Wednesday, June 20, 2012

This Crazy Thing I Did

You know how I went shopping for the grad dress. Well, other than prosecco, what I really needed was an easy shopping moment. I decided it would be educational to show M how it works: You find something you want/need. You look for the right size. You take a couple of sizes into the change room (just in case). You try on. Optional: You ask the SA for another size. You debate the merits of the garment in all of the sizes. You decide whether the purchase is viable (this takes 5 minutes). You buy. OR You walk.

The item in question, for me, was jeans. You know I wear them tout le temps. I've tried to make them. (Disaster.) Note: I will make another pair of jeans. I just need some more time to get over the last experience - and to feel more comfortable with making buttonholes.

Anyway, I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I have been intrigued by Not Your Daughter's Jeans for quite a while. They're supposed to disguise one's post-natal / middle-aged abdominal challenges. In full disclosure, I've had those challenges since before I had a kid or approached middle age.

I found myself at The Bay - looking for M's grad dress shoes - on a sale day - and the jeans were right next to the shoes.

You may recall that, recently, I tried on every pair of jeans in a "denim boutique", only to find that there wasn't a-one with a rise that hit my navel - except for a tall-brand (name eludes me right now). Amazingly, the tall jeans fit my proportions pretty well - because I'm all legs in as much as I have height. But over time they've stretched out everywhere. I knew from the get-go that the fabric memory was mediocre, but I bought them out of impulse - and I've vaguely disliked them ever since. (Note: It's rare that I buy something I come to dislike, but it does happen...) I'm still looking for a pair to approximate my Second Denim (Yoga) jeans - a brand I loved, the quality of which has floundered in recent times. I really cannot recommend the new crop.

This is where NYDJ (I cannot bear to call it by name) comes in. While waiting for M to choose shoes, I was pleased to try them but amazed to find that the petite style was WAY too short (I'm only 5'3" people). The regular size, however, was the perfect length, and they are very well-constructed jeans indeed. The fabric memory is awesome. The rise is HIGH (but not visibly so). The pockets are well-positioned to give the impression of a high-derriere. The width of the bootleg is not extreme, but balancing. There are no stitching embellishments (at least on the style I tried). The denim is dark and rich. Happily, there are no signs of branding to call one's attention to the horror of the name.

Seriously, ladies, this denim is an excellent product and it looks awesome. When I tried these jeans on, M said: Wow, they're amazing! You have to get them! When I told her the brand name she snort-laughed and said: Do NOT tell anyone! That's the worst thing I've ever heard. If they're not daughter's jeans, what are they? Mom-jeans???

Now, the thing is, name aside, they're not cheap. Note: I think you're high to go cheap on jeans unless you are a) very young and slim or b) truly unable to afford anything else. Good denim shows its chops. It's cut well, it wears well. It trims and lengthens. It looks luxe, no matter you pair it with. I managed to get a discount, though the jeans were not actually on sale. But I would have paid the $170.00 price tag (which comes to $192.00 after tax). As it is, I paid $160.00.

I also believe that they are optimally constructed for a shorter woman with an apple shape that's proportionate but not extreme.  (What I mean is, though they come in plus size, I don't know that they're ideal for that shape. If you fall into that bracket and you've tried them, I'd love to know your thoughts!) I don't think they're long enough in the leg for a really tall woman (though I didn't see the "tall" sizes). I don't think they'd work fantastically for a pear-shape - as the derriere fits well on the basis of the fit constructed around a proportionately larger stomach. The legs are pretty slim, if stretchy, so I don't think those with width in the upper thigh or low hip will necessarily find them flattering. Essentially, I'm suggesting that they fit a slimmish apple frame with a proportionately large stomach - the kind of shape you see in certain middle-aged women who've had kids or who are embarking on the journey to menopause. Wow, I sure do make them sound sexy.

Hilariously, they are so vanity-sized, it's absurd. I bought a size 4 (a stretchy 29 inch waist and 39 inch hips). I think this size might actually be a bit loose as the denim wears. You can see they're appealing to the woman who used to be an RTW size 4. But I'm not knocking it.

So, have you tried this brand? What do you think of my perspective on the demographic? Does the name totally put you off? Do you agree that California-designed denim is the best around? (I do.) Let's talk...

28 comments:

  1. LOL - Thanks for the gigglefest! I'm only thirty, but I could see how jeans like this could do a little something for me! :P I actually tried on my first-ever pair of waist-height jeans today, and I could *almost* love them. I'm still a little paranoid about mom-gut, when the jeans are tight against my belly bulge, but really, I like my skirts high-waisted, and I would enjoy tucking shirts into jeans! I'm not quite ready for it yet, but give me a month, and I'll probably have bought something similar! (Of course, I'm 30 and under-employed, so the jeans I tried on were at Walmart! :P)

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    1. Don't be afraid! You can show your youngster friends the way :-)

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  2. I am a plus, tall, exaggerated apple, and I thought the NYDJs were terribly unflattering and not comfortable (they were plenty long enough, though). I think "slimmish apple frame" is probably an accurate descriptor of the cut. Glad they worked for you!

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    1. Fascinating info, Alexandra! I really can't see them working for tall people (not that I am familiar with the full range). The cut is proportioned for someone short.

