Hi Fruitful! just chiming in to congratulate you on your new purchases - they sound fab - and to second all those who say go to the shops.
2 months I bought my first pair of jeans in over 12 years! I had practically stopped wearing jeans, and been putting off buying new ones on account of the depressing feelings that come with unsuccessful jeans shopping. I have a long list of special fit requirements that sometimes seem nearly impossible to fill - and like you, I thought that for me only a bootcut style would look any good.
What I really longed for was a pair of skinnies. But any skinnies I had tried on from time to time looked awful. However, from YLF I had gleaned that straightleg jeans might be a good skinny substitute, so in August I marched into my local JeansWest in Sydney, ready to try on straightlegs.
Enter The Jeans Dude.
You know the type, every specialty jeans shop seems to have one. He introduced himself as the manager, though he couldn't have been a day over 22, i.e. young enough to be my grandson. He was slim, taut and confident, very tanned with a bleached faux hawk, wearing an overly tight check shirt, and skinnies so tight they looked glued on. He cast a practised glance at the jeans I had on (my best and only pair, bootcuts of course) and guided me as requested towards the straightleg section. And then he suggested I try skinnies. I told him my skinnies woes, how I couldn't even get my feet into them in "my size", how I couldn't bend my knees, how my calves felt like they were in a tourniquet, how I couldn't find any long enough, etc.
And off I went to the changeroom with the straightlegs. But the fit looked wrong, whatever the size and style. He suggested skinnies again.
What the heck, I thought, I suppose I should. I did insist on a relaxed fit (I was thinking slouchy/boyfriend skinny) but when I looked in the mirror, my heart sank. The fabric was wrinkling in a way that I had seen often enough when my knock knees meet skinnies (any knock-kneed gals out there? you know the double diagonal knee wrinkle thing?) I felt suddenly at a dead end. It seemed to me that trying different sizes would just bring a host of other, even worse fit problems. I realised that I did not have the slightest idea what my next step should be. So I did something out of character, that I cannot remember ever doing in a clothing shop.
I asked The jeans Dude for his opinion.
Now I'm normally very clear in my own mind about why something does or doesn't work on me, so I never feel the need to seek a fit critique from shop assistants . But this time, I walked out of the changeroom wearing the "bad" jeans, found The Dude and said the words I had only ever uttered to members of my family: "What do you think?"
I swear he straightened up. He took one look at the jeans and said emphatically," You need to size down", and then vanished to get the smaller sizes.
I could not bring myself to reply that, with the jeans I had on, I had just spent 2 minutes struggling to get the sides of the zipper to meet. How could i possibly get into a smaller size? Never mind, what did I know about jeans...I was now in the hands of the expert. I meekly wrangled my flesh into every pair he brought me without a word of dissent; and walked out of the fitting room every time to show him and ask him what he thought. I even submitted to a jeans jegging which look surprisingly good, if a little nightclubby for my taste... anyway, he found me a pair of darkwash skinnies so nice that I bought them in the black as well. (Bonus - they are a standard Jeanswest line, so only $75 a pair :).To most skinny wearers out there they would not look like anything special - just 2 standard pair of skinnies -- but for me they are a complete marvel. I have worn each pair many times since.
Fruitful, I've mentioned my experience not because I think you should forget bootcuts and go for skinnies, but just to suggest that input from someone who knows their merchandise CAN reduce jean shopping stress. Hope you will find your very own Jeans Dude (or Jeans Mistress)! NB: go when the shop will be fairly empty and the staff have time on their hands - just after opening is a really good time, as is after 4pm on a weekend. And ask if the shop has 2 angled mirrors in the changeroom, for a proper rear view. Good luck!
