sarea: (domestically disabled [sarea_okelani])
sarea ([personal profile] sarea) wrote2004-09-27 02:14 pm

fashion woes & misc.

1) My new health regimen appears to be working. Working to the point where I now need new jeans. Yay. Except, I have such issues with jeans, you don't even know.

I haven't lost that much weight as far as my scale goes, but my jeans are getting too big and I have to get some new ones unless I want to be seen constantly hitching them up. (No.) I'm assuming the oddity can be attributed to the weight training I've been doing. The problem is ... I just don't know where to go to get the perfect jeans.

In all my years of buying jeans, the place that comes closest to having jeans that fit me is the Gap. Sometimes Old Navy, but everyone knows they're pretty much the same store, anyway. However, still, there are discrepancies. Note: two pairs of jeans are now too baggy around the waist. They are sizes 6 and 8, respectively. The 6 is a low rise, which might help explain why that might be too 'big' -- so maybe a normal 6 would fit me. For sure I can't fit into a size 4 at either store (I haven't worn a 4 since high school). I think I could be anywhere from a 5 to a 7 at this point (only, of course, the sizes are 4, 6, and 8).

Not to mention the length issues. The Gap, in particular, is good about having decent-length jeans ... everywhere else, they are far, far, far too long for me. (I hate that.) Still, though, it's not perfect. Ankle-length is usually too short, but regular-length is usually too long. I've gotten jeans hemmed a couple of times, but it usually costs like half what I paid for the damn jeans in the first place. ARGH. So ... where do you guys buy your jeans? Any recs for really great-fitting jeans?

I suppose this might be a good time to bust out my 7 for All Mankind jeans, which I spent waaaaay too much money on at Nordstrom, but now that I'm starting to change sizes, I'm wondering if it might be best to hold off, and maybe in future I can exchange them for another size. :-S

2) I had these tres awesome black boots by Steve Madden that I absolutely loved. They were so, so comfortable, looked great, etc. But the other day, the zipper on the left boot broke. :(( So this morning, from the depths of my closet, I pulled out a pair of Docs, newly purchased a couple of months ago. I have avoided wearing them for all this time because breaking in new Docs has got to be one of the most awful ordeals ever. I thought, "Maybe it won't be so bad." I was wrong. There's something about Docs, because they always chafe my heels like crazy, and now they are reddened, as if the skin is going to be rubbed away any second. :p Plus the boots are stiff and awkward, and I feel like I'm clumping around like some fisherman down the hall. I just want them to be well worn already, so I can bend at the ankle like a normal person.

3) There are too many fun-sounding fic contests!! My head is going to explode.

4) The surprise party for K. went fantastically well. The look on her face made it all worth it. Plus I got hit on by two guys, which sort of shows that if I would leave my house once in awhile I might get to know people, but I think the question is really whether I want to get to know people. In the case of these two particular guys, I would have to say the answer is no.

5) Did you know that the Hollies have/had a song about a woman named Narida? :O I swear I did not know this when I "made up" the name as my XF fandom pseudonym.

6) Edit: What can you do if you're reading a book, and suddenly at page 246 it cuts back to page 215, which goes on until it hits 246 again, then jumps to page 285? Meaning you never got to read pages 246-285?? This happened to me just recently, with a stupid romance novel that I purchased at this used bookstore next to the DMV when I went to get my license renewed. Well, actually, it wasn't stupid. I actually very much enjoyed it up to page 246. But then it got very, very stupid.

It was A Whisper of Roses by Teresa Medeiros. Though missing 30 pages of the book was annoying, I decided to continue reading at page 285 anyway, figuring it was a romance and how much could have really happened in those 30 pages that I couldn't jump right back in?

IT WAS LIKE IT WAS A DIFFERENT BOOK.

In fact, if the characters hadn't all had the same names, I would have been convinced it was a different book. It was as though TM went, "I don't want to write a typical romance, so now I'm going to throw this plot twist in and flummox everyone. But at least they can't say it's a formula." I was sitting there going OMG WTF.

I had to skim the rest of the novel, it was that bad. It was sooooo disappointing, considering how great the first 2/3 was. The problem had nothing to do w/ the missing pages, because it was pretty easy to discern what happened in those 30 pages that made the storyline change. What was harder to understand was why. Why TM felt the need to screw over the heroine, and generally, the plot. It was almost like she wrote the first half of the book, decided to start over, then wrote the second half. It was completely bizarre. What happened could have been the plot of a whole other book. In fact, I can think of a Laura Kinsale book where it does happen, only to the hero, not the heroine.

