Kudos to those of you who sew! What a useful, excellent skill to have. I admire and envy you! Every time I go to my seamstress, she teaches me something about fabric, length rules, proportion, garment fabrication, etc. I listen to her, she knows her stuff. Some clothes I brought were rejected unhesitatingly: not my body style, not the right proportions. Those were things I never wore and now I know why. My friends are very happy about it - those whose body and style are a better match. She explained that it was all in the cut: sometimes it isn't only how big or small an item, but what original pattern it was made from. If the pattern itself is wrong, no matter what she will do, it will never feel right. I found this a great motivator to clean my closet. And I need to, because now I am almost only wearing the things she retouched.
About the jeans: I want to mention that I am the same weight as 2013. You can see that the "before" jeans sat lower on my hips, they looked longer, and made my hips and thighs seem fuller and my waistline lower. Looking at the 2012 pic, I find I have a pear body shape. But I don't. It's because the jeans were too large in that area. Taking in the waist makes them sit higher, closer to my real waist, shortening the length in the process. I learned a lot right there. I officially stop looking for the "perfect" pair, and will simply bring my older ones to be altered! What good news for my wallet!