Growing up I hated wearing jeans because I was all hips, but still had big calves so I had trouble wearing those tapered baggy jeans people used to wear in the 80s. When I moved away for college I lived in Phx so probably spent more time in shorts or spandex (if you remember the 80s look of spandex leggings & baggy tops). I couldnt' wear the long leggings because they looked like long underwear on me w/ my big calves. Then I moved to Florida for 12 yrs and pretty much didn't own anything long. When I moved out to California 4 yrs ago, I realized that NORTHERN Cali is not the Sunny California we all hear about. I also did a competition my first year here so, in collecting a new wardrobe for my new not-as-warm-as-I-thought location, I did a lot of my shopping when I was like 2 weeks out from my show and at a weight 20 lb lighter than I usually am. My fav pair of jeans was a size 2 pair of Ralph Lauren or some brandname jeans that I got on sale, and actually bought when I lived briefly in Atlanta and again had just competed in 2005. I'm 5'7" and NOT an ectomorph so to even be able to say I wear a size 2 was enough reason to buy them, and of course, being on sale at Macy's that was a no-brainer. In reality this particular brand of jeans is sized bigger than "standard", so "2" is more a mental thing.
Between then & last year I was wearing mostly Old Navy because I've done 4 shows since I moved to CA and my weight has gone up & down each time w/ competition prep, 2 surgeries, a boyfriend I kicked out and, off course, off season. Easier to spend small amounts of money on whatever size currently fits. Since last year I've been downsizing so my 'off-season' size has stayed more consistent and I was ecstatic to find a pair of "skinny jeans" that actually fit over my calves, so my current favs are a pair of size 6 Levis skinny jeans. As I continue downsizing (looking at another 20 lb or so) I am hella looking forward to wearing a size 4 and also getting into all the Old Navy skinny-leg cargo pants I bought last year but havent' been able to wear. I also look forward to the day I can get a "real" name brand pair of jeans that fit.
It really has been a 40 yr pursuit to finally comfortably fit into a nice pair of jeans. Unless, of course, I figure out a way to move back to S. Florida and still stay employed.
something about the comfort of an old pair of jeans!
