Why do curvy fit pants fit me? - YouLookFab Forum

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Why do curvy fit pants fit me?

catseye

Veteran

I always thought that I have no waist. At the moment, my waist and hip differential is at most 5 inches. The pants and jeans that fit me best is always the curvy fit, such as Julie fit from Loft, which is marketed toward people with more of an hourglass figure. I tried all of their pants. The one that is supposed to fit people with no waist, fit me the worst. I don't understand this.

The sales associate at Loft told me that the curvy jeans fit her straight figure the best as well; and she is about a size 2. So it is not the extra weight that I am carrying makes me a curvy fit either. Any one has any insights?

Shopping

26 replies

Latest reply was from ma342

MuseumGal

Veteran

Are they low rise? I don't have much a of a waist (or behind) either, and find that low rise curvy often fits well. I assume because the lower rise is made to sit low on the (curvy) hips and not come into the smaller waist. But who knows? Have you tried men's jeans/pants? They are made for a small hip/waist differential, and once you find a brand/style that fits you well, your life may become much easier.

rabbit

Veteran

I've sometimes found this too. I don't have a waist or much in the way of hips, but I do have a butt. So although I look like a rectangle from the front, from the side I'm more of a pear, and a curvy cut can therefore sometimes lie flatter at the waistband than jeans cut for more of a guy figure.

catseye

Veteran

That is not it. The curvy pants tend to come up a bit higher on me which I like. The weird part is that they say the Julie fit is for someone with a smaller waist. I take a size smaller in that than the other fits. It makes no sense.

I wish I can wear Men's jeans. I am only 5'3. Hard to find my inseam in Men's.

catseye

Veteran

Rabbit, I think you are onto something. I think when we measure, we measure the circumference. But the pants are cut in two-dimensional way. But even when I was super skinny, I was never an hourglass. The curvy fit may be accommodating my tummy and butts much better. Just not sure whether a real hourglass figure will find these pants fit.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

OK, I *do* have a big waist/hip differential (10 in) but curvy fits often don't work for me because I'm short waisted and they come up too high, or they curve in at the waist before *I* do, because my narrowest point is my high waist, right under my bust. So sometimes, inexplicably, less curvy fits work better for me, as long as they are cut full enough in the thigh. So I'm wondering if this has more to do with rise.

Diana

Veteran

Hmm, it's funny, I AM curvy (13" waist-hip differential) and I hate most so-called curvy fits on me. For me, it's because they emphasize my pear-shapedness, whereas a (sometimes sized up) regular fit that's a little more generous in the hips seems to balance out my curves better. Also, I find that curvy fits tend to be too high-rise for my taste, so perhaps you are the opposite and prefer the higher rise?

And a lot of curvy fits don't always even fit me. (Because my hip starts very high up, a lot of times, they squeeze at my high hip.)

ETA: cross-posted with Janet. I share her feelings exactly.

catseye

Veteran

Janet, the curvy pants does have a higher rise than the other fits. So you are absolutely correct there. I know that is most of the appeal of it to me.

Just curious why they market these pants this way.

catseye

Veteran

Yes, Diana, I do like the higher rise.

I always know they fit me better. Just don't get why they describe it this way.

Marlene

Veteran

I fit curvy styles best as well...And I'm not curvy in the usual sense of the word (my waist is not tiny, it's more straight and boyish and my hips are not rounded) . For me, I THINK it has to do with how I'm shaped....I have a short "rise" in front and a high "rise" in the back. So while technically not curvy , my proportions seem to work with that shape of pants.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

It sounds like "curvy" fits need a new name!

catseye

Veteran

Indeed!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Interesting. It may indeed have to do with the rise. Many so-called "curvy" women do need a higher rise in the back (at least) to accommodate.

I'm somewhere between a slim hourglass and rectangle (8" difference between waist and hips, more or less) and I find they don't fit me at all. The sides "pouf" out. But like rabbit, my curve is more in the behind that in the hips.

Gigi

Veteran

I have wondered this too, because I am in the same boat. I am a hybrid rectangle-hourglass, and curvy fit jeans seem to be the best. (I gain my fat on my high hip, which creates a wider-looking waist.) When I wear the regular fit, my butt seems to get smashed and look flat, but when I wear curvy, my butt just looks normal and not smashed. It feels better too.

