HELP! pants for the curvy, cushion-y, short woman

[Aura]

What do you do??? I have looked and looked at jeans, and I just cannot find any that 1) do not give me a muffin top 2) don't sag 3) aren't mom jeans (or worse!). I'm ready to toss the jeans altogether and move to....what? 

 

I'm going shopping tomorrow. Please give me some direction to look!

 

I'm 5'3", size 14-ish (you know, depends on the cut, brand, etc.), and I have real curves, dang it all! I know that I need bootcut or something to balance out proportions. But I'm self-conscious, and I don't like thin material that shows every line/curve/fold in my butt, either.

 

Last week, I went shopping and tried on over 20 pairs of jeans. Finally found one that I thought would work. I'm returning those tomorrow because after wearing them for an hour, the waistband stretched out another 3 inches.  :svengo: I just want to look nice. In pants. Not frumpy. Not super-model. (Not that I could, anyway, LOL) Is that too much to ask?  :banghead:  :banghead:  :banghead:

[Aura]

How is it that even plus-sized models avoid muffin tops??? Do they live in shapewear?

 

Where are the real women?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sing it...

 

I've had the best luck at Walmart oddly enough.  The Rider's by Lee fit me the best.  I'm a similar size to you, just a bit shorter.

 

 

[Farrar]

I'm the same size. NYDJ Petites do okay on me. They're a little longer than other petite sizes, I've found. 

[Beaniemom]

I'm in about the same situation. The only jeans I have found that I feel comfortable in are LL Bean. The bad part is that they size small so I always must order a size bigger.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I've had the best luck at Old Navy.

[cintinative]

I hear you. No real answers. I ended up getting jeans at a thrift store because the current styles don't fit me well. I'm 5'3" and about a size 12 (depends on the brand).

 

I have a smallish waist and much larger hips/thighs/bottom and everything fit me like a diaper--tight on the hips and too loose on the waist.

 

I even tried ordering custom fit pants from Lands End once. You send in your measurements and they cut the pants especially for you.  No, they were not cheap. And, remarkably, those also did not fit.

 

I know I cannot be the only one in the world with this body shape but sometimes it feels like I have alien dimensions.  Maybe I should just embrace skirts. I never wear skirts.  

Edited September 4, 2016 by cintinative

[Aura]

So those of you who have recommended stores (most of which, of course, are not in my area) do you actually LIKE your jeans...or are they just "the best" that you could find?

[Sara in AZ]

I've had the best luck at Old Navy.

Old Navy for sure. I'm 5' 1" and a size 16. This is the only place I buy jeans....on line because they don't have petites in the store usually.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Sara in AZ

[Carrie12345]

Go to the Levis store and let young, androgynous men tell you what to wear for $1,000,000.

 

Seriously.  It took me forever to work up the guts, but it was worth every second and dollar.

[catz]

Same boat here.  My favorite pants are the Starfish pants from Lands End.  I am kind of odd proportions too.  I'd love to find a wider variety of clothes to wear!

[AmandaVT]

Old Navy Curvy boot cut (or straight) petite: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1036223&vid=1&pid=480938112

 

These are the first jeans in forever that fit me well (5'2" size 12)

 

Still working on other pants that aren't yoga pants - will be checking back here regularly!

[eternalsummer]

Same boat here.  My favorite pants are the Starfish pants from Lands End.  I am kind of odd proportions too.  I'd love to find a wider variety of clothes to wear!

 

those are comfortable and don't look stupid (I am 5' 3" and size 8, but all of it is in the stomach area)

[Rebel Yell]

Old Navy also works for me. But I will not wear boot cut! My size means the flared boot part looks like I'm wearing long flappy denim skirts at each knee. 😷

 

And the waist is always too big. And only *FIVE* belt loops is crazy. I add extra ones in the back.

[mommymonster]

I'm 5ft 3in, and a little more cushion-y, but I have had great luck with J.C. Penney's A New Approach jeans. They are on a good sale this weekend.

[Ottakee]

Cato's petite jeans might work.

[Mrs_JWM]

I would strongly recommend finding a seamstress to alter your jeans for you. Because of all the stretch they put in jeans now, they do get loose in the waist. I found a pair at the thrift shop that fit well (in the legs and seat, especially) when I tried them on, wore them for a day or two, and then took them to a Sicilian seamstress in the neighborhood. For $5 - she's a steal, so I paid her more - she deconstructed and reconstructed my jeans so that they fit like a dream now. I would go back to the original ones that fit well except in the waist after wearing them and have them taken in. Life-changing! 😊

 

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

Edited September 5, 2016 by Mrs_JWM

[earthyfamily]

My three favourites for jeans are: Old Navy's Sweetheart cut, Torrid's Skinny/Short and Target's Avi and Viv line. I'm 5'3".

