would you suggest black, blue, or light grey jeans for my first really good pair? (The Nicole Miller wide legs are slate grey.)
If blue, dark or light?
What general style--bootcut? Or?
Any premium brands you really like which have long inseams?
Anything else I should think about?
Thanks very much for reading and any advice you share. I'm off to work so may not be able to reply for a while.

Shopping

25 replies

Latest reply was from Ornella

Neel

Veteran

For the mid section heavy (like me), I prefer the low rise or the high rise. The mid rise seems to be the trickiest fits out there for someone like me who always tends to have my sides spilling over my jeans. I am petite so cannot really advice you on the length issue.

If you are not into skinnies, the relaxed skinny and slim fit are much more breathable and yet provide the same effect. Bootcuts are very flattering too for us pear shaped girls! I would say dark wash blue jeans (non faded, clean) for a start, because they seem more dressier than the light wash ones. Then you could probably add a light wash for a more casual look. I prefer black trousers over black jeans for some reason! And a white jeans is a lovely change to the regular blues!

I cannot really advice you about stores since I do not know where you are located. But the Next stores have recently launched the *sexy* jeans line which I find true to the name! I bought a low rise skinny and a high rise bootcut in the last week in dark washes. Love their fit! And for a change no muffin top!

Windchime

Veteran

Neel--thanks so much for this very helpful response! And for reading my lengthy tome. I didn't realize how wordy it was until I saw it on the Forum. This is exactly the kind of advice I was hoping to get. I'm going to try relaxed skinnies, slim fits, and bootcuts, all in a dark wash. I'll look into Next stores; doesn't sound familiar.
One more thing--I hope I gave you a rating; please let me know if it doesn't show up.

Marmee

Veteran

Hi Windchime,

I wear jeans almost every day, but I'm much shorter than you are. I do know that some brands have different lengths. I really like both blue and black jeans, but I don't wear my grey ones as much. Right now I've been wearing darker jeans more, but I just read Angie's comment (on facebook?) that she likes light jeans because she doesn't have to worry about the dye getting on her other clothes). For shape, you might like straight leg jeans, because you can fit them into your boots, but they won't be too tight).

Good luck!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I would definitely recommend blue for your first really good pair of jeans. They're classic.

Bootcuts are super flattering to many shapes, but the one issue in the midwest winter is dragging the hems in the snow. Because if they are the right length -- they will get wet and yucky. So....I would advise just trying a few pairs of straight leg and skinnies as well. These are very versatile cuts that can be a lot more flattering to various body types than you might think -- providing you find the right ones, in the right fabric weight.

Warning: jeans shopping is not for the faint of heart and it will probably not be easy. But you will find your perfect pair!

I am shorter and don't have the same fit issues re length, so I'll let our taller friends chime in.

Windchime

Veteran

Thanks, Marmee!
What is the difference between straight leg and bootcut? Are bootcuts wider? I have a lot to learn.

Nicole D

Veteran

HI there! We are the same height. I'm an apple. I find NYDJ very hit or miss, the leggings are the ones that fit me best, they look more like skinnies. I would say if you are investing a dark blue is the way to go. So versatile and can be dressed up, even worn to the office. Brands with longer inseams: Mavi, dish, 7 for all mankind, rock and the republic, some cuts in Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Gap, and Silver. Check out Long Tall Sally too!

Marmee

Veteran

I think of bootcuts as wide at the hem (but slightly snug in the thighs and knees).

I think of straight legs as also slightly snug in the thighs, and don't have extra fabric flapping around a the hem. Skinny jeans can sometimes be straight leg jeans (according to Angie)

Check out these Angie posts:
http://youlookfab.com/2013/05/.....s-in-2013/
http://youlookfab.com/2013/01/.....nny-jeans/
http://youlookfab.com/2009/08/.....nny-jeans/

Windchime

Veteran

Thanks for your encouragement, Suz. I'm going to try to be PPP and try all sorts of fits and styles--Jeans 101!
Hi, Nicole--nice to meet another tall YLFer. Thanks very much for suggesting some brands with long inseams; this will save a little time. (although the hunt is part of the fun for me.)

Windchime

Veteran

Again, thanks to all who waded through my LONG post! I'm off to a rehearsal and won't be able to check in for a few hours. Happy Halloween!

Joy

Veteran

I also think some shade of dark or medium blue.
I am shorter than you are but you might try Gap Really Skinny or Always straight in a tall length. My first premium denim purchase was Citizens of Humanity Elstons. They are a straight jean and were several inches too long for me. I got mine a few years ago though.
If you are near a Nordstrom Rack, you can find premium denim at a discount and try a variety of brands

kkards

Veteran

windchime-- while i recommend trying on in B&M stores, you may find a lot more selection on line. many stores/brands will offer extended lengths on line. plus this will allow you to try the jeans on with different shoes. don't forget that denim, like everything else, can be altered, so if you find a pair that fit well, you can always have them made to fit perfectly.

Neel

Veteran

Hey windchime! The rating does show Thanks for that!

