Gap and Old Navy sell mom jeans? What say you? - YouLookFab Forum

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Gap and Old Navy sell mom jeans? What say you?

Abie

Veteran

This blog article is a couple of weeks old but I've seen it linked a few places recently. I know gap jeans get a lot of love here. This article claims they have gateway mom jeans. I know that jeans fit differently on different body types so I'm not sure if this is a fair comparison. It was interesting to me to see the differences in the jeans though and how much of an impact pocket placement has on the look from the back. I usually have to order online to get gap jeans in my size so I haven't actually tried any.

What do you think?

http://www.graspingforobjectiv.....7/gap.html

Shopping

34 replies

Latest reply was from MaryGrace

Jjsloane

Veteran

I don't consider those to be mom jeans - just some of them not the best for her body. The comparisons are interesting, but again you have to have her exact body. I cannot wear Long and Leans, but love my old style 1969 bf jeans (the blogger does not seem like she would appreciate any baggy jeans) and I have the dark wash sexy bf jeans and another pair similar that I love, but that's my body.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Well.

My personal opinion? None of those jeans fit her very well. Of course they aren't flattering if they don't fit. In my opinion she should size up across the board. They still might not work for her, but that's another issue.

I do happen to agree about the pocket size on the Gap Always Skinnies (but I have a pair anyway because they are comfortable and flattering otherwise). But the rest of the post? I'm not persuaded.

cciele

Veteran

I definitely agree that fit is a really personal thing. She does have a good point about making sure the back view looks OK, though!

And I'm not surprised she is horrified by BF jeans. She would definitely give my rear view a thumbs down if she saw them in BF jeans

K. Period.

Veteran

That is hilarious! I'm not persuaded either. If Gap jeans were mom jeans, why would billions of teens be shopping there? I don't see teens hanging out buying jeans in the "grown up" jeans in the Land's End section of Sears, but I see them in mobs at the Gap.

Also, I think what this underscores is that Gap jeans just don't fit her body very well. She seems curvy to me. I'm a straight hipped apple. Many, but not all, Gap jeans look great on me... because they are cut for straight hipped women. Not so much for curvy girls.

And on the "many, but not all" issue, who thinks that they can go into a store and try on every single one of the jeans in every line that the company makes and look equally great in them all? That's silly and her posting is disingenuous. I look better in some cuts than others; so does she. She also wasn't sizing her jeans properly. She clearly was in too small for several of jeans in her post. Crease across your rear? Too small. Huge upcut in the middle of your rear? Too small. Weird lumpiness? Uhhhh too small.

So bottom line: Gap jeans same as premium denim? Nope. But mom jeans? Come on. Seriously. No.

***

Posting again because I am LOL at Rae's comment. I thought the same thing about the pocket bling. Not my thing, so her picks really didn't resonate more to me as "cool" jeans than what she was trying on at the Gap.

rae

(website)

Veteran

1 - Her disclaimer undercuts her entire arguement. She says right at the beginning that what looks great on her might not look great on you, and vice versa. Why keep reading when the auther tells you she's wrong at the outset?

2 - A great part of the "mom jean" x-factor lies in being dated. IMO, the heavily-embellished pockets she touts as non-mom-jeans are actually much more dated and mom-ish than the plain, classic detailing of the Gap versions.

3 - By her logic, any ill-fitting jean would be a "gateway mom jean." And by that logic, *every* store sells mom jeans, because *every* style is going to fit *someone* improperly. The argument does not hold up.

Victoria

(website)

Veteran

I am with Rae on this one-the only thing about Gap jeans that i don't think its flattering is the pockets(which are indeed huge) but that doesn't qualify them to be "mom jeans". Clearly some styles look better than others but that doesn't have anything to do with mom jeans.
And to me, mom jeans are usually high rise and rather shapeless. The ones she has tried definately do not fall into that category. I also found the first pic highly suspect just because most people don't look 5 inches thinner in a different pair of jeans, no matter how flattering they may be

To add-I just realized that every pair of jeans that she says "no" too, are clearly too small for her. Stuffed sausage look is not attractive but that doesn't mean that something is wrong with that particular style, just that she needed a bigger size

Diana

Veteran

OK, first off, I think that most of these Gap pairs simply do not fit her very well, either because she is in the wrong size or because it's a cut that just does not suit her. That does not make them mom jeans. I also think the comparisons are unfair, because I am willing to bet that her great-fitting jeans are probably things from her own closet, that she probably purchased because they were flattering. I bet if she went and tried on pairs of random premium jeans, she'd find a whole bunch that were unflattering too.

