How to Shop — and Wear — Jeans Like a Strategist Writer
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Welcome to Jeans Month on the Strategist, where we’re obsessively vetting denim — from trying on every pair at the Gap to asking dozens of stylish people about their favorite fits. For more, head to ourJeans Month hub.
It’s the end ofJeans Monthat the Strategist. Admittedly, as the Strategist’s denim correspondent, it was a busy few weeks. After polling dozens oftasteful people on their favorite jeans, finding out thedifference between $30 and $300 jeans, andanswering readers’ questions about jeanslive, I might have learned more about jeans this month than in my entire tenure as our jeans expert. My fellow Strategist writers went deep on denim, too: They tried on all the jeans at retailers likeMadewellandAbercrombie, found outif Levi’s from Amazon are different from Levi’s from Levi’s, talked toteens about where they’re buying their jeans, heard from the designer behindLevi’s Ribcages, and hunted down thebest gray jeans, the bestplus-size and non-stretch jeans, and the best jeans for “hockey butts.” (We also updated our denim guides, including thebest jeans for women of all sizesandbest jeans for tall women.) In short, we learned a lot, and we’re putting every pearl of denim-related wisdom picked up from the month in one place. Here are all the best tips to know the next time you’re shopping for a pair of jeans:
.
To know yourmeasurementsfor buying jeans online, Strategist writerErin Schwartzrecommends getting a tailor’s measuring tape.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“Your waist measurement is the circumference of the area above your belly button where you aren’t hitting your rib cage. Your hip measurement is the circumference of your butt, taken at the widest point, like the equator. Rise is easiest to measure on a garment you already have; if you’re looking for a high-waisted pair of jeans, the rise should hit about where you’re measuring your waist,” they say.
.
The old trick of “wrapping the waist of jeans around your neck” works.
(If you haven’t heard of it, here’s ahow-to— if a jean goesallthe way around your neck, it should fit your waist.) Kathleen Sorbara, owner ofSorbara’s New York(formerlyChickee’s) uses it while shopping secondhand herself, “especially at flea markets when fitting rooms aren’t really an option.”
.
You shouldwash your jeansevery ten wears (textile expertDeborah Youngpicked up this tip from aLevi’s label).
.
Be sure to turn them inside-out and use cold water, too.
.
Save a hot-water wash for reshrinking an overstretched pair (only those that are 100 percent cotton, though).
If you do this with a pair that has, say, 98 percent cotton and 2 percent elastane, you risk ruining the fibers.
.
Unfortunately, new jeans might go throughcrocking(or the blue dye coming off). Put them in a load by themselves for the first wash at least.
Denim designerAlyss Odlewill throw a white tote to the washer to see how much color transfer there is. “If the tote comes out blue, I’m like,All right, I don’t need to wash this with anything else,” she says. Only after that excess dye has been washed out (as evidenced by the now-blue bag) will Odle put the jeans in the wash with the rest of her laundry.
.
As much as you can, air-dry your jeans.
That said, you can put your jeans in the dryer — occasionally. Just don’t use dryer sheets or a high heat setting, keep them in for about 15 minutes (or less), and try to hang them up while they’re still damp.
.
Forstretch denim, 1 to 2 percent stretch (either elastane, spandex, orLycra) should be enough — once you go over that, you’re going to get a lot of overstretching.
.
If you don’t like the fit of Levi’s 501s, try the501s ’90s.
New! You can now save this product for later.
EditorDiana Tsuidid and finds the looser, low-slung style better for her body type than the original (which is narrower through her calves).
.
For secondhand shoppers: Vintage502shave a zipper fly instead of a button fly, “so they don’t do the weird crotch thing that a lot of vintage 501s do,” Sorbara says.
.
The biggest difference between Wedgies andRibcagesis in the rise: 10.85 inches to 12 inches, respectively. (The Ribcages are Levi’shighesthigh-rise.)
New! You can now save this product for later.
