It's In The Genes...
I don't know about you but my quest for the perfect pair of jeans has always been a life long challenge for me and my bottom.....
I remember growing up that there was only one place to buy jeans...THE GAP! There was a huge wall of jeans and you got to pick your wash, your length and your size and it was a relatively painless process. I long for the days when things were that simple and I was a size 4.
I also remember the first time I heard about designer jeans. I was in college and every one kept talking about seven jeans. I was so excited that I immediatly went to Nordstrom and tried a pair on and I LOVED them but they were out of my price range. I begged and begged for a pair but my parents were unimpressed with my reasoning "look how good they make my butt look" didn't exactly motivate dear, ole dad to break out the credit card. So I was forced to wear my express jeans for the rest of college.
When I got my first job out of college my first purchase was a pair of seven jeans! I remember going to Encore in Athens, buying them and feeling like a grown up.
Since my initial Seven Jeans experience I have bought tons of jeans. I love jeans but the older I got the more I realized that I had a ton of jeans in my closet but very few I wore. I also noticed that I would spend a pretty penny on certain pairs of jeans and would hardly wear them for one reason or another mostly that they were too tight, too long or too short.
One day I decided I was going to stop buying any and every pair of jeans that I thought looked good on the rack and get down to business. I went to Saks and told the sweet, unassuming sales girl I needed jeans. She looked at me like "Seriously? What fun for me." I explained to her my situation that I had a close full of jeans but mostly wore 2 pair.
She responded emotionless "Which two pair?"
I didn't get where she was going with this "What?"
Annoyed sales girl "What brand are the two pair you wear all the time, what's the cut, color?"
Me (feeling like an idiot) "Oh...well one pair are J. Brand and the other pair are Seven."
She then began inspecting me like I was a military recruit. Looking me up and down and walking all around me.
She finally responded "Well that makes sense."
Clueless me "Why?"
I think she took pity on me at this point as she began to explain that finding the right pair of jeans had everything to do with your GENES. She explained to me since I basically had no hips and no bottom that certain brands would work better for me. She further explained that I didn't have to limit myself to those brands but I needed to be mindful when shopping other brands that only certain cuts would work on my body type.
She then went to the jean wall that reminded me a bit of the Gap's and began pulling dozens of pairs of jeans. She marched me back to a dressing room threw the jeans on the bench and told me to be quick about it. This chick was seriously missing a great opportunity to be in the military.
I slipped on my first pair of jeans and instantly fell in love...the fit amazing and I loved the way they looked. There was one problem they were about a mile too long. About this time salesgal opened the door and said
"Ok these look good but you need to go a size down. They have a ton of stretch in them and will fall off of you by the end of the day. You also need to have them hemmed."
The rest of the two hours went on pretty much like that. I left Saks with a new jeans wardrobe and some invaluable advice. In the years since I've gone back to Saks several times and look for my salesgal but she must have left...maybe for the greener pastures or the military :)
The advice she gave me I still rememeber today....
1. When buying jeans it's really about your genes
2. Find what works for you and your body type and forget all the rest
3. Everyone should invest in a great pair of dark jeans and black jeans
4. When you get your jeans hemmed: wash them first (bc all denim shrinks a bit no matter how you wash it), wear your highest heels and don't let them take the length too short (they will always try) and finally ask for the original hem to be used on the jeans after they are done taking up the length.
5. Try 'em before you buy 'em. It is tempting to buy jeans online on just grab a pair in the store without trying them on but this is a huge mistake. Try them on, sit down in them, walk around in them before snapping them up.
I've also learned that you don't have to spend a pretty penny on a pair of great jeans in fact you can find some great pairs of jeans at the GAP!
Below are some of my favorite brands you may or may not have heard of yet....happy shopping!
My tried and true blue favorites
Seven
Citizens of Humanity
J. Brand
Joe's
Current Elliott
I remember growing up that there was only one place to buy jeans...THE GAP! There was a huge wall of jeans and you got to pick your wash, your length and your size and it was a relatively painless process. I long for the days when things were that simple and I was a size 4.
I also remember the first time I heard about designer jeans. I was in college and every one kept talking about seven jeans. I was so excited that I immediatly went to Nordstrom and tried a pair on and I LOVED them but they were out of my price range. I begged and begged for a pair but my parents were unimpressed with my reasoning "look how good they make my butt look" didn't exactly motivate dear, ole dad to break out the credit card. So I was forced to wear my express jeans for the rest of college.
When I got my first job out of college my first purchase was a pair of seven jeans! I remember going to Encore in Athens, buying them and feeling like a grown up.
Since my initial Seven Jeans experience I have bought tons of jeans. I love jeans but the older I got the more I realized that I had a ton of jeans in my closet but very few I wore. I also noticed that I would spend a pretty penny on certain pairs of jeans and would hardly wear them for one reason or another mostly that they were too tight, too long or too short.
One day I decided I was going to stop buying any and every pair of jeans that I thought looked good on the rack and get down to business. I went to Saks and told the sweet, unassuming sales girl I needed jeans. She looked at me like "Seriously? What fun for me." I explained to her my situation that I had a close full of jeans but mostly wore 2 pair.
She responded emotionless "Which two pair?"
I didn't get where she was going with this "What?"
Annoyed sales girl "What brand are the two pair you wear all the time, what's the cut, color?"
Me (feeling like an idiot) "Oh...well one pair are J. Brand and the other pair are Seven."
She then began inspecting me like I was a military recruit. Looking me up and down and walking all around me.
She finally responded "Well that makes sense."
Clueless me "Why?"
I think she took pity on me at this point as she began to explain that finding the right pair of jeans had everything to do with your GENES. She explained to me since I basically had no hips and no bottom that certain brands would work better for me. She further explained that I didn't have to limit myself to those brands but I needed to be mindful when shopping other brands that only certain cuts would work on my body type.
She then went to the jean wall that reminded me a bit of the Gap's and began pulling dozens of pairs of jeans. She marched me back to a dressing room threw the jeans on the bench and told me to be quick about it. This chick was seriously missing a great opportunity to be in the military.
I slipped on my first pair of jeans and instantly fell in love...the fit amazing and I loved the way they looked. There was one problem they were about a mile too long. About this time salesgal opened the door and said
"Ok these look good but you need to go a size down. They have a ton of stretch in them and will fall off of you by the end of the day. You also need to have them hemmed."
The rest of the two hours went on pretty much like that. I left Saks with a new jeans wardrobe and some invaluable advice. In the years since I've gone back to Saks several times and look for my salesgal but she must have left...maybe for the greener pastures or the military :)
The advice she gave me I still rememeber today....
1. When buying jeans it's really about your genes
2. Find what works for you and your body type and forget all the rest
3. Everyone should invest in a great pair of dark jeans and black jeans
4. When you get your jeans hemmed: wash them first (bc all denim shrinks a bit no matter how you wash it), wear your highest heels and don't let them take the length too short (they will always try) and finally ask for the original hem to be used on the jeans after they are done taking up the length.
5. Try 'em before you buy 'em. It is tempting to buy jeans online on just grab a pair in the store without trying them on but this is a huge mistake. Try them on, sit down in them, walk around in them before snapping them up.
I've also learned that you don't have to spend a pretty penny on a pair of great jeans in fact you can find some great pairs of jeans at the GAP!
Below are some of my favorite brands you may or may not have heard of yet....happy shopping!
My tried and true blue favorites
Seven
Citizens of Humanity
J. Brand
Joe's
Current Elliott
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