And, re: boyfriend jeans. I totally agree that if they are worn wrong, they could very easily become mom jeans. Which is why I am always harping about wearing them super low-slung and not hiked up. BUT, as so many of us here have demonstrated, the BF jeans can look super cool and yes, even sexy, when worn right. It's all about finding the right fit.

Abie

Veteran

Victoria, that's one thing I thought when I was reading, that the typical "Mom Jean" is more about the rise than the pocket placement and such.

I also agree with Rae about the crazy pocket decorations. I think the first comparison picture shows the big pockets but the angle of the photograph and even how close it is to the camera is way different.

Victoria

(website)

Veteran

Abie: here is the description of true mom jeans that I seen on women-high rise to your armpits, somewhat shapeless but tapering at the ankles to give it that much wanted "ice cream cone" effect, and slightly too short. I used to live in the MN and my goodness, so many women wore jeans like that!).

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

Eh, I don't really like picking on someone's blog even if they are a semi-professional blogger (looks like this is a side job for her?). I think she's careful to say that these are not blanket statements.

My take-away is that Gap is widely seen as an affordable fashion jean (hence teens shopping there), but for adult women (with curves) they may not be fail-safe. I thought her points about the ginormous pockets and bagginess of the jeans rang true (for me), although I am not rushing to toss my Gap denim.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Victoria's definition nailed it. It would be a much more interesting article to post side-by-side pics of X jeans and Certified Mom Jeans. It would be like a science experiment, and the Mom Jeans would be the control.

Victoria

(website)

Veteran

actually, I was just reading her blog and several years ago she had a great post that talked about true mom jeans, check this out http://www.graspingforobjectiv.....-butt.html
I difinately agree with her on this post

Echo

Veteran

While I don't even own any Gap or Old Navy jeans, I have to say that I always thought that pockets were only one piece of the mom jean puzzle. Rise is a big factor, as well as tapered legs. And highly embellished pockets always struck me as an extremely dated, teeny-bopper sort of thing. And if she thinks those 7 FAM are doing her any favors, she's wrong. Those are as bad as any of the Gap denim on her.

One thing I will give the article credit for is demonstrating how important the rear view is when choosing jeans. With jeans - moreso than with other pants, IMO - the rear view is everything; it is the reason many people wear jeans in the first place. So perhaps we should all be more careful to check ourselves out in a 3 way mirror before leaving a store, but that doesn't mean that all Gap or Old Navy jeans are horror shows waiting to happen, any more than thinking 7 FAM jeans are the holy grail of denim. It ALL depends on the person putting them on.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Wow, the other mom jeans article is fantastic - love all the comparisons on that one. You really get a feel for the ways a pocket can distort a butt. I disagree with the point that pockets should end below the curvature of the booty, but that can be chalked up to preference.

Incidentally, the back pocket placement was the hardest thing to get right when I was having my custom jeans made through getwear.

K. Period.

Veteran

Rae, I'm so with you on pocket placement. Low pocket placement can look great on a curvy booty, but on a gal with a flat bum? They turn it into a saggy looking mess. (I've seen it. On me. And I ran screaming.)

Incidentally, I think the blogger's post on grandma jeans was the best one of them all. It really shows, quite dramatically, how much of a difference the right jeans can make. If anyone hasn't read it yet, read it now! And prepare to pick yourself up off the floor.

velvetychocolate

Veteran

While I haven't had much luck with ON jeans, I do like the GAP Long and Lean jeans and their Really Skinny pants. I have yet to try other GAP styles, but I am looking forward to trying GAP BF jeans in the very near future.

I think the determination of whether something might look like a so-called "Mom" jean has a lot to do with how a certain pair of jeans fit on a person's body. I mean, granted - there are some jeans that are probably "Mom" jeans no matter what, but for the most part, I think it's a (really) bad idea to characterize an entire brand as being "Mom jeans" when it probably really boils down to fit and size, more than the brand itself.

Come to think of it - I think it's kind of terrible to say that an entire line/brand is no good, just because certain items don't fit your own particular shape, and likes/dislikes. There are lots of things I've tried that didn't work out for me, but I can still appreciate the item/line, and I have no problem recommending things to others even if it wasn't the best thing for me.

This kind of thing flies in the face of Angie's mantra, "leave no retail stone unturned." Furthermore, a particular store or brand might not be the best during a season or even two or three, but then out of the blue - they revitalize and come up with fab things.

Not a good idea to write off an entire company or brand just because their jeans that year don't work for your particular shape or style preferences. I'd much rather hear all kinds of opinions - what worked, what didn't - and more importantly, why it did or didn't work.

No, I'm not buying that ALL of ON and GAP jeans are "Mom" jeans. I think there are some jeans that work well on my shape and some that don't. From my limited experience, I quite like GAP jeans, and there isn't anything "Mom jeans" about them.

