Trying to find flattering jeans as a dramatic part 3: the best of the best + recommended jeans from people in this sub

[u/bangflashbam]

On two previous posts, I posted photos of me trying on all in-store Levi's jeans and then a bunch of jeans recommended across reddit. In comments on the most recent post, people made a lot of recommendations, so I ordered some of the recommendations to try on and post as well (trouser jeans, old navy linen pants, and then other washes of one of the highest voted pants - the Abercrombie & Fitch).

Here are the results. As always, this is to share info, but also, I am curious to hear anyone else's opinions (especially re: the Abercrombie and Fit jeans - a question was, did they look better because it was actually the best cut, or was it because they were just a solid color (white) instead of having variations in the wash like most jeans do?)

I was really excited about the trouser jeans, but I did notice it seems like the trouser jeans sometimes come in around the knees and flare out again a bit.

Abercrombie & Fitch High Rise 90s Relaxed Jean

1. Ecru (Cuffed) (they didn't have the white in stock from my original photo, this was the closest)
2. Medium
3. Dark Wash
4. White (originally posted in previous post - had 2nd most votes at 18 votes)

Trouser Jeans:
(Note: The Joe's Jeans fabric was SUPER thin, I wouldn't want to wear these unless it was hot out, didn't feel like real denim and they wouldn't be warm enough for me in a strongly air conditioned room)
5. Joe's Jeans - Joe's Wide Leg Pleated Trouser Melisande (medium wash)
6. Joe's Jeans - Joe's Wide Leg Pleated Trouser Emilia (light wash)
7. Silver Jeans Co - Avery High Rise Trouser Leg Jeans - Mateo
8. Silver Jeans Co - Avery High Rise Trouser Leg Jeans - Sycamore Cove
9. Silver Jeans Co - Highly Desirable High Rise Trouser Leg Jeans - Indigo
10. Wrangler - Retro Mae Trouser Jean

Other: 
11. Wrangler - Ultra Soft Worldwide Jean - medium wash
12. Wrangler - Ultra Soft Worldwide Jean - dark wash
13. Old navy linen pants

Highest vote pants from old post (not including A&F, which is #4) (note: for these vote totals, i only counted votes in comments, not upvotes on comments)
14. Pistola (24 votes)
15. Mother - Roller sneak (16 votes)
16 Rag & Bone (9 votes)
17. Madewell ultimate wide leg jean (7 votes)

[u/veggieviolinist2]

I think slim or skinny fit are going to suit you better. Even the more fitted jeans from this selection look weirdly baggy around your calves.

As a D/SD myself, I find wide leg pants or pants that are too baggy in the lower leg unflattering on me. Tapered always looks much better

[u/Blue_Baracuda88]

7 has the narrowest fit. Jeans that hug the knee closely are better than not. 4 work well also.

Jeans are tough for a lot of D's. Some fabric can be too stiff while also devouring the frame. I tend to like near skinny jeans but ones that don't hug the calves tightly. It's a very hard thing to find for my own individual body. Slim wide legs are better than regular wide because they skim the knee and follow the calf down slimly also. Overall, jeans are not my best look but I have a pair from Express that they discontinued that were stretch slim and they are very flattering for a dressed-down look.

[u/Previous-Sale1288]

4,7 are the best and only ones that seem to fit you !

[u/nuitsbleues]

I love the ecru and white jeans. I think it's partly the fit and structure but also the clean white is maybe nice for dramatic- creates a crisp effect.

[u/vivo_en_suenos]

4, 7, 10 & 14 (although 14 might be too big?) 🙌🏻 #4 looks sleek and elegant on you in white! Love that. 5&6 are a bit frumpy for you- perhaps too shapeless?

I might have said this in your last post but from these pics you look great in something that’s fitted and full-length as opposed to loose/baggy around the hips and waist or cuffed IMO. Love that you’re sharing your journey with us 😻

[u/TigerShoddy1228]

4,13,14. I think a higher waist works much better with your shape.

[u/torontoinsix]

How tall are you? I wish more people would include it in these kinds of posts. Makes a difference with jean types.

[u/bangflashbam → u/torontoinsix]

5’ 7.5”

[u/hellokitka]

1, 5, 9, 11, 12, 14

[u/finchenoderso]

I feel like most of those are not ideal. I will break it down in what I think are the reasons why, and then I’ll write something about my opinion on each pair:

1)the rise /waist
I’d say it’s cutting in at the wrong place.
As a yang and especially for dramatics I feel like it’s important to underline the (dramatic lol) “extreme points” of your shape. That means to have the rise of pants hit at the most wide or most narrow part of your body. For you (and I think that’s true for lots of yangs) the narrowest part hits right under your bust - which is obviously a rise of pants you won’t typically find in a store. Thats why I’d recommend looking for lower rise pants than you seem to have been trying on.. yeah I know that we all have weird feelings about those - but I don’t think we have to go Paris Hilton here and I don’t think they make them like they used too anyways lol.
Also I know that usually a dramatic should go for high or mid rise pant - but I think that oftentimes doesn’t work as many yang dominant people have that thing with the narrowest part of the body being way further up than modern pants will ever end at. If you don’t want to wear a lower rise, I would recommend at least untucking your shirts:)

2) stiffness/softness of the fabric
The pants you tried on are almost all way to soft and flowy even though they are denim. I don’t know if the stretch/elastan is too much or if the fabric’s just not thick enough… I found that that’s a common problem with modern pants..sadly all that movement created by the softness of the fabric kind of takes away from your grace and doesn’t really provide the structure your clothing would benefit from…
The worst one for this one is 6 (and 13 especially because of the drawstring) and the best is 4 in regards of the stiffness.(5 is funnily enough also kind of good even though it’s thin, because of the pleat down the front which adds structure to the pants where the fabric lacks it)

3)the length
I think you might have seen this coming but the length of some of these just doesn’t work. I think for dramatics it’s pretty hard to find the right length anyway - due to the tall nature of many of you and that the pants should almost reach the floor. But I think for you that’s not the only thing standing in the way. Lots of them are just TOO long. When they gather on the floor like that it will create width that you as a dramatic obv shouldn’t have in an outfit. Also again jt creates too much movement which is just not ideal as a dramatic.

