Instead of celebrating Halloween on Wednesday like any normal person, Justin and I decided to go out and do something different. I had never been to Phipps Plaza, the mall known for having the most expensive stores in the city of Atlanta. It is the mall of Giorgio Armani, Versace, Valentino, and home of the only Tiffany & Co. in the state of Georgia. It is also a very quiet and empty mall on Halloween.
Since we were in such a fancy mall, I convinced Justin to let me try on designer jeans. I've been looking for a fabulous pair of jeans since... forever. I may have had one awesome pair in high school, but unfortunately (or rather, fortunately) I lost too much weight and essentially they lost their awesomeness. (Also, I may have torn them when Justin threw me over a fence that one time and sprained my ankle. Entirely different story though.)
Previously this month I had tried on AG jeans (at Anthropologie) and Hudson jeans (at Dillard's). The AG jeans looked cute, but I wasn't IN LOVE. They reminded me of... jeans. The Hudson jeans I wanted so desperately to love because they fit so well around my thighs and followed my legs fairly well, but I just could not deal with the triangular pocket.
I guess I should mention my stature. I am short at 5'2" and I'm not the skinniest of people (although you are welcome to tell me that I am). I am curvy in that my hips and waist have approximately a 10-inch difference. (I could be a little off since I haven't measured in awhile.) I generally wear a size 0 or 2 in American sizes... 25/26 in European sizing depending on the brand. I typically have been wearing Aeropostale jeans for the last few months, but in the past, I have tried Express, many of the Macy's brands, Kohl's, JC Penney's, American Eagle, jeans sold at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, Wet Seal, and... I think that's all.
Over the years what I have been looking for in jeans has drastically changed. The biggest issue I've had is that I buy jeans and when I bring them home, they don't fit the way they did in the store. The extra stretchiness tends to make my legs, thighs, and butt look bigger than I'd like. They also typically don't add any length... which is very important to a short person. I don't always want to wear heels just to make me look taller.
When Justin and I walked into Nordstrom last night, my only goal was to try on the Paige jeans that I had read so much about online. Every review I read made them sound like the most amazing jeans ever. Plus, every person I had ever seen them on looked... great. Now maybe my problem is that I needed to get more in shape, but my feelings are that wearing a size 0 or 2 in jeans shouldn't make me look too big, to begin with.
So I picked up a pair of Paige jeans (skinny and flared, sizes 25 and 26) as well as a pair of Hudson jeans without the triangle pocket when a customer associate saw me and decided to "help". I tried on these first few pairs only seeking the opinion of my husband. All of the jeans fit, but none spoke to me. (For your reference, the size 25 fit best in those brands as well as AG.) When I came out of the dressing room, the sales associate suggested that maybe I should try two other brands she had on the floor (J Brand and Rag & Bone). I went to try on the J Brand straight leg jeans, but the size 25 did not fit. I had to upsize to a 26 before they fit but did not look amazing. (Should have taken pics.) Then I tried on Rag & Bone in Kensington skinny jeans as well as a dark wash in the skinny jeans. I was informed I may have to upsize in Rag & Bone since they tend to run a bit small.
I knew I would have to upsize when I began to put the Rag & Bone jeans on. They were fitting snuggly around my ankle, so I was certain there was no way in heck they'd fit around my hips. You have no idea how shocked and surprised I was that the size 25 fit! The jeans hugged my legs in all of the right places, in essence making my legs look skinny... in all of the right places. Yay! The Kensington wash also helped by making my legs look longer than they actually are. As the sales associate said, I would be able to dress up these jeans with heels or just wear them with flats for normal day-to-day wear. She said exactly what I was thinking, that if you are going to spend a bunch on jeans you want them to be a staple in your closet.
Justin and I decided that I needed to research the brand a bit before making such a large purchase. Unfortunately, in my research, I have yet to see a true blogger review of these jeans. Apparently, tons of celebrities wear these jeans, LeAnn Rimes and Khloe Kardashian to name a few. I'm just looking for a review that a blogger has done so that I can see how these jeans wear over time. With so much stretch in the hip area, I fear the jeans will stretch out and cause the same problems my other jeans have after buying. I don't feel terrible when $20 jeans stretch, wear out and sag over time, but I would be devastated to spend $200 on a pair of jeans that don't last.
So what are your thoughts on designer jeans? Could you bare the thought of spending $200 on a pair of jeans? And if you have, was it worth it?