Also, Next is a UK brand. They do have an online presence but I think you should try the brands in your vicinity. I prefer in-store trial for pants as they can be so different even in the same store and online is a huge hit or miss! Also returns will be much easier.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Hello another Tall Lady. I had a good laugh here: "Until YLF, I was blissfully unaware that all my jeans are actually too short!" Yup, with my 6ft2 I could relate to every word your wrote Gone are the days when finding things that managed to hit my ankle bone were considered a huge success.

One thing to bear in mind - with this new knowledge about pants length shopping will be even harder and more frustrating. So many will be ruled out on that criteria alone. It is a long process. With the winter coming you'll see many threads on the forum about difficulties when shopping for boots for narrow calves. Our stumbling block are the simple, ordinary pair of jeans. But, there is a pair out there for sure.

Another observation, if you carry your weight around the middle it may not be the sign of a pear, but apple or rectangle shape. If it's of any help.

I echo what have been said in other replies - dark blue jeans would be my first choice. However, keep your eyes open for any other colours that would work well for you. Any. Since you have long legs and short waist, with your height I assume you're in the 35"-36" inseam range at least (hard to come across) - grab it when you find it.

Also, I would definitely pay attention to the rise. As short-waited, long-legged person with rectangle tendencies myself, I generally prefer mid to high rise. I just feel more supported that way. Also, there is no horror of possible backside cleavage (is it called that way) which I find wrong by all accounts. But this is personal. Next, mid and low rise are probably more flattering for semi-tucking, especially when you're short waisted so that elongates the body visually, but if I have to choose I'd go for better support hence the higher rise.

Next, I move to another little detail which may be interesting to you - I call it Perfect Jeans Pockets. It's about how the front pockets are sewn in relation (or not) to the front pockets. It may already be a "built in" feature for premium jeans, but since I don't ow any at the moment I can't tell. But, I wrote a post about the pockets alone with some visuals here

More about what makes jeans great - PJP.

There is another interesting aspect of shopping for jeans for tall ladies and how you loose inches off the length without knowing it. Full post is here:

How to loose inches without even trying

and the visual of what those jeans looked like to begin with is here:

My FIRST ever...

So, with all this listed, you see it won't be an easy search at all any many will be ruled out before you've even tried them on. But, soldier on. You already have some brands with whom you may be lucky, plus I'd add Mango, Dorothy Perkins Tall range (not the best quality, but generous in lengths), Next (UK brand, but I don't know if they deliver to US). InWear, Mexx, Esprit and sOliver are another good European brands which may have something in store, but again - I don't know about shipping and availability in your market.

As for styles, I second the range between skinny and straight leg. Bootcuts will not serve well in the winter and are even more difficult to find in the right length - once you get poison eye for the pants length, any hem too high above the ground will bother you. Also, I think the footwear you listed will look best with the narrower leg.

Finally, you may consider tapering the leg just slightly for the straight style IF you find the good pair but something looks a bit off. Try them on, pin as they would be narrowed and then check if it works. Sometimes those 1/2" makes all the difference to the eye.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Windchime

Veteran

Ornella--thank you for this wonderful reply! I feel like I just had a conversation with my fellow tall friend about the trials and tribulations of jeans shopping. I really value your first-hand experience and will save this post for future reference.

I, too, see the humor in my former "blissful ignorance." The problem is that now I feel self conscious wearing my too-short jeans to shop for appropriate length jeans! Maybe I'll have to buy cheap, long-enough placeholders to wear while I shop.

One more bit of humor-- last week I found premium denim, long-enough jeans in a thrift store. They were really tight standing up and basically indecent if I sat down. I actually briefly thought, "I'll just wear them standing up." (Can you imagine the problems with that idea?!) Thank goodness my common sense kicked in shortly, and I left them in the store.

K. Period.

Veteran

Windchime, another option would be to wear your jeans rolled with boots to make them look like being short is intentional!

One quick clarification: on you description, you said you carry your extra weight around your middle, but then you say pear shape. I'm a little confused by that. I see that everyone who has commented and mentioned a shape assumes you mean apple shape. You also say that you have long legs. Usually long legs and weight around the middle go with an apple shape. A pear shape has a leaner middle, longer torso (usually an elegantly long neck too!) and carries weight in the hips and thighs. Are you an apple? Or a pear? That will make a difference on which brands folks recommend for you to try!

karymk

Veteran

I have an idea. I buy ALL my jeans off of Revolve Clothing online because you just pick 'em out in different sizes and styles. They send them to you FREE in about a day, and then you just pop the jeans you don't want back in an envelope and stick in your mailbox. It works so well for me. They are super fast shippers, not the usual 7-10 day wait like a lot of other online retailers. When I shop for jeans this way, I get all the privacy I need to assess the jeans for a day or more. You don't get that in a dressing room. And they have good sales too.

I would start with a nice pair of bootcut blue jeans! Classic and flattering. Try the mid rise styles in any new brand (since NYDJ was kind of your benchmark).

Anonymous

I am 5.8 but have very long legs. The only skinnies I can wear that are full length on me are Helmut by Helmut Lang, 7 (roxanne cut) and American Eagle. I would strongly recommend American Eagle because they actually have 2 tall sizes, long and extra long. I actually can wear the extra longs with 3 inch heels, awesome! I have bootcuts and flares from Citizens, American Eagle and Joe's Jeans too. I do not negotiate with PPL, sadly, that leaves a lot of brands out.

