I agree with Taylor. Body variations make the already meaningless labels even more so! And Gigi, I'm with you -- I want them to tell me how high the rise is -- that is more valuable than saying "low" "medium" or "high."
I'm 5'4" on a tall day. (Probably closer to 5'3" but let's not go there. Ha!)
My waist is a bit on the short side. My rise is quite long for my height. My legs are on the shorter side but not by an enormous amount -- I'm almost balanced. Still, every inch counts!
Here's the thing. As far as flattery is concerned, it's not as simple as the guidelines would have you believe. Truly low rise jeans are unflattering in that they shorten my already short leg line. Plus, if they get below 7", they cut into my hip bones in a horrible way -- ugh!! But...add a 2 inch heel, make those jeans full length, and semi tuck a slightly fitted top, and my shortish waist looks almost willowy.
Still, since they are my least comfortable rise, I've let them all go.
Mid-rise -- say 8" to 8.5" is comfortable. It's good for semi-tucking. It looks sort of low-ish rise on me, however, and without heels, definitely shortens my leg line.
9" comes to about an inch from my navel. It's not super high, but definitely not low. It's a nice balancing look on me, and looks better than the lower rise pants with flats.
10 is very high on me, and 11 is a super high rise -- right up to or above the navel. I have a few jeans that are about 11" and I like and wear them. They feel current. I do find, however, that they tend to emphasize my shorter waist and make my rise look very long. So the shape of the leg becomes even more important. They have to taper a bit or else be wide leg.
To go any higher than that would mean digging into my rib cage with every move -- not fun! Plus, it would really emphasize my shorter waist. So 8.5 to 10.5 is probably my personal sweet spot, depending on the style.
The CoH Rockets are about 9".
The Olivias are about 11."
The Caras are about 9" or a bit less.
The Dres are about 8.5 I think?
Ditto for the CoH Elsas.
The Gap are about 10" I think.
Note that even when they give that measurement it is not always completely accurate.
