Cheap black/grey jeans as fill-in? ETA Pics

I've been looking for a pair of new good quality jeans for a few weeks, but none of the stores I've been to had anything suitable. And I don't want to do pants shopping online with brands I don't know, because I have a hard time fitting pants on me.

So, I've come back to this pair which I know fits well. It's not the quality I had planned to buy, but I'd have a pair of fitting jeans for 40€ that I could tuck into my boots.

What do you think, should I get a pair as a fill-in or should I sit it out? And if you say buy, which color would you go for? I've seen the grey in the store and it's slightly lighter than it looks in the picture. I think the black would be "dressier" and might work better with the boots, but then it's black... Also, which length would you get? The 30 is just right to wear over shoes without rolling, the 32 is too long which means scrunch or folding/rolling.

How do you decide whether to settle for less than perfect or not?

ETA

Bought them, pics further down.

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9 years ago

Liz

Veteran

What quality issues are you seeing with these jeans in person that is making you hesitate ... is the fabric or construction not what you were looking for?

Frankly, I don't look for "perfect" in my clothes -- I just don't have the desire to sift endlessly through online options, buying and returning for months to find the "perfect" item. So I scout out what's available to buy in my city and go with best option -- even if "perfect" might be out there online somewhere.

Astrid

Thanks Liz! Mostly it's that I wanted to reduce my spending on brands where I can't be sure about the ethics and production behind it. These are probably made somewhere in Asia and well, it's definitely more of a fast fashion brand. That said, the quality won't be bad, I've had jeans from them before and they always held up reasonably well. I'm not looking for "perfection" lookwise either.

carter

I'd do the black in a 30 inseam. You'll have a great long column of color base with your black turtleneck and some black boots. The plaid scarf would be totally fab with it (as would darned near anything else). 30" inseam will be much more comfy tucked into boots, plus give you the option to roll or not with regular shoes.

Desmo April

(website)

For me, both black and grey pants that fit into boots are absolute essentials. They form the core of my wardrobe and I'd be lost without them. So in my case I would buy them as long as I know I could make them work. If I could only get one it would be the black pair.

Hmmm...so I just read on the other thread that your black turtleneck isn't black! I think I'd still get the black pair though, if your boots are black, to five you a super long leg look.

Thanks Carter! You're right about the inseam, that should be the way to go. I think I'm going to go by the store on Monday and get the black pair.

Thanks Desmo April! I definitely need to work on covering my basics. I guess having the black pair to get dressed with might make the winter wardrobe much more manageable.

Yes it's navy. But it's rather short and fitted anyway, so I prefer to wear it with skirts. But I can see both my wool pullovers with this, a shirt and the new grey cardigan, my slouchy burgundy turtleneck...These are skinnies, so I'd go for a roomy fit on top.

Jules

Well, you need to get dressed. And you've lost weight, correct, so I imagine your old stuff just doesn't fit anymore? I admire the ethical intent but finding pants that fit can be HARD. If you know that you will wear them, and they are not disposable quality, I say go for it.

unfrumped

Yes, with jeans I'd say the quality is in the fit, not the maker. If they're durable, which it sounds like they are, because it wouldn't help to get jeans than twist or shrivel in the wash, it sounds like these would be a good wardrobe essential and you can add colored sweaters and scarves for "face colors".

DonnaF

If the quality isn't stellar, do you think the black will fade a lot upon washing? If yes, I would get the gray since black can sometimes fade to brownish or otherwise do weird things.

If the quality isn't stellar, do you think these will shrink in length? Even without true shrinkage, I find jeans shorten a bit because the seams dry a bit crinkly so I always err on the long side since jeans can more easily be shortened than lengthened.

Tania

I think it depends on whether you have a minimum capsule of items to use. If you don't, I'd get a pair of pants. If you already have your minimum, then I'd wait. I say this because I am trying to stick to this guideline myself!

Thanks Jules! Yes, almost all my pants aren't wearable anymore, besides the ones I can wear intentionally slouchy.

Thanks Unfrumped! No, I think they're going to be fine in the wash or with wear, it's not necessarily the quality of the make I was thinking of. I guess they would work similar as my black skirt - I'm always all black on the bottom half if I wear that one.

Thanks Donna! They might grey out, but I still think the black is the more versatile color. I'm going to try both the 30 and the 32 in the store on Monday. If the 32 isn't much too long I might go with that one.

Thanks Tania! I don't have slim fitting jeans I can tuck into boots right now, not one pair. So there's definitely a need. I think I'm going to get a pair.

Went and bought them today and I'm glad I did. Now I'll have something to wear in the colder temperatures. These are definitely rather casual, but that's fine. And I'm sure they'll get me to next spring without a problem. What do you think? Do they look alright? They are loose enough to layer long undies under too.

#1 shows them with shoes, so you can see the length. I thought they would be shorter (it's a 30), but I think it looks fine. In pic #2 they're tucked into my booties - this will be the main look until I get new boots. The last two pics show them with my too big winter boots. I actually think it doesn't look too bad and I'm going to wear them like this until I have a replacement. I think the low contrast helps to hide the fit issues of the boots.

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Suz

They look fabulous and so do you!!

I think they look great! Glad you got them.

Thanks Suz and Carter! I guess I shouldn't make my life unnecessarily complicated... These will definitely help to make me feel more pulled together.

catgirl

I have found cheap items just as workhorse-worthy as expensive ones, and if nothing else they tell me whether spending extra money for the expensive version will be worth it. These look great. Grey skinnies are a total go-to for me. But black is too, of course.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

The fit looks fab. And I think they look fine with the taller boots.

Thanks Una! Yes, that makes sense. Kind of a test run and if you wear the piece out you know that it's worth it to splurge on an expensive replacement.

Thanks Laura.

Alassë

You needed jeans, and you got them. Great!

KikiG

I think you will be so glad you got these. You look very petite in those better fitting, non-slouchy bottoms. It is terrific that you can fit your warm long layers under them as well.

Thanks Alasse.

Thanks Kiki! Yes, those underlayers are definitely a necessity.

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