K. Period.

Veteran

Popping back in to say that I have a pair of American Eagle jeans that I love! They are a great fit if you are a rectangle or have apple tendencies.

Windchime

Veteran

Joy-- Yes, there's a Rack nearby. It's one of my new favorite stores since
I found YLF.
Kkards--You're absolutely right about there frequently being long sizes
online but not in the stores. Also, it's good to be reminded that jeans
can be altered, if needed.
K--Or I can just pull dress boots over them and no one will know if
they're floods! Re body shape--Hmm...My extra weight is mostly in my
hips and upper thighs, but also a bit in my tummy. My neck is long. I will
study the body types criteria some more. Thanks for asking.
Karymk--I'll definitely have to check out Revolve. That's my kind of fitting
room. I really appreciate the suggestion.
Zapotee-- hello, fellow long-legged YLFer! Thanks for the brand rcmds.
I'm taking careful notes and looking forward to my jeans research.
American Eagle sounds interesting; I've been wanting to check them out.

Anonymous

omg right!? jeans are the worst to find (at least for me). Thanks for the advice

shemarie

Hi, Windchime. I feel your pain! I'm 5'10" but with a very long inseam, and my daughter is about four inches taller than I am, so finding long pants is our constant quest! I think most of our go-to jeans have been mentioned (AE xx-longs, GAP xx-longs - I can wear them with heels?!!) but the other brands I've found that often run long without being labeled as such are Joe's Jeans and Hudson which I've found at Nordstrom Rack or a consignment store. The Joe's skinnies I have actually scrunch a bit, and the Hudson's are great for about a 1" heel. Otherwise, like you said, I resort to tall boots or rolling up hems where length doesn't matter. Good luck!

KeepTheKey

(website)

Well, I think Ornella covered everything, but I'll throw in my 2 cents for the heck of it.

I'm not a tall girl (5'7") but I wear 5 inch heels almost every day, so I need a 36 inseam. I also don't have the same figure as you, but I do have a suggestion. Go into various stores and try on jeans. Don't worry about length at this point, just look for what flatters you in the thigh/butt area and learn what brands/style/sizes you like. From there, check out ebay. Its a great way to find premium denim for a fraction of the cost, and you can specifically search for 36 inch inseams. That's how I learned about Joe's Jeans, Citizens of Humanity, and Paige, which are now my faves

Also, a dark wash is always better, IMO. You can easily dress it up or down, which is not the case with light washes. Also, the cut you choose can can vary wildly from designer to designer, so don't dismiss skinnies as being to tight, just try another brand.

It was already mentioned that this is quite a task, and it will be. Just remember that if the jeans don't fit: it's not you. it's the pants. And it will all be worth it in the end

DonnaF

Veteran

Take a tape measure to measure the front and back rise, inseam length, and width at the bottom. Take notes on what you've tried on and what you like/dislike. The width of bootcuts and straight legs can vary tremendously from one brand to another. It is so easy to arrive home exhausted and confused, having forgotten what you learned! The measurement thing isn't perfect since you also have to combine it with the amount of spandex, but I'm all for eliminating what you know won't work like so-called long jeans that are only 33.5".

carol3012

Dark wash, preferably no spandex for me (I don't like the idea of stretchy denim..that's weird....). They tend to hold up longer because of the lack of spandex too to boot.

Bootcuts are classics and sometimes the only pairs you can get (that's pretty much for me, being 5'1 and browsing the premium denim section). But skinnies are great for being versatile (tucked into shoes, flats, sandals, you name it). And if you don't like that, there's always jeggings.

If you can get to a large higher end department store (Bloomies, Nord, Barney's, etc) you can find premium denim usually in the same section. Just to name drop some brands: True Religion, 7 of All Mankind, Paige Denim, Citizens of Humanity, A&G and there's a bunch of others too (they seem to keep cropping up everywhere...). All of them relatively with the same kind of price range too. I've looked for those but all of them have spandex/are low rise so I didn't like them (but they looked beautiful on I have to admit...). Can't offer a favorite brand yet v.v (Plus they just really have short seams... When it's a skinny or something like that I have to get it fitted to the knee too, it's not the same people!)

That and keep trying new pairs. The numbers don't count; most of them use "waist size" like numbers but I find that they're kind of...unreliable? So just keep trying them on until they look just perfect. And once you know the size, you can go on discount stores like 6pm, Hautelook, Ruelala and etc that have these premium denim at relatively cheaper prices.

I don't know if this is a "rule" for taller people, but I gun for mid rise. True low rise....is a weird look on my tiny frame.

...Now if only I could find jeans like that for myself *sigh* I'd like one pair that would meet my standards..

Sorry for the long post. It's just that I'm still on my perfect jean hunt too :c I need to sorely upgrade my sagging pair that's a size too big bit..

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Windchime, thank you for your kind words.

I just came across these jeans, would they be interesting to you:
http://de.longtallsally.com/p/.....inny-09D12

The link is from German site, but I am sure you can track the model on the US site.