I have not picked up any new or old hobbies in these times of COVID-19. I have not baked bread from scratch or even finished two chapters of a book. But I have found the perfect pair of jeans.
It was my friend Laura Lovett, a Seattle-based stylist, who alerted me to Gap's high-rise jeggings after I shared an Instagram photo of myself in a baggy boyfriend style.
“But I've never worn skinnies," I told her.
“It’s time,” she said.
I was skeptical. As a woman with thick thighs and short legs, skinny jeans are a trend I've spent my life avoiding.
The high-rise Universal Jeggings with secret smoothing pockets retail for $69.95, but I took Laura’s advice and waited for them to go on sale. My first pair — in a wash called glacial grey — rang up at $49.60 with promo code ADDON.
Gap High Rise Universal Jeggings with Secret Smoothing Pockets
After reading online reviews stating that the jeggings run true to size, I went with a 29, regular. (For reference: I’m 150 pounds, 5-foot-3.) Sizes range from 24 to 35 and are available in short, regular and long lengths.
When the jeggings arrived a few days later, I poured a big glass of wine and headed upstairs for a try-on session. If I couldn’t get them past my knees — and judging by how small they looked, I assumed that’d be the case — at least I had something to numb the pain.
I never took a sip.
These 63% cotton jeggings look like denim — they even have a button-closure and zip-fly — wear like my coziest leggings but somehow hold everything in. And I mean everything. After losing 90 pounds, I have an apron of excess skin that hangs over my waist. But I forget all about that when I’m in these pants that hit right at my belly button. It’s like a temporary tummy tuck.
The fabric hugs my legs and makes my saggy mom butt look like it’s being cupped by the hands of the denim gods. A contoured waistband ensures they don’t gap in the back. And they stay put, meaning I’m not pulling them up every 10 seconds.
I now own them in two colors: glacial grey and dark indigo. I ordered the dark indigo pair in a short length and they fit better than the regular on my 5-foot-3 frame.
My stylist friend who told me about these body-smoothing pants, discovered them after giving birth to her second child.
“I instantly felt lifted and supported in them,” Laura told me. “The other thing is, I wash them three times a week, which would normally ruin denim, but my first pair lasted for more than two and a half years. They kept their shape.”
Laura is happy to know that my baggy boyfriends have been pushed to the back of my closet.
After fearing skinny jeans for decades, I won’t wear anything else. Not only do they boost my bum — they've boosted my confidence.
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