Sunita

Veteran

Wow! What thought-provoking blog posts and comments here! I've always found shopping for jeans incredibly difficult....there are so many considerations! I shall have to try on my jeans sometime and see how the rear pockets look. The trouble is that most of my jeans need to have the waistband taken in, and that affects the pocket placement...

Anonymous

I really enjoyed reading that post! Thanks for linking to it, Abie. I messed around on Rachel's site and read the related articles on Mom (and Grandma) jeans and was shrieking aloud with laughter, so much so that my daughter came to see if I was okay!

Since I know next to nothing about how to fit jeans--I always wondered what Rae was talking about when she was discussing pocket placement--I devoured it all, even though I don't agree with all of her conclusions. I too have been concerned about the "dreaded long butt" and wondered why some jeans/pants gave it to me and others did not. Who knew the definition at the bottom of the booty was so important?!

So this article(s) was a great starting place for me. I have two pairs of Gap jeans in my closet, which I won't be quick to toss, but you can bet some over-the-shoulder pictures of my rear are in order. As soon as it's not so hot, I need to do this and post them for my next step in my jeans-style journey. Thank you Abie!

JayS

Veteran

Thank you for linking this article. Like the blogger, Gap doesn't work for me either.
I have really had a ball looking over her blog. There are some great posts on denim there.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Let's just say that her phrase "out of the dryer" for jeans marked her as a very poor expert on jeans for me. Jeans? Into dryer? What kind of jeans expend does that?!
As for the fit - we all fit so differently in jeans. I never found a pair of flattering Gap jeans so I think they are just a wrong cut fro my body...but they are not "mom"jeans at all.
Off to read that other article...

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Very educational. Thanks for the links.

April

Veteran

Still doubtful about what defines "mom jeans"?

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-ni.....ns/1357040

Anonymous

Mom jeans are defined by the rise, the poor fit, the short length, and the overall look (what women wear with them). It's a lot of things put together that create a "mom jean" look, and I think we've all see enough articles and TV shows to know what mom jeans really are.

Kristin L

Veteran

I saw that post today! I disagree that they are mom jeans. I think that none of the pants she tried on fit her right. Jeans, like a good bra, are very personal imo. You have to find the right ones for you. I personally love my gap jeans. I found that the 1969 ones fit me the way I like.

I wasn't big fan of her making fun of the amount of zipper. I have several girlfriends who low lowrise. Personally, it's not for me. Give me midrise and I'm a happy little camper.

And while they aren't flattering, I use Old Navy jeans for my field work pants. They usually last a few years and if they get stained/ruined, I'm not out a fortune.

rae

(website)

Veteran

I was thinking about this while lying awake last night and I think it also has to do with what your ideal "booty look" is and where your butt falls in relation to that. Some of us might *want* to flatten out our butts. Someof us might want to widen, narrow, or add bulk to our butts. It's not as easy as high pockets=long butt=bad.

Emily

Veteran

That post was hilarious. I used to swear by Old Navy Diva jeans, but lately find that AE, Guess and Suki are more flattering fit. Not quite "premium" denim. Gap jeans have never fit me well. I guess for me, Gap and Old Navy jeans are mom jeans, but it's more a matter of fit and proportion than brand.

Sylvie

Veteran

I have to admit when I clicked through, I was momentarily horrified because I wear Gap jeans and thought "oh no, I'm wearing mom jeans! Now I'm hopeless because I've never found another brand that fits me as well". I didn't necessarily agree with her assessments of which jeans were better - in some cases there wasn't a big difference and in others the "good jeans" looked identical to the "bad jeans" from a previous post.

Jean fit seems so challenging to get right since there are so many variables with pocket placement, rise, cut, etc. Also jean fit is going to fluctuate as they bag out with wearing or as I gain/lose weight.

Is there a good guide anywhere to "how jeans are supposed to fit and common issues"? For instance, are radial creases around the crotch acceptable?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I think they are bad fits, mostly too tight and flattening out her rear. None seemed 'mom' jean to me, but even if ON and Gap were selling mom jeans, my thought is, 'yeah, okay, so?' I mean, we all have a choice in what we want to wear, right? Maybe I didn't get the point . . .

Aida

Veteran

Hmm interesting post. What really got me is the comment that she was baffled why her friend looked good in the L&Ls when she didn't, even though they were the same size (protip: we are all shaped differently!). She does raise some good points about pocket placement etc. and the photos do a good job of illustrating her points (looks like she needs lower rise jeans IMO). But I don't think you can blanket ALL jeans sold by the GAP and Old Navy as Jeans That Are Universally Unflattering. For reference, here is a rear view of my GAP Real Straight jeans taken last summer

(Side thought, have GAP jean pockets really gotten that big or is she very small??)

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