Looking for suggestions for jeans that are neither this:
nor this:
which by the way, the good folks at J. Crew call “toothpick jeans.” I guess that’s skinnier than skinny jeans? Seriously, I’d rather not look like the top photo, but I’d also prefer not to look like I’m trying to relive my 20s. Actually, not *my* 20s:
but perhaps someone else’s 20s. The 20s of a much hipper, better-dressed person. But when even Talbots is offering this
— combining the dorkiness of Mom jeans with the awkward discomfort of skinny jeans — what am I supposed to do? And yes, I shop at Talbots, perpetrator of looks like this
because they actually make [basic, non-plaid] office clothes for short girls.
I’m not just trolling for comments here, though that is always one goal! I’m serious. Where can I get non-mom, non-skinny, non-toothpick, comfortable-yet-hip-for-a-52-year-old-lawyer jeans?
And if anyone says “eBay” — you know who you are! — you’re gonna have to show me how to be sure I’m not buying someone’s used clothing.
Thought Snax 
dude, we need an ebay date.
but the gap is also your friend here.
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Well, as a mom, I may not be qualified to comment on non-mom jeans, but I still rely on good ol’ LL Bean, which has something like ninety-eleven different models of jeans for women. And now has free shipping for returns/exchanges, just like Zappos.
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I thought your judges were demanding all women wear skirts.
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Why? Are they afraid that otherwise they might not be able to tell the difference? ;>)
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Have you been trying on the Talbots offerings? I can almost always find a pair that works–after also finding several catastrophes. Notably, though, my current favorite corduroys showed up in their photos as skin tight and as trim but not tight on a size 14 petite frame. Basically, nothing works for me but trying on every pair.
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I can’t believe a fellow introvert is even suggesting I actually go somewhere — surrounded by {{{{shudder}}}} other people — and try on clothes. My clothes need to arrive in the mail or they aren’t getting bought. Which of course means I look at a photo like the one in the Talbots catalog and think “yikes – I couldn’t breathe in those pants!” and click on to the next item.
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You know, I’ve also been wondering how my next pair of jeans will enter my life, a challenge because I refuse to spend money on them. As a result I am at the mercy of hand-me-ups from my sisters. (I’ll also take hand-me-downs from my big sister, but since she’s four inches shorter than I am that’s not very helpful with jeans.) Given this sartorial quirk I can’t afford to worry about how out-of-style my jeans are–I’m just happy when I have a moderately respectable pair. I wouldn’t buy jeans on e-bay (too hard to fit), but I buy most of my clothes–used–on Ebay. Know your size in Eileen Fisher and there won’t be too many problems. (So what does this middle-aged academic spend her money on? Puppy day care, an expense likely to bankrupt us in the not-too-distant future. Puppy day care can be deducted on federal income taxes, right?)
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OK I gotta figure out ebay. Anything that Laura and Jenny both endorse has got to be a good thing. And I clearly need to adjust my values, too, abandon my search for the perfect jeans, and invest in dog entertainment instead.
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Did you try Eddie Bauer? I think they might still make normal jeans, though I don’t wear jeans myself because, well, finding the mom version of non-skinny, non-toothpick, comfortable yet hip jeans is even harder than finding the non-mom version.
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