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More questions on J Crew clamdiggers

Tanya

Veteran

I am considering getting a pair of the J Crew clamdiggers in a color that's currently on sale (grey or citron). I'd like your input on some matters concerning them. Which color would you think would be better ? I do already have tops for either color: white/navy/cobalt for citron ones, while grey ones can go with a lot of different colors. I am more attracted to citron, but it could be that's due to the fact that it's particularly trendy this summer, grey would be probably more verstaile. And I don't know if yellow pants are in general a bit too young for someone who's 30.

Those of you that already have them, how do they run sizewise and do they stretch out a lot with wear (I'll probably have to order them online)? Ana mentioned that she's usually 29 but needed 28 in these. I am normally 27, but can and do wear 26 in brands that run big. And my size 2 J Crew chinos streched so much after one wear that they are literally falling of me.

The next question would be if you think it would be silly to eventually get a pair in white as well. That would be my third clamdigger pair, I currently own only one dark denim one. I'm quite embarassed with my admission of the amount of pants/jeans I have ( my cheeks are still burning as I'm typing this) and am trying to be super careful now. The clamdiggers would be mostly worn with shirtdresses - tunic style ( I have five of those now), and sometimes with shorter tops as well. And I have to admit that I did order a pair of white JBrand
skinnies to wear with above mentioned tunics (*innocently batts eyelashes*) and in case they are keepers whould a pair of white clamdiggers be redundant?

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17 replies

Latest reply was from Ana

Patience

Veteran

Tanya, I'm guessing you will want a 26. My personal experience with colorful pants is that I don't feel as fab in them so I don't end up wearing them as often. And with all of the colorful stuff around, grey seems blah to me. Between the two I'd probably still pick citron especially as that sounds like the one you really want. Initially I was going to say that the two white bottoms are redundant, but then again they're white so this might be a good thing. If you do want to be careful with your purchases then I'd say pick one pair of white bottoms and be done. (Although I understand the obsession with bottoms and jcrew is having a sale.)

Antje

Veteran

Tanya, do you mean the Matchsticks? I personally would go with citron. Since it's a summer item anyway, I think it's a funner color than grey. Should look great with a variety of colors, including white, navy, and don't forget to try red. (And black looks stunning with citron, but I'm coming to realize that not everyone has tons of black tops in their closet ;-))

But I actually think that white would be best. That was my second choice (after the blue denim, which I ended up buying.). If you don't have white clamdiggers yet, then I'd absolutely get the white ones. So not redundant!!

Size-wise, I know Ana was comparing them to other J. Crew pants. I don't usually buy J. Crew pants so I cannot compare the Matchstick fit to their usual pants fit, but I found the Matchstick sizes true to what I most commonly wear across all brands (I'm usually a 29 in most jeans brands, and found the Matchsticks to fit best in 29 as well.)

Ana

(website)

Veteran

When I tried on the dark denim, the 28s fit best. A *little* tight but I know J. Crew stuff stretches, and Patience said the dark denim sort of relaxed, but didn't stretch all out of shape. My experience with other J. Crew denim is that it stretches a lot. I have tried on the colored clamdiggers in the rhubarb color and only took a pass because I felt that such a bright color on me wasn't good. I just felt like I had giant rhubarb colored thighs. But, I think for someone who has slimmer legs, which I think you do, that the bright colors would be really fun. Go for citron, the grey is sort of blah to me. It's a light silver grey color that I think would be harder to wear than the citron. The colored clamdiggers felt stretchier to me than the dark denim, so I say go with a size that is very snug, but doesn't give you major muffin top, because they will probably relax. I can't remember what size you usually wear, but go for one size smaller. I have some J. Crew bootcuts in sour lemon and they are quite stretchy.

The white clamdiggers were true to size. I could barely button the 28s and then all my bits hung out over the sides and it wasn't comfortable, so if I were going to buy the white clamdiggers, I'd go for my "regular" J. Crew size, 29. I don't think having 2 white bottoms for summer is redundant. Remember it will be very hot in Boston soon and you may not want to wear your skinnies all the time.

Maya

Veteran

I'm surprised to hear they run big from everyone. I have the matchstick jeans in a 26, which is my usual size, but they are very tight. I decided to err on the side of snug thinking they would stretch and grow over time, but they haven't. The back pockets sit a little low on me because I just can't get them up any higher, so I can only wear them with longer tops. I really wish I had bought the 27s instead, and just had the waist taken in.

However, the clamdiggers might fit differently. Who knows. Funnily enough, I also almost made a post asking whether gray or citron would be better, but in the end I decided I'd rather just bypass the clamdigger trend all together. But obviously since I couldn't decide, I'll be no help telling you what to do.

Tanya

Veteran

Thanks ladies!

Antje, yes, it is cropped matchstick I am wondering about.
OK, you guys definetly have me convinced that citron is better than light grey, so that's one dilemma down.

