I just bought some new jeans for my son, and it made me think of your friend with the small waist. We were at Kohl's (do you have those there?) and trying on Levi's jeans. I found a pair of 29 inch waist in the 510 Super Skinny, and one in the 511 Skinny fit, and had him try on both. DS's waist is really only about 27 inches, but he's needing a 32 inch length now- Oy! Anyway, the Super Skinny fit him pretty well at the waist, but the skinny was 2 inches too big. I don't know if your friend likes skinny fit jeans, but there is a big difference between the Super Skinny in Levi's and the Skinny. Just thought I'd pass the info along.