Schwartz’s investigation (which involved taking pairs of Wedgies, Ribcages, and 501s to the testing lab of F.I.T.’s Textile Development Department) revealed that they might be dyed differently, but that “didn’t add up to gaps in quality; there was no indication that the Levi’s from Amazon were worse.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Deals editorSam Daly, who almost only buys Ribcages, notes that some Ribcages sold on Amazon are fabricated with polyester (instead of the 99 percent cotton and 1 percent elastane in a pair directly from Levi’s). This makes for something much stretchier.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Generally, you can size down in mostMadewelljeans — including the Perfect Vintage Jean a stylist hasrecommended to over 150 clientsover the years.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
A beginner-level barrel leg is Madewell’s Darted Barrel-Leg Jean.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Of all the barrel legs I’ve tried, they’re the only ones that don’t make me look like I borrowed them from a clown. Our senior writerLiza Corsillo(who also owns them) says that “they’re so convincingly vintage-looking that I would never guess these wereMadewell jeansif I saw them out on the street.”
.
Madewell’s men’s jeans don’t get as much attention as its women’s jeans. But there aremany different styles to choose from.
The 1991 line is where Strategist associate editorJeremy Rellosafound theperfect relaxed-fit jeanshe’s been looking for for years: the 1991 Straight-Leg Jeans, 1991 Straight-Leg Stretch Selvedge Jeans, and 1991 Loose Straight Jean (the loosest out of them).
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
TheKaihara MillsuppliesJapanese denimto higher-end lines likeNudie Jeans, where jeans go for $280. For less, you can get Kaihara Mill’s denim made in collaboration withMadewell.
Everything’s a little pricier than regular Madewell, but you’re getting a rigid selvedge for $168.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Until recently, Madewell offered “tall” and “taller” inseams: “tall” for those between five-eight and five-eleven, and “taller” for those who are six feet and over.
But some months ago, I noticed it stopped selling “taller” as an extended size. Still, some new styles now come in longer lengths in the default “regular”: The Superwides have a 32-inch inseam (with 35-inch “tall” inseam); Low-Slung Baggy a 31-inch inseam (with a 34-inch “tall” inseam); Longline Straight a 30-inch inseam; and Vintage Flare a 32-inch inseam. (Just note that stock moves quickly.)
New! You can now save this product for later.
Madewell The Longline Straight Jean
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Wrangler’s Cowboy Cut Slim-Fit Jeans have the widest range oftall-specific inseam lengthsfor those who are over five-foot-eight, including 30-, 32-, 34-, 36-, and 38-inch inseams.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Because sizes are odd-numbered, Strategist senior editorSimone Kitchenssuggests going for the next size from your even-numbered one (for example, a size three if you’re a size two).
.
“You don’t have to have an hourglass figure or even be dealing with a waist gap to wear a ‘curvy’ fit — it usually just means a more cinched waist while giving you a little more room in the hip and thigh area,” says our social-media editorKathy Li.
.
Except for the High-Rise Loose Jean and Mid-Rise Bootcut Jean (which run big),Abercrombie’s sizing is fairly consistent, according to our junior writerBella Druckman, who tried on 20 different pairs at the store.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
From her experience, theCurve Lovefit (which adds two inches to the hip and thigh for less waist-gapping) might be better for tighter styles andClassicfit for looser styles.
.
As a general rule, darker washes fit tighter than lighter ones — an Abercrombie rep specifically mentioned to Druckman that “when it comes to their black denim, size up since the dyeing process makes the fabric less stretchy.”
.
The pair ofGap jeansthat miraculously fit both Strategist contributorErika Veurink, who’s six-foot-two, and Strategist newsletter editorAshley Wolfgang, who’s four-foot-eleven, is the High-Rise ’90s Straight Jeans. (VerySisterhood of the Traveling Pants.)
