I Tried High Waisted Jeans From Six Brands and Here Are My Thoughts
This...was a journey. And I don’t think I’ve reached my destination. Buying jeans can be a mind-numbing experience. Especially if you are of the curvy woman persuasion. Of which I am. I am an hourglass shape with wide hips, big butt and small waist. I have to purchase jeans to fit the larger parts of my bottom half and because of this the waist is usually too big. This was the prevailing theme of this journey. Along with the fact that brands don’t ACTUALLY know what high waist means. Most “high waist” jeans on the market are actually mid-rise. And they are also generally only high rise at the front but NOT the back. Which is absurd since most women looking for high waist are looking for coverage over the butt as well as the tummy.
Levi’s Ribcage Selvedge Straight Leg Jeans, Sold Out
1. Levi’s
The first purchase in this journey/experiment was a pair of the Selvedge Straight Leg Ribcage Jeans from Levi’s. They looked fantastic on the model (dont they always?) and the rise measurements listed looked promising. I am a size 31/32 waist depending on the cut of the jean and opted for the 31in since the 32 was sold out. When they arrived I took one look at them and just KNEW. They looked TINY. Even for a size 31 which translates to a US size 10/12. I could’ve even get them past my thighs. So...who knows how high rise they were or could have been. Levi’s sizing has always seemed off to me. Everything seems to run smaller than it actually should based on their own measurements, and this experience confirmed my suspicions. STATUS: Returned
2. H&M
After spending a hefty sum on the Levi’s only for them to be a bust I decided to change my strategy and go the less expensive route. H & M has a ton of really cool looking high waist jeans. All in various cuts. I opted to try four pairs (which came to about the same price as the ONE pair of Levi’s- ha!). I went with a size 12 to accommodate my hippage. To say these were a disappointment is an understatement. I tried on one pair that barely covered my butt at all. And the next pair? Same. By the third pair I decided to stop torturing myself and came to the conclusion that all four, size 12 pairs, would be a bust. HOW these are considered high waist boggles my mind. They LOOKED high waist on the model but on an average female body? Not so much. STATUS: Returned
3. MOTHER Denim
I have been salivating over MOTHER jeans for awhile now. Their jeans just look so cool. They are also insanely expensive. There was a pair that I really wanted last year that I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on, and then they sold out. I still think about them. So when THIS pair popped up in my denim search I was determined to have them. Alas, MOTHER was having a sale and I was able to pick them up. They were still...not cheap. I also picked up a second pair of wide leg cropped high waist jeans that looked stunning. Now, when the jeans arrived and I tried them on, was I expecting to look exactly like the model? Yes. Did I? No. And once again they were NOT high waist on me. But I didn’t care. I wanted these jeans and now that they were in my possession I was not letting them go. The other pair were a complete flop. Like complete in the sense that they looked horrible on me and when I went to return them realized they were final sale and I was now stuck with an expensive pair of jeans that made me look like a sausage and didn’t cover my butt. Read the fine print people! STATUS: Kept and Poshmark Here I Come
4. Madewell
I had a feeling that THESE jeans would be the one. And they kind of were. But weren’t. Of all the jeans I tried these are the ones that I liked the most. But the waist was HUGE on both pairs. Which again is a common problem when I have to accommodate my hips and bottom. But they looked FANTASTIC everywhere else. The length was great, I could wear them with sneakers OR ankle boots which is the dream. But again - the WAIST. They were high enough but HUGE. I decided to keep them and see if I could take the waist line in. This way I could keep all the things I love about them. So this was a half-success I guess. Now I have to either find a tailor or learn to take them in myself. STATUS: To Be Tailored
5. Ann Taylor
I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered these. But I ordered them in a size 14. I am not a size 14. They were HUGE on me. But I could also see their potential if I got them in the correct size. And so I returned them and ordered a size 12. Which haven’t arrived yet. STATUS: TBD but hopeful
Honorable Mention
6. Wit & Wisdom
As I ambled along in this torture I began to notice a pattern. And the pattern was that the measurements of rises in “high rise” jeans is just OFF. Most brands do not measure the rise in the BACK of their high waist jeans. They only measure the front. Which is completely useless since the waist on most jeans are on an angle with the highest part of the angle being at the stomach. So essentially most high waist jeans are only high waist from the front. Now if you don’t have much junk in the trunk this angle isn’t all that noticeable. But if you do it usually means the jeans will not fully cover your butt. Which is the issue I have been having with pretty much all jeans since the beginning of time. Wit & Wisdom is the ONLY brand I have come across that lists their rise for the front AND the back. And the measurements seem promising. I have come to the conclusion that anything lower than a 13in rise is not worth my time. Because I then have to subtract about an inch from that number to guess how high the back of the jeans will be. I didn’t have to do that with this brand. And so I decided to give them a try and ordered a pair. They haven’t arrived yet. I’m not getting my hopes up TOO much but the measurements are the most promising I’ve seen so far. STATUS: TBD but hopeful
