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Jeans (and why I loathe shopping for them)

Monday 23 January 2012



I think that shopping for jeans is one of the most unrelentingly miserable tasks in the shopping universe. It can never be described as fun. If you want a nice pair of shoes, well, you wander round various shops going "Oooh" or "Ergh!" as the mood strikes you. A size 6 is generally a size 6. If you want a nice pair of jeans you have to wade through 47 different cuts/colours/lengths per store just to narrow it down to which ones you take to the changing rooms. Then comes the dreaded task of trying them on, complicated by the fact that a size 14 is not a size 14. I still don't understand how, IN THE SAME SHOP, a pair of size 12 jeans in one style can be too big and a pair of size 16 jeans in another style not go up over my thighs. Yeah, Next, I am hereby naming and shaming you. Sort your sizing out.

I honestly thought I had struck lucky. I've been buying Dorothy Perkins dark wash skinny short jeans for a good few years now and they've always been a good fit, a good colour and even better, a really good price: £15 (and often on offer for cheaper). Things appear to have changed with my latest pair.

I still like the colour and price very much but the fit has changed. I actually like the fact they sit a bit higher up than my previous pairs but that slight tweak seems to be matched to an increase in leg length. Now I don't think I've shrunk, but my other pairs have always sat nicely at the right length. These are decidedly too long, hence today's turn-ups.

I'm not sure I can face the drama of finding a new style from a new shop. Probably easier just to take these up myself.




Hey ho. At least my cardigan gives me no woes. I made the official Charity Shop Noise Of Joy when I found it. It reminds me ever so strongly of the things that the Dreaded Grandma (an entirely affectionate nickname: she was lovely really) used to knit for me when I was little. Little pearlised buttons and everything!




Top - H&M
Cardi - Charity shop
Jeans - Dorothy Perkins
Coat - Kookai via car boot sale
Brogues - Dune, vastly reduced in the TK Maxx sale
Pearls - honestly can't remember
Ring -
Landbaby

30 comments:

  1. Love the cardi & honestly? I think the turn ups are cute with the brogues.
    Jeans shopping is EVIL.

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  2. The other BITCH about buying jeans? If you change size, you have to start all over again. I bought my favourite Topshop style in the Christmas sales, but even a size down, they're too bloody big and they just don't fit *right* any more. SIGH!

    Like your cardigan, I can see why it would be cause for joy. I'm (oh so glamorously) currently snuggled up in my fave cardigan and jersey trousers, post run uniform of choice.

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    1. I'm weeping even thinking about going jeans shopping.

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  3. I feel your pain! I've got 4 pairs exactly the same of DP jeans. I'm the same with trousers in general, if you find a good pair buy lots!
    You can take them up easily, you can buy the heavy duty gold denim cotton so they look just like they do when you buy them.
    Kandi x

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  4. Well, at least you got a rather lovely cardi - I've been on the lookout for something similar, I'm so jealous! Xo

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  5. Have you ever tried TKMaxx? Worst shop ever, I took about 10 pairs in the changing room and none of them fitted! H&M jeans are amazing though, a good range of lengths and sizes so you can find the perfect fit :-)

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  6. I think i'm on my own here but I don't mind jean shopping. I've come to terms with my lack of arse yet giant thighs and i never seem to have issues HOWEVER I hate shopping for shoes! I'm constantly between sizes.xx

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  7. I’m not too keen on jeans shopping either, it always fills me with so much dread and always ends in disappointment. Just when I think I've found a pair I like, I realize they are either a) too long b) over priced or c) the wrong shade of denim! Stressful definitely so xxx

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  8. I know these woes as well, as a size 10-12 and quite short yet not petite, I can never find skinny jeans that aren't basically flared at the bottom or requiring massive turn ups. I am in love with your ring! xx

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  9. God I actually despair over jeans these days - I bought 2 pairs in xmas sales, 1 from DP and 1 from Topshop, they fit perfect everywhere but the waist, which is somehow ridiculously big - in DECEMBER, when I've spent the month drinking and eating my weight in sweets, gah! Yes your cardi more than makes up for it tho :)

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  10. jeans shopping, I loathe it! thank god for new look and their new supersoft skinnies!

