jeantown express

jeans shopping can cause all sorts of horrific side effects. when trying on a pair of blues, expect gentle bouts of depression, restless leg syndrome and perhaps the feeling that you are completely bloated. really.... jeans shopping is just a small bit of torture that is necessary to find the pair that fit your body the way they should. this past friday, i had a hell of time finding the pair for me.

after work on friday, i planned to go to the mall and hit up old navy for some of the latest denim they offer. now, some of you might be shocked that i was going to old navy, while others might think that old navy is practically synonomous with clothes shopping. but i tell you, even though old navy is generally just outside of my comfortable shopping network of stores, the word on the street (thanks, nik) was that old navy's latest collection of jeans is to die for! i'm talking totally flattering blues that make every day a sunny one. well, at least that's what i heard. i got to the mall and wondered around, not limiting the trip to old navy's denim delights. i browsed around some of my usual haunts and even more of the unusual.

so, back to old navy.... they have this style right now called 'flirt'. i tried them and let me tell you, my butt did anything BUT flirt with itself in the mirror. it looked like it was playing hide and go seek with me and it was winning. i've learned my lesson in the past with buying pants that aren't flattering. no matter how much you talk yourself into it in the dressing room, chances are you'll hardly wear them because they don't make you feel good. i wasn't about to go down that road. the old navy jeans were also too big in my waist, which does tend to happen with this misshapen mass of cells i call my body. even with the size 4's - no butt, loose waist. no go. it was quite disheartening really. i had my hopes up about the miracle jeans i had heard were changing lives across the country. i would still recommend you try them to see how they fit you. at a mere $25 a pair, it is worth it.

i tried on jeans at practically every store that had them trying to fill the riveted denim void that was left in my heart by one of my favorite pairs that are about to have a big ol' hole in them. talk about 'distressed' denim. :) my stress levels rose ever so slightly when i realized that all of the jeans that i was looking at were about 4" too long for me, yet they were the normal length. ever since i broke my toe last year (thanks, mr. trainer) i haven't been wearing much for heels. i basically trod around in any flats that i can get my shoe-greedy little hands on, so the thought of buying jeans that are probably even past my heel height is just not appealing. i also don't want to have to tailor every pair of jeans i buy. so, i tried on the petite jeans. they were about an inch too short. argh. i don't know what's happening, but somehow i've fallen into some sort of abnormal height group of women. i'm below normal, yet ever so slightly taller than a petite woman. is everyone getting taller and i missed the boat? (i ask this because my mom mentioned that people are getting taller now a days... i think she's crazy, personally).

finally, i realized i should try the place that has been good to me in the jeans department before. the gap. funnily enough, the name suits the whole jeans length issue perfectly. not tall, not totally short... i fall into in the gap. and, just as suspected. the gap was good. i found a pair of dark denim jeans that fit me perfectly (bum-hugging, bootcut, perfect length, perfect fit at the waist). plus, they really know how to make a girl feel normal. the length that fits me there is the 'regular' length. ha! take that denim world!

anyways, i'm sure this little story has served as a perfect little nap-enducing tidbit. it seemed so much more riveting (pardon the pun) before i put it into words. :)

addendum:
places with really long 'regular' jeans
-Banana Republic
-Ann Taylor Loft
-H&M (it's been a while, but i think they run long)
-Old Navy (i think they were pretty long)