Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Ever noticed, for the most part, guys don't compliment each other on clothing? My theory as to why: They can be fairly certain, without trying things on, that they will fit. They walk into a store, pick out a SM, MED, or LARGE shirt and a pair of jeans with the waist and length measurement for a size. 32-34, 34-36 and the like. Pretty simple, not much mystery to it. So, what's there to compliment? Not much effort went into the procurement of said articles of clothing.

Women, on the other hand, all know just how crazy sizing is for our species, so when we spot a fellow female with an outfit that is, not only cute, but fits well we celebrate it with her. Long gone are the days of custom, handmade clothing, designed to fit your body. Instead, companies ship their labor overseas and narrow their designs to a single body type. Boo!

Furthermore, a small in one store is a medium in another. It's called vanity sizing and I hate it. While, yes, I will admit it feels nice to pull on a pair of pants in one store and find them surprisingly too big, I usually know it's not because I have lost weight, it's simply because that store deflates its sizing to make women come back for that feel good buy. I'm pretty sure they mess with the dressing room mirrors too, but I'll leave that for another post.

The hardest clothing articles to find, in my opinion, are bathing suits and jeans. Can you relate?

Today, I'd like to tackle the subject of dungarees, denim pants... good ol' jeans!

Signs I may be getting old: I've reached a point in my life where, no matter how cute the jeans are, the discomfort of constantly pulling up the back of my pants is no longer worth it. I've been known to be a serial jeans buyer, but I've come to the conclusion that a drawer full of affordable, semi, ill-fitting jeans is pointless. I'd much rather own two pair of high-quality jeans that fit me like a glove, even if they cost more.

I have found "the one." Yes, the one pair that meets all my criteria:

-Mid-level rise (not too Brittany Spears, not too St. John's Bay)
-Does not get stretched out or "butt sprung" after multiple uses
-Works well for girls with hips, like myself
-Comes in longs (a necessary for me)
-Does not give me muffin top (I will say I am currently sporting a bit of one, being that I had a baby 12 weeks ago, but in a normal, non-post-partum context, these jeans do a good job hugging you in all the right places and the fact that I could pretty much wear them after giving birth says more about the jeans than my ability to bounce back)
-Has enough stretch for comfort, but not excessive, "Pajama Jean" stretchability;)

They are (drumroll, please) Anthropologie's Pilcro and the Letterpress Jeans in the Serif cut.

While they are a bit pricey, I have found them on sale from time to time and you can snag them on Ebay as well. If you don't have an Anthropologie nearby to try them on and are considering buying them online, I suggest going up a size. They seem to run a little small.

So, how about you? Have you found your perfect match in a pair of jeans or are you still searching? Please share with your fellow sisters!