Had an opportunity to go downtown today, so checked out the J. Crew pants. For anyone who hasn't tried them but who's interested, here's what I found:

All the pants fit big, but especially the bootcuts. There's some vanity sizing going on here. Even the smallest size in bootcut jeans was too big on me. Now, I get that I am a small person, but I wear a size 26 or 27 in most jeans. In J. Crew bootcuts, even a size 24 was too big.

The matchsticks are nice for straight leg jeans. The denim is substantial and seems sturdy. They have regular length (33" inseam) and short (31"). The 31" ones are still a little long on me.

The denim toothpicks are similar to the matchsticks, but tapered, not straight. I really liked them. They are too short on me to wear as regular length pants, though, even though I'm only 5'1". (I checked the website, and it says the inseam is 28". I need 30" for a full length pant with a touch of slouch at the bottom). I was less impressed with the cotton twill toothpicks, which seemed flimsy -- like they would bag out at the knees in three minutes. The sizing is also really inconsistent between the various fabrics in the toothpick style: for example, the velvet toothpicks were much looser than the corduroy ones in the same size. Weird.

I ended up buying the toothpicks in regular, very dark denim. I sized up so they are a little looser -- "slouchy skinnies"! I might get them hemmed an inch so they look like proper ankle pants, rather than just slightly too-short jeans. And then I'm gonna wear them on Christmas day with a fancy top and my new t-strap high heels!