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  11. I hate jeans shopping. Only Topshop seem to suit me, which is disappointing being twice the price of the rest of the high street (seriously how can Topman jeans be £20 and Topshop £40?!). And being 5ft 2, it automatically rules out every shop without petite sizing.

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  12. I look massive in jeans. They are so unflattering. Gonna get me a pair of yours now though, as they look FAB!!!!!! xx xx

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  13. jeans shopping is a recipe for disaster. The bizarre sizing of some I'e tried on leave me wondering what strange shaped women they are designed for. I usually find they're way too short or way too long.

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  14. I like turn ups! The really great thing about jeans is that I only need one pair at a time. I hardly ever wash them. I'm gross, but it works for me.

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  15. Oh god I feel your jeans pain! Add to that having 36" legs and dealing with that in shops too. Oh goodness I hate buying jeans. I think it's why I only wear dresses these days!

    dp
    x

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  16. I buy my jeans from Uniqlo because they are handily stretchy and they alter them for you in the shop for no extra charge (as long as you're paying over about £25). They're comfy and they last forever and the dye doesn't rub off on everything. Simples.

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  17. Oh God, jeans shopping :/ I don't even wear trousers much any more, that's how much I hate trouser shopping. I end up living in dresses, skirts and playsuits! x

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  18. Next are awful for their sizing!! It's silly.
    I don't wear jeans as often as I used to, tend to try and wear a mixture of skirts, dresses and tailored trousers now. Topshop have always come up trumps for me with jeans. Have a pair I got when I was 18 and they are still going strong.
    x

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  19. I hate jeans shopping, I kinda hate jeans full stop.

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  20. I can understand your jeans shopping problems, and mainly I have skinny jeans shopping issues, because, you see, if the skinny jeans are too long, they will no longer be skinny on your ankle are, because that is supposed to be on your calf...hence it is my pain and sorrow any time I try on a pair of skinny jeans...:(OK, I'll admit it I am really short, but I still want right fitting jeans. :D

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  21. Love jeans, hate shopping for them! The amount I have that I have purchased simply because I can't face trying on another pair is well into double figures!

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  22. I share your loathing of jeans shopping! I get on quite well with GAP these days but not keen on their prices.

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  23. I seem to have acquired loads of pairs of jeans which I hardly ever wear, mostly beacuse there is something wrong with the fit of most of them. You are right, well-fitting jeans in the right colour wash and at the right price do seem to be hard to find, which is why I've stopped bothering!
    PS. That coat is always a winner though. Coats are so much better behaved than jeans! xxx

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  24. I treated my daughter to a pair of Levi jeans this week. I believe every girl with a lovely figure should own a pair of Levis at least once in her life! The lovely girl serving in the Levi shop made the experience wonderful and easy - certainly the best Jeans shopping experience ever! (she may have struggled if I had wanted a pair though!)x

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  25. Oh, I'm with you on this, I hate jeans shopping for exactly the reasons you mention.

    (I hate shoe shopping as well though!)

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  26. You have summed up the exact reason that I only own two pairs of jeans. I can never find the energy and resilience within me to go shopping for more!

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  27. I've just bought 3 pairs of the same style skinnies in different colours for precisely this reason, once you've found ones that fit you have to grab them when you can! I also have an eBay alert for various favoured pairs you can't get any more. I still mourn my rock and republic pair...

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  28. I've been buying jeans in River Island for several years now. I like the slouch style with multiple pockets they regularly do (not a bootleg fan), which I haven't found elsewhere. Even having gone up a size (or 2) they still fit well on the waist and bottom. Also, being 5ft2 it's one of the few shops which have a short length. Even got a nice pair in the Jan sales half price - result! :D

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  29. Superb Selection you made. Those are pretty awesome. I usually shop at Boston proper. They are also offering wonderful Clothing and Shoe Accessories. I got one of the best in them when i check out i used Boston Proper Coupon Codes and got benefited with free shipping service and discounts on orders. They are wonderful.

    John Ryan

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