I should also add that I already own a pair of flare white jeans.
Assuming my white JBrand skinnies are keepers, which I won't know for a while beacuse shipping from Smartbargains takes forever, here are the options:

1. get both citron and white clamdiggers (it's OK to have 3 pairs of clamdiggers total -already have dark denim ones and 2 pairs of skinny white bottoms)
2. get just citron (too many white bottoms, don't need 3 pairs of clamdiggers)
3. get just white ( more versatile than citron, again don't need 3 pairs of clamdiggers)

If I decide to get them, the citron ones I would be getting now, since they are on sale. The white ones would wait a bit ( I can't wear them yet here in MA anyway) and would not necessarily be from J Crew, if I find a better deal elsewhere.

Many many thanks!

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Well, what other summer bottoms do you have and plan on wearing? Do you wear jeans in the summer in Boston? I know down here in Texas, for the most part I won't be pulling my jeans out until September or October, so having 3 pairs of clamdiggers wouldn't be bad for me because I don't have many other "summer" bottoms at this point. But if you do wear your jeans very regularly, even in the summer, then you have to think about how often you would *really* wear these clamdiggers. If you don't wear them at least once a week, then I would skip 2 pairs and only go for one. If you are wearing your jeans during the summer, then you already have 2 white bottoms you can wear, so I would get the citron since they're fun and you would wear the same tops with the citron clamdiggers or white clamdiggers/white skinnies. Does this make sense?

Tanya

Veteran

So I have plenty of summer bottoms, but I spend my days (and nights sometimes) in the lab which is very casual and gets a bit chilly. Out of the 6 days a week, in the summer I try to wear jeans/pants no more than 3 days a week and then rotate the other three days between casual skirts, casual dresses and walk shorts. The divison often ends up tough being 4/2 or even 5/1, mostly due to the fact that everybody dresses so subcasual here that the second category makes me feel overdressed and sometimes raises a few eyebrows

I feel that clamdiggers, even tough would technically be in the second category, are more casual than skirts/walk shorts and I would certainly wear them at least once a week, probably twice on quite a few weeks. I would probably be able to wear them for almost 4 months - June through August and most of September. Does this justify getting both citron and white?

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Hmm.....I think it does, but you have to promise to edit your pant/bottoms collection then (or put some of into storage).

Tanya

Veteran

He he, thanks for being an enabler Ana! I shall post pictures of all of my jeans on the weekend as I promised, and try to edit them somehow.

Ana

(website)

Veteran

It's going to be fun, Tanya! And I bet you'll way better after you've done it, too. All this talk of editing and organizing closets has got me reorganizing mine. I need to put all my winter/spring stuff away.

Nicole, are you going to start that thread about closets? I'm really interested in seeing how people deal with their clothing.

marianne

After reading all posts about JCrew clamdiggers, I feel like I have to check them out. I need casual summer bottoms that don't get dirty easily, so I'll try the dark denim ones. I must say it would never occur to me in my pre-YLF days.
I would like to get 1 or 2 tops to wear with them. I don't have many in my closet and most of them are outdated. Any suggestions? I think I am a rectangle. Here is a picture, sorry about the quality. Thanks!
http://i293.photobucket.com/al.....o/ylf2.jpg

Tanya

Veteran

Marianne, I think that you are right about being a rectangle! In my opinion, the denim clamdiggers would look fab on you! For tops, you could either do some shirtdress-tunic style or shorter normal ones. You can ceratinly pull of the second type with your body! In case you haven't read it here's Angie's post on what cuts work for your body type:

http://youlookfab.com/2006/05/.....rectangle/

marianne

Thanks Tanya! Yes, I was wondering if shorter tops would work. I only have one tunic length top, it's not belted and I don't feel so fab in it. BTW sorry for tagging onto your thread. There were already quite a few about these pants.

Tanya

Veteran

Please don't worry about joining my thread Marianne! I'm more than happy to share it with you! If in doubt, you could post aphoto of you in clamdiggers and a shorter top froma dressing room like Ana did recently!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks for the pic Marianne. You are indeed a rectangle. Get yourself into those clamdiggers asap.

Tanya, citron for sure.

Tanya

Veteran

So I went to J Crew tonight and tried the clamdiggers (in grey and white ) and had no luck
They are just not cut for my body at all. The 26 were super tight, I felt like a stuffed sausage. The 27 were way too big everywhere and the pockets were to low and made my butt look saggy and the rise was too low. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I felt like crying.

Anyway, since I'm pretty sure no other brand makes them in citron, I'll concentrate on finding white ones as a second pair. What do you guys think about these ( I don't mind hemming them if necessary)?
http://www.designsbystephene.c....._white.cfm

I did score a blouse at J Crew tough:
http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/p.....=cat302188
It was on sale with extra 25% off, so I got it for $40! Any ideas on bottoms to go with it other than dark denim or white ones? Thanks!

Ana

(website)

Veteran

I LOVE the cherry blossom Francis blouse, it's so cute! They ran out of it in my size almost immediately, so I missed out. You're so lucky! Black bottoms would look nice--it would go with anything except skirts, I would think.

I like the white clamdiggers you posted. They would look great with that blouse!