Whether you’re restocking your closet with slimming jeans, thanks to a recent jaunt on the Paleo Diet, or you’re scoping jeans for women to give to your nieces this Christmas, you may be overwhelmed by the sheer glut of options.
A few decades ago, jeans were basically one fashion “thing” — not an entire category of clothing. Nowadays, dozens (hundreds?) of designer brands, featuring dozens (hundreds?) of various cuts, compete for attention from the fashion savvy. Here are 4 shopping tips to help you cut your options and make sure that you get what you want.
1. Shop to fit your body now, not to fit your body in the future.
Whether you’re on a weight loss regimen or a CrossFit binge, you might anticipate that your body will look somewhat different in 2 to 6 months. However, “aspirational shopping” – shopping for what you hope you’ll look like one day soon — can lead to needless frustration and body image issues, especially if you don’t reach (and keep) the goals you set for yourself.
Love your body, and honor it with clothes that make you look amazing.
2. Narrow your brands; find only ones you trust.
For instance, one dependable and always fashion-forward brand is NYDJ. Their tall jeans for women, such as the Original Slim Fit brand, look superb because NYDJ incorporates sophisticated slimming technology (what they call “lift tuck technology”) to subtly but effectively alter the contours of the fit and nudge the aesthetics in a more positive flattering direction. The broader point is this: your jeans, ideally, should be more than functional. They should flatter you and bring out deep features of your beauty.
3. Shop in context.
Jeans do pair well with a staggeringly diverse number of outfits, but try to anticipate what you will be wearing, when, why and how. Do you love boots and sweaters? Do you like a more formal or preppy look? Do you prefer a “rocker girl” or alternative aesthetic?
If you don’t yet have a fully formed “fashion personality,” don’t sweat it. But just think holistically about how your jeans will fit into your overall fashion picture.
4. A secret trick to choose among three jeans competing for your shopping affection
Let’s say you’re considering three different jeans. Take a photo of each pair of jeans, and magnetize them all to your fridge. Then leave the kitchen and go away for at least an hour. The very next time you enter the kitchen and see the pictures of the jeans on the fridge, immediately and without thinking grab the picture that most appeals to you. That represents your intuitive choice. Sometimes our intuitions can do a better job of figuring out what we want than can our rational conscious minds.
Hope you enjoyed those shopping tips! Now get out there and create a stunning, fun wardrobe…