So I really can't decide whether to rec this one or not. Maybe the only advice I have is to read the first 2/3 of the book, then put it down and say to yourself, "The End."

[identity profile] akscully.livejournal.com 2004-09-27 10:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, I have to say that I love the regular Gap bootcut jeans, particularly the stretch jeans. They just fit me really well. I don't get the lowrise though since those fit me horribly. What sort of shoes do you wear with your jeans? I have short legs but since I always wear boots with my jeans, regular length works for me.

You should have gone farther with the two guys at the party! Maybe we could have been on the same talk show.

[identity profile] sarea-okelani.livejournal.com 2004-09-27 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I <3 the Gap bootcut jeans; they do fit the best, but even wearing boots the regular length is still a bit too long for me. I prefer that to too short, though, so I never get ankle length. If I'm not wearing clunky boots I'm wearing sneakers or flip flops, and it's okay with all of those -- but you can see a little more bunching at the bottom of the jeans than I'd really like, because they're too long.

One of the guys was at a bar before we actually got to the party. He was nice, but not my type at all. The second guy, K.'s brother-in-law, is even more not my type. I know too much about him from her bitching. :D Besides, I couldn't hope to get to your Jerry-Springer level. No one ever tells me they like it when I wear tank tops. (Whore.)

[identity profile] akscully.livejournal.com 2004-09-27 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
The key is to get insanely high heels on your boots. You may teeter around, but you'll be tall and the jeans will fit! Of course, I like the hem to be skimming the ground; it makes me think that people will believe I'm taller and that I have long legs.

Get a push up bra! And lean over a lot. Maybe one day, you too can reach my level of, "Oh Christ, how did this happen to me?"

[identity profile] sarea-okelani.livejournal.com 2004-09-27 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for the tips. I will use them immediately.

And yes, skimming the ground is good, for the reasons you say. And I wear modestly high heels -- at least 2-3 inches. But many of my jeans don't skim, they scrape, and that's no good. Or I occasionally step on the hem with my heel, and that's one of the most annoying sensations EVAH. Not to mention how the back hem gets all dirty and starts unraveling and... Anyway. I don't mean to go on and on w/ the bitching about jeans, but O I have had issues these many years.

[identity profile] gianfared.livejournal.com 2004-09-28 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Ugg, jeans. We all have such different bodies that it's hard to find a decent pair of well-fitting jeans for any of us.

I get my jeans at NY & Company. I don't know how much help this is but I'm about a size 7, again depending on the jeans. I have slim hips and no butt. Jeans often have much too much room in the derriere for me, plus I'm wavering on the tall side, so sometimes I have to buy tall. NY & Company has a slew of different fitting jeans (petite, tall, regular, and then variety too), they're affordable and comfy. I really like them because I've found something that works for my "boy" figure. Good luck!

[identity profile] sarea-okelani.livejournal.com 2004-09-28 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks, doll -- I'll have to check that out!

[identity profile] fiannan.livejournal.com 2004-09-28 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
There really are way too many awesome fic contests out there at the moment, aren't there?

I'd love to help out with the jeans problem (why is it designers seem to believe all of us are tall?) but since I live in another country anything I said would be awfully unrelevant :D

[identity profile] selinakyle47.livejournal.com 2004-09-28 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
You don't know me, but I just wanted to jump in, being a petite girl myself (though I'm shorter then you). :)

Anyway, I like Express jeans, they seem to be longer than the Gap ankle-length ones. People have also recommended Diesel and Miss Sixty, if you want to go high-end.

[identity profile] sarea-okelani.livejournal.com 2004-09-29 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! I really appreciate the recs. I'm pretty sure I've tried Express before, but I ought to look into Diesel. :D

[identity profile] corianderstem.livejournal.com 2004-09-29 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
My favorite pair of jeans are the Gap Long & lean stretch, low-rise thingies. And while I never thought I'd even TRY a size 4, they're a size 4. The 6 was too big in the waist, and the sales girl told me to try a 4. Because they're stretchy, they fit perfectly. LOVE them.

(Anonymous) 2004-09-29 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, same problems here as well. I love Gap's Long and Lean jeans as well (I know, I know, you're not a long person either) but the thing is that you can find a person who will hem jeans for around $5...I live in the suburbs and have found at least three of these people, so you might want to look around a bit more. The other place that's fabulous for jeans is Limited/Express they have "Short" pants that are about right for those of us without legs up to our chin. Also invest in shoes maybe an inch or two taller, jeans (thanks to celebs) are now made to wear with those wobbly stilettoes, boots are good for this purpose as they provide proper ankle support for while you're getting used to them.