For me, I don't know that it has to do with the rise, because the curvy jeans I have are low rise and not a higher rise. My low-rise curvy jeans from Loft look better than the Sloan fit (basic fit) higher-rise jeans I got from BR that I returned. I am like Rabbit in that I do have a decent-sized butt when viewed from the side, and I think that that might be why the curvy fits work better.

I have often mulled over this question too! Glad to know I'm not the only one.

catseye

Veteran

Hi Gigi, glad that I am not alone. My friends are like, who cares as long as it fits you. I want to know the answers!

Aida

Veteran

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but I'm curvy (both front and side) and curvy fits almost never work right on me. Straighter fits are by far my preference!

pastrygirl

(website)

Veteran

I have the opposite experience at Loft -- I far prefer the straight/no hips Marisa fit on my curvy hips. Julie fits me terribly!

catseye

Veteran

Alright, we don't have even one curvy person here prefers the curvy fit. it makes you wonder what they were thinking when they named these pants.

Anonymous

I'm a curvy hourglass, even if I lost 20 lbs I have hips and bum but I like a lot of curvy fits, Julie from Loft and one of the cuts from Banana Republic . JLo at Kohls (I assume it's curvy as she is lol) but others don't. Jc Penney has a curvy fit in their own brand Worthington that is too big in the hips....so I don't know why some fit and others don't.

Two other observations:

- If there is a brand or line with a 'curvy' description, I always try it first and have better luck than straight or 'natural waist' descriptors
- US stores have more curvy cuts than Canadian and the bulk of my trousers and jeans come from there on cross border trips

catseye

Veteran

We finally got one curvy person who likes them. Now I wonder whether curvy simply means bigger hip and butt area. The smaller waist or not depends on the rise. I may fit into the same pants with someone who is much smaller at the natural waist.

Gigi

Veteran

Catseye, I had to laugh when you said you wonder if "curvy" means bigger hip and butt area. After I posted my comment above, I was thinking to myself that maybe they really wanted to call this fit "big butt fit" but thought that didn't sound very good! I do think I have a big butt in proportion to the rest of me. Ha ha.

Aida

Veteran

Proportional Big-Butt gall here, and as I said curvy doesn't work for me I think maybe since all those manufacturers have different fit models, each curvy model is going to carry her weight a bit differently and the key is to find the brand who's model is like you. I know for my sis, who is a classic pear, LOFT curvy fits work really well for her but other brands not so much.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Curvy fits definitely work for me - I assume I'm curvy of some stripe, pear-shaped with a big difference between waist and hips, and big thighs. Occasionally curvy fits have too high a rise for me, though, because my rise is relatively short given my height. If I want a lower hip-slung fit I can sometimes go up a size or two in a straighter fit and make it work, but sometimes they're too tight in the butt.

I know that as a sewer, the hardest thing to fit are pants, and there are so many different pant patterns out there. There are a lot of factors - crotch length, rise, where your hips flare out or not, your butt... It's pretty amazing that any of us can buy pants that fit decently that aren't custom made, really!

Anonymous

LOL at big butt fit with Gigi....I would happily describe my behind as booty -licious. ha. I'm always trying to disguise it

Style Fan

Veteran

I am a curvy woman (10 to 12 inches between my waist and hips) and curvy fit jeans do not fit me. I find some makes emphasize my curviness even more and other makes just don't work. I find certain makes of jeans work for me and I don't know why (Citizens of Humanity and Fidelity).

Beck

I measure 28in around my waist and 43.5in around my hips -- much of which is butt, so while I'm visibly hourglass shaped from the front, it isn't as extreme as those numbers might suggest. Some curvy fits work for me, some don't (I was extra-disappointed in the much-vaunted Joe's Honeys) -- and some stuff that isn't marked as curvy is in fact the most reliable good fit for me (any David Kahn, any Kut from the Kloth). I'll add that just in general, it is about a million times easier to buy pants for my shape in the US than Australia. When my sister -- who is if anything MORE pronounced in her shape than me -- visited, she went home with a whole new suitcase full of pants.

ma342

I'm fairly curvy--41 inch hips, 30 inch waist. Some curvy fits work for me and some don't. Gap curvy jeans are good, as are Levi's 529s. BR Jackson pants and AT Curvy fit pants are terrible on me--I can't tell if they're designed for someone even curvier than I am, or for someone who carries more weight in the thighs and less in the high hips.