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Have ahockey butt? Our tech writerJordan McMahonbelieves AG’s Kace 28 comes closest to having the right fit for his “larger lower half.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
In the “jeans that aren’t actually jeans” category (headed byRag & Bone’s Miramar), Frame’s Jetsets “allow for a good amount of mobility and have the durability you’d normally look for in a good pair of jeans,” stylist Charline Zeroual tells Strategist writerArielle Avila. You can’t say the same about mostpull-ons.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
It was about timebejeweled jeanscame back — you can get the same studded effect asSandy Liang’swith Abercrombie’s High-Rise ’90s Relaxed Jean (a comparison first made in the Strategist-staff Slack channel).
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
A good bootcut: J.Crew’s High-Rise Bootcut Jean in 2003 Super-Stretch. It’s “sharper (and, blessedly, higher cut) than our shredded Mudd bell-bottoms from 2003,”Wall Street Journalart editorAlexandra Citrin-Safaditold me.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Banana Republic Factory’s jeans are comparable quality-wise to Banana Republic’s. I find the fit ofBanana Republic Factory’s Mid-Rise Slim Jeanis even better thanBanana Republic’s High-Rise Slim Jean.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Mostplus-size jeanscome with some form of stretch. Forplus-size, non-stretch jeans, Strategist writerDominique ParisolikesDecade Studio. If you’re trying to minimize waist-gapping, it designs with different hip-to-waist ratios in mind, she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Nelle Atelier’s denim is for those who are under five-foot-four. But you can get away with the Laura if you’re between five-foot-five and five-foot-seven. It’s not too short onPrix FixefounderOset Babür-Winter(who’s five-foot-six, for reference).
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
If your size in a “petite” inseam is sold out, go for the “short” inseam — the difference between them is often not much more than an inch.
.
Similarly, an “ankle” length will usually be short enough, according to our writerLauren Ro.
.
If you’reespeciallypetite, you might shop inOld Navy’s boy’s section(for cuts ranging from straight to slim and skinny), according to our writer Kitty Guo, who’s five-three.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
The first, and so far only, pair of low-rise jeans in our guide to thebest jeans for all shapes and sizesis Topshop’s Cinch Low-Rise Relaxed Jeans. The back cinch lets our writerRachael Griffiths“switch between having them hang low on my hips or a little closer to my belly button.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
For that “elusive shade” ofgraythat’s “somewhere between faded black and light-concrete gray,” ourStrategist HuntheadlinerMya GelberthinksZara’s TRF Mid-Rise Wide Leg Jeansare ideal.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It’s “light enough to break up my navy- and red-heavy wardrobe,” she writes.
.
If you missed anotherRudy Judepreorder, be sure to check thestatus updates pagethe customer-service team puts together for every style currently in production. You can even find out what’s still in the finishing stage.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Nudie Jeans will not onlyrepairyour jeans for free, it’ll take anold jeanin exchange for a 20 percent off discount that counts toward a new pair, our senior editorAilbhe Malonepoints out.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
You can addalterationsto almost any jean at Uniqlo before checkout.
New! You can now save this product for later.
How it works: You choose an inseam length, between 16 and 30 inches (that includes half-inches: 25.5, 26.5, 27.5, and so on), and the kind of stitch for the hem (lock, blind, chain, or a cutoff). The additional fee to your order can be anywhere from free to $10.
.
From Corsillo:Iron-on patchescanfix ripsif you stitch over them.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Another DIY project: Dye your jeans with Dylon. It’s what Griffiths used on old jeans that might’ve otherwise been thrown out.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
BeforeWraycloses up shop (theLower East Side storefrontwill be open “until further notice”), buy yourself a pair of Hesters.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Wray Hester Jean
There’s a button in the waistband for no back-gapping. They’re also available with different amounts of stretch, depending on the wash: The lightest, “’70s blue,” is 100 percent cotton, while “millennium blue” is 70 percent cotton and 30 percentLyocell.
.
Behind Khaite and Reformation’s denim lines is designerBenjamin Talley Smith(as theTimessays, “He may well have made the jeans in your closet, and your friend’s closet, and your friend’s friends’”).
Apparently, there are rumors that Reformation’s Wilder is a dupe for Khaite’s Danielle (which I heard about from brand consultantKatie Stone).
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
