
I am, however, still frugal. Okay, I’m cheap – I don’t like to pay a lot of money for clothes, shoes, purses – you won’t find designer brands stacked up in my closet. You will find a lot of clothes I don’t wear anymore since I started working from home. All those skirts, trousers and sheaths are starting to gather dust, along with the high heels.
What I didn’t have is a great pair of comfy jeans.
I don’t mean to say I am jean-free. I have about ten pair, of assorted colors, sizes and weight. Some are barely worn (did I really think I was going to wear white jeans?) and at least two pair are almost a decade old, and in danger of going threadbare in places you don’t want to be threadbare (no one wants to see that).
I found myself in Steinmart recently, looking for a nice blouse to wear for a TV appearance. The “tips” they sent over said to wear solid, bright colors. My closet is 90% black, and 10% faded, so I needed something new with a little color. I found a great teal blouse on sale for $17 and as I was walking back to the dressing room, I spied a rack of skinny jeans in a deep blue hue for $29. Soft, stretchy…sold!
They turned out to be Bandolino, the Selene version. I’d only seen Bandolino shoes before. These were the knit-to-fit style, and soft as yoga pants. They have a zipper and pockets, which makes them handy (I love to put my cell phone and a Kleenex in my pocket when I leave the house).
The thing I love most about them is that they are comfortable. I mean pajama-jean comfortable! But they look like regular skinny jeans. This particular color is so dark that is can pass for black with the right color (not that there’s anything wrong with blue). And they didn’t stretch out. No sagging at the waist, seat or knee after a few hours like some stretchy jeans.
It took a little while for me to come around to the skinny jean style. That probably means it won’t be “in” this season, since I am never “on trend”. I resisted going for the skinny jeans ever since Stacy London on What Not To Wear told us curvy girls to not even try them on – stick with the boot cut. But I don’t care anymore. I’ve worn these jeans four times in two weeks. I love them so much I went back to look for a black pair (yes, I have an addiction to black clothing) and, even though they didn’t have black, I ended up buying another blue pair, just so I can have a spare.
I looked online, but I have not found a source for this exact jean. These are not the pull-ons or the capris. They hit right at the ankle. I’m a little worried that they will shrink. The label says to turn inside out and tumble dry on low – not sure I can keep that up. Jeans don’t get special treatment at my house.
I think they work well with almost every shoe I’ve tried except sneakers (I’m only 5’4 – you may be able to pull that look off if you are taller). I like them best with my ballet flats.
They looked nice on TV with that teal blouse and my heels! You know I’m comfortable in these jeans if I dare to show a pic of my backside. Thanks to my hubby for volunteering to take the shot J
This is not a sponsored post, I just love the jeans!
UPDATE 4/9 - found some Selene style/darkwash onlne at a source called Stage Stores. I have not ordered yet. Looks like SteinMart, BonTon and Belk are sold out of these jeans.Grab them wherever you can find them! They run small - if you are curvy, order one size up. I usually wear an 8 and I needed a 10.
http://tinyurl.com/ljbkpth
I’m in my reinvention stage! Currently touring as the co-founder of Tykester App. Follow me on Twitter as I find great things for vibrant, real women or at www.tamtalks.com