Jeans for an athletic body

Question:  “I have an athletic figure, and I’m quite short. American Eagle Jeans haven’t ever fit me well enough as much as I hoped it to be. Where would another place you suggest to check?”   – From Betty

Answer: I received a question in my comments section and I thought it would be more interesting to answer it as a post because other women might be interested in the answer.

I also have an athletic build and I’m only 5′5. So I’m in the middle of petite and not tall enough. You want to look for jeans with a little stretch or that fit in the thigh area. Tailoring might be a requirement. The tailoring cost should only be around $10 – I highly recommend this. With an athletic body or curvy body we crave the illusion od long lines. Boot cut jeans do that, but I also recommend straight jeans and yes you can pull this off. With straight jeans try a pair that is a size bigger than you normally get, have the waist taken in. Straight jeans will give you the slim look and you can pull the boyfriend look! So look for those cuts. Wherever you buy, always ask if they will tailor/hem for free.

In my closet I’ve got, True Religion, Joes Jeans, Lucky, Banana Republic, American Eagle and Mossimo from Target. You heard it right. Mossimo. They are wonderfully soft. With my more expensive jeans I wait until Nordstrom’s has their anniversary sale.

Lucky has been my favorite and has had a lot of sales lately. The Lucky jean I have are Lil Maggie. The online description scared me, but when I went to try them on, they fit like a glove and didn’t flare as much as I thought they would. So I bought one pair. After wearing them twice, I wish I’d bought two pairs. I went back to the store and found out they were popular and kept going back until I was able to find a second pair. My American Eagle jeans are a size larger because they have no stretch. I had the waist tailored for each pair. Banana Republic jeans are comfortable because they stretch. I always need them hemmed and Banana Republic will do it for you for no cost. Mossimo are great jeans, but they more difficult to find because Target can’t keep them on the rack. So grab them if you find a pair that fits you.

In many stores jeans come in short, regular and long. Shop around, but Target, H&M, Macy’s, and JCPenney’s always have great deals. The key to jeans is understanding your body type first, shop around and then be willing to tailor or hem when needed. Try to get the store to offer these services with your purchase, but if they don’t offer that it’s a small price to pay for something that you’ll wear a lot.  Good Luck.