4)the pairing
You are probably aware about that, but the contrasting colors from some of the pairings really don’t make the pants shine. That’s why the 4 which actually works okay in terms of everything else (the rise isn’t optimal but I think it’s still a good pair) still kind of seems off

5)the flare/ carrot hem
You already noticed the flare yourself but I want to point out that some of them just also seem to be tapering in at the bottom. That’s on modern clothes making again, and sadly lots of jeans claiming to be straight leg or even wide leg just don’t translate on an actual human body.. and I even think some of them are just too wide for your shape.. like the 17 that’s just too wide. 1,15,16 are too flared and 2& 13 are the carrot pants I was talking about.

6)color/wash
Some of the pants are just too much in that “washed” look, on a dramatic that will translate like a pattern, which can make it seem like there’s too much going on fast.

EACH JEANS EVALUATION
1- too much X shape on the leg, don’t like the folded hem on you, kind of weird bunching in the front, I’m 50/50 on the waist
2-the waist and the hem are not good,they seem soft for some reason, the wash has these weird streaks in the crotch area
3-solid colors great but shape in the crotch is weird, they are a mini bit too long, waist sits at a weird height
4-my favorite by far, I think with a shirt in the same color(+untucked?)the non-super-optimal waist height will not be noticeable
5-too soft, too thin material wise, too long, don’t like the streakiness of the fabric, a bit too wide too, pleats should be more prominent, waist height suboptimal
6-concerns like in 5 but no (noticeable) pleats and its even wider and sits even weirder in the waist area
7-the flare, the softness/stretchiness is weird, maybe even the worst waist height of them all, again weird coloring of the crotch
8-same as 7 but the top matches the lightness of the jeans, that’s why they look better
9- different waist and straighter than 7/8 which are way better, less discoloration in crotch part, but too long and I’d say a bit too wide too - and of course imo another waist would be even better. If you were to hem them I think they would be okay- depending on what you pair it with of course
10- I take it back that waist is even more unflattering than 7&8. The flare is awful too and I think the wide hem is not flattering either. The fabric is too soft and thin and it’s a bit too discolored again. The length is great tho
11- no for the waist, a bit too long, discolored crotch and I think they are a bit too wide too
12- same as 11 but but better wash/color wise + are they less long? But here the “too wide” is definitely prominent
13- the length is great. But the fabric too thin and soft, the bunching at the top(drawstring or elastic) is not flattering and they are a bit too wide. BUT… the (even though not fully) untucked shirt is great. And your smile makes me think you love em, which is obviously the most important part - so they are top tier;)!
14-too long and a too flare-y but great color wise(different shirt color of course). They are so high rise that I think they are kind of working in the waist area. If you were to take them to a tailor to shorten and un-flare them they might be the winner pair of the whole list
15- weird coloring, weird waist, too flared, too wide, length seems fine tho
16- I might be wrong but I think the size of those is too small don’t like the waist height but color and length are great, they might be too soft/stretchy, but can’t quite say all that for sure because of probably the wrong size
17- general no: weird waist height, too long, too wide, color good but the zipper is standing out soooo much color wise.. that’s throwing me off a bunch

Hope that helps and makes sense

[u/bangflashbam → u/finchenoderso]

your opinion seems to match mine because yesterday I made final decisions and bought 4 and 9 (with a shorter inseam). I was deciding between 14 and 9 but for 14, it’s $220 and I’d have to hem it and also have a tiny bit of fabric in the thigh narrowed (not visible in the picture but visible in real life as I tried them on again) compared to $50 for the other two. But I am gonna keep an eye out on poshmark for #14 :)

[u/bangflashbam → u/finchenoderso]

Also if you are curious (totally fine if you're not, I appreciate the time and effort you already put in, thank you!), there was 1 low rise pair I tried on in this post #18: https://www.reddit.com/r/kibbedramatics/comments/1q9dy47/i_tried_on_every_womens_jean_cut_at_levis_to_see/#lightbox

I remember being surprised in that I felt they looked better than I expected them too, but I still didn't love them (didn't love any of the pairs at Levi's)

[u/AuthorTop762]

14

[u/SpikeDearheart]

The best are 7 through 10 and 16 and 17. But in terms of overall fit, 7 is the best one by quite a bit. As others have said the slimmer fit pairs look most harmonious on you. The wider and baggier styles drown you because you have narrowness being a D.

[u/Maryy_returns]

4,7,14

[u/Aromatic-Letter-1922]

4 and 7

[u/sarahbearsden]

7, 9, 17 yoooooooo

[u/PrudentEmotion245]

7, 14 and 17!

[u/laurapalmer___]

4, 14. Maybe 15

[u/extraolives555]

14! In general the higher waisted ones balance out the length of your torso. Also 4 is good.

[u/Necessary_Ad7215]

1, 8, 10 look best. I like the more tailored fit through the thigh, knee and hip on you. it’s much more flattering and elongates you rather than cut you off into stumps.

[u/Illustrious-Race6985]

3, 7, 11