[ktgrok]

Torrid jeans fit me well, but do stretch quite a bit which I hate. 

[billswife]

I found some great jeans at Duluth Trading Company. I'm built like you are, and they work great. They are very comfortable, but don't get saggy like a lot of other jeans do for me. They come in shorter lengths that can be hard to find too.

[magnificent_baby]

I'm your same size and I really like Maurices jeans. I have to get the short length. They do stretch out a lot, so I always buy them very tight. Found a pair of Miss Me's in a consignment store and I really like them as well. They are actually capri but work as jeans for me. Was surprised they made them in my size!

[kandesmom]

I have found Old Navy curvy fit me the best.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Old Navy also works for me. But I will not wear boot cut! My size means the flared boot part looks like I'm wearing long flappy denim skirts at each knee. 😷

 

And the waist is always too big. And only *FIVE* belt loops is crazy. I add extra ones in the back.

 

Same here!

 

I have mixed results at Old Navy.  Some of my favorites have come from there, but there were times I couldn't find anything that worked. 

[Elfknitter.#]

Sing it...

 

I've had the best luck at Walmart oddly enough. The Rider's by Lee fit me the best. I'm a similar size to you, just a bit shorter.

^^^This.

 

Lee is the only brand I have every worn comfortably that looked good on me. (5' 4" -ish and about Size 12/14)

[wonderchica]

Try New York and Company. They have short and curvy styles. Lots of good sales if you watch.

[Ausmumof3]

Do you have jeans west? The curve embracer ones are ok. Only problem for me is they won't stay up without a belt and I don't love the belt but they look good as far as jeans look good on my shape.

[Peaceful Isle]

Khols and thrift stores.

 

Honestly, I have two pair of Jeans and one pair of dress slacks. I mostly wear maxi skirts because I am a side 8 on top and 12 on the bottom and only 5'3"

Maxi skirts are my friend.

[Beaniemom]

Khols and thrift stores.

 

Honestly, I have two pair of Jeans and one pair of dress slacks. I mostly wear maxi skirts because I am a side 8 on top and 12 on the bottom and only 5'3"

Maxi skirts are my friend.

Not to derail but where do you find your maxi skirts? I'm 5'2" and about a size 14 on bottom. I have trouble finding ones that don't need altering

[Aura]

Yeah, I don't have much luck w/ maxi skirts, either. They're always too long. The selection available in petite/short lengths are very limited. And even though I'm wearing a maxi skirt right now, sometimes I just want to wear jeans.

 

I'm just asking for ONE pair of jeans. I moved up one size, and now I can't find anything. *sigh*

 

I did not have any luck at the thrift stores. Or at Kohls. Or any Gap brand stores---those seemed to be aptly named because every pair I tried gapped big time in the back. Or at Penney's, Sears, Belks, Macys, Maurices, Ross, Marshalls, Target, Walmart, and I know there's a couple other stores that I visited that I can't remember the name. 

 

I found that IF the pants fit okay, the pockets were too small. Women with a size 14 butt do not need small pockets. The three things I looked for:

1. no-gap (or at least minimal gap) waist
2. short bootcut--I thought bootcut was a more classic look (NOT classic jean styling, but classic in style, KWIM) but it was amazing how FEW choices there were in bootcut, and when you need short length, there were even less.
3. pockets that did not make my butt look ridiculously large (which small and/or high pockets do that)

 

Maurices were the closest, but strangely, the rise in the front was higher than in the back and cut into my waist. They looked good, but turned out to be very uncomfortable. So they went back to the store.

 

I'm moving into online shopping now. And upping my budget.

[Vida Winter]

I've had good luck with Lee jeans from Penneys, so much so that I have gotten rid of all my other brands of jeans and pants.

[Aura]

I generally like Lee jeans...but for some reason, they seem to stretch out and sag horribly after wearing them for about an hour! And it's weird, because I swear the size 12 doesn't do it as bad as the size 14. I used to wear the curvy bootcut in Lee. And no problems! But the 14 turns to a 16 about an hour after wearing them. But if I wear the 12, they don't stretch as much and stay too tight. UGH.

 

I know, I know. I need to just lose weight and move back to the size 12, but it's the principle of the matter. I *should* be able to find what I want in a size 14!

[Peaceful Isle]

Not to derail but where do you find your maxi skirts? I'm 5'2" and about a size 14 on bottom. I have trouble finding ones that don't need altering

Mostly at JCPenny in the Ana petite section. They have really cute shirts to go with them, most of the time as well.