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  3. For the record, I wear Walmart jeans (see Gillian's comment) almost every day. And not because they're cheap, but because they fit! Better than any other brand I've tried on. But I do wish they were made of better denim.

    I've tried the NYDJ jeans but they were strangely bunchy around the crotch line. Maybe I tried on the wrong size-- I think it was an 8, and my hips are smaller than 39. Now I'm intrigued and may need to go try some on again, as it's time to replace my trusty Walmart jeans.

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    1. First off, I love your "non blog" tag line!

      OK, I sense you probably should have tried a 2 or a 4 (depending on the circ of your waist). Let me know what you discover when you try them again...

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  4. Awesome! I am a big fan of spending what it takes to get awesome jeans (or making your own, of course ;) )... although that is still a bit more than I've ever spent. (Only a bit, though, I used to fork over $120 on a regular basis.) As for the name, well, I think it's kind of cute, but then my mom and I wear the same style of jeans and have since I was in high school...

    But if the kid approves, you've definitely got a winner. :)

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    1. Um, you are the poster-child of the home-sewist denim "tailor"! You never need to buy them again :-)

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  5. i once had a pair of "seven" jeans (bought for me) and i hated the shit out of them! they had no stretch, and i swear that zipper broke more times than i could count (not from stretch, though the same i'm sure couldn't be said now. they have long since been given away).

    my holy grail jean is actually a cheapo that's discontinued: american eagles downtown hipster cut. made before there were hipsters. i've been in a jeans abyss since then....

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    1. I hated my 7s also! They didn't have any stretch - which is a must when you have, ahem, any volume to get over.

      You must find a new brand. You know, 1969 Gaps are quite good for peeps of many different shapes. And affordable.

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  6. I HATE the name, think it's the stupidest bit of marketing ever, but I suppose their balance sheet would prove me wrong.
    I had a pair of black skinny NYDJs, though, and they were everything you say and more. Right now, my dark denim skinny mainstays are JBrand, and you know those aren't cheap; I'm also wearing a pair of virgin-denim Denhams in a workmanlike old-school cut that I cuff. Probably not as flattering but I feel I channel a certain attitude in them.
    Bottom line for me, I'm looking for a jean that doesn't push all the pudge I own right above the waistband and let it hang there for me to work my top around.

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    1. Stupidest. marketing. evah! And you are so right about containing, rather than displacing. That's what these new jeans have in spades.

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  7. So basically what you're saying is that these jeans are made for me? Though I'm nowhere near menopause (or at least I don't think I am!), I have had a kid.

    Like you mentioned, I also never really had a flat stomach, even when I was underweight...my hips always tipped forward at the top, though it's worse now. I suspect my son might have had something to do with that. ;-)

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    1. Oh, I blame my daughter for all the things happening to my body 12 yrs later :-) Seriously, though, she did expand my rib cage by about 1.5 inches. And my ribs pop out in a really creepy way.

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  8. K - I have 2 pairs, hate the name, love the jeans!! Also, I'm positive I didn't pay that much - the second pair was definitely <$100 (shout out to Bigley's in Bobcaygeon). And I think that you pretty much nailed the demographic.
    c

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    1. Thanks Anon. I'm going to buy them online from now on. Or in America, where things are cheaper. (I'm about to go to see my parents.)

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  9. That name is so, so, so bad. It's laugh-out-loud bad!

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    1. Isn't it just frightening. What's worse, I bought them.

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  10. I just love you! Trying on jeans is such a traumatic experience for me that I do it only when forced at gunpoint. But, after reading this post I might have to check out NYDJ (but I will never say the actual words!)

    xo

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    1. OK, you have the most gorgeous figure - I cannot imagine you have any trouble with the jeans! (Just goes to show, we've all got challenges with fit...) Just wear your sunglasses when you're in the store. And don't look around.

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  11. If the jeans fit, wear them. I guess the name isn't holding back too much because they seem to be appearing in more places.

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  12. I have a pair: I started out trying on a size 10 but the only pair that fitted were size 2. Obviously I won't be able to buy them when I lose the 12lbs that I need to lose! Do they go into negative sizing in US/ Canada to cater for average sized people or is that not the NYDJ demographic?
    JL

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    1. Ha! I sense that, if you're much smaller than a small RTW size 6, then the jeans are not for you (unless you are quite short, in which case you could go into the petite sizes).

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  13. I'm a big believer in quality denim! I haven't found a pair of NYDJ jeans that worked, but do own a jean skirt by them that actually fits my smallish waist and, er, large behind. Weird to wear a "mom" jean brand at 24, but oh well. I'm in the US and find their sizing fairly consistent with other jean brands here.

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    1. Kay - I appreciate that they don't put logos everywhere. That would be a deal breaker. You can wear your well-fitting skirt without worries that people will catch on to your mom brand :-)

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  14. I had a pair when I was a bit heavier and I loved them. I wouldn't mind trying them again. I don't recall that I went down more than 1 or 2 sizes from my normal, but I could be wrong, or the sizing has changed in the intervening years. I have a fairly short front crotch to waist length which may be why they fit me so well despite being tall.

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  15. I think the sizing has gone seriously "vanity"! I have a fairly long crotch to waist length, for my height so maybe we're catching the same benefit...

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