The Quest for Skinny Jeans

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love when my readers ask me personal questions about their fashion & shopping challenges! Recently, reader Brittney wrote me this: “I want to by a pair of black skinny jeans or leggings- to pair with tunics… I wondered if you could recommend either and where to begin shopping for either skinny jeans or leggings? Someone mentioned Jeggings to me also…”

Brittney, I definitely have my favorite places to find skinny black jeans/jeggings/leggings! I’ll share those with you, but first I want to address one very important aspect of fitting anything “skinny”: The Rise. Maybe it’s just me, but I hate wearing skinny jeans that start to inch their way down my butt, within an hour of having them on! For some people, this will happen if the “rise” (the measurement between the crotch, and waist of the jeans) is too high. They will get “saggy butt syndrome,” which I addresses in a previous post here.

I have the opposite problem! I am upside-down-pear-shaped, which means the measurement of my bust-line is greater than the measurement of my hips. Aka., not much junk in the trunk. It’s difficult for me to keep low-rise skinny jeans up on my hips! If the rise is too low, I end up hiking them up, as I walk around town. Attractive, no? No…! I need high- or mid-rise jeans, because skinny jeans, by nature, will follow gravity and work their way down your body, unless they are well-anchored by your hips, or a belt!

My go-to place for finding skinny jeans & leggings that I can select by rise, is Urban Outfitters! I always find something that fits, and they have low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise choices! Online, you can also shop by short, regular, and long. And the best part: watch your email for SALES! Their skinnies & leggings go on sale regularly, usually marked down to $29 or $39! Whatever you choose, MAKE SURE they have a good amount of stretch, or you will find them still and uncomfortable!

Alternative Shopping: If you have a larger budget and are looking for high-quality investment pieces, check out J Crew’s Minnie skinny pant. I call then “the Magic Pants,” because I have yet to put them on a client, and NOT have them fall in love with the fit and material!

The Minnie Pant is ON SALE right now in select colors! Check out the collection at http://www.jcrew.com/

Note: The opinions expressed here are my own, based on personal shopping experience. I am not receiving any compensation for this article, from J Crew or Urban Outfitters.