Sunday, March 22, 2015

White Out

I've been looking for the perfect pair of white jeans for months now. I've probably tried on close to 20 pairs but never found the one. My criteria are: not too sheer, doesn't make me look fat, mostly cotton, under $100, and with a 28" to 29" inseam. I would love to get this pair (thanks cobalt for the recommendation!), but they're currently backordered, and $115 is a little steep for pants that I'm worried about staining. So I kept looking for other options. Here are a few of my recent try-ons. (Sorry about the poor picture quality. Our indoor lighting is pretty terrible, so none of my pictures turned out well. I thought they were better than nothing though.)

For reference, I'm 5' 4" and 110 lbs. My measurements are 32C-26-34. I usually wear between size 25 and 26 for jeans, most often 25. 

Articles of Society Sarah Skinny Jeans (White 25)

Jean posted about this pair of white skinny jeans a while back, so I thought I would give them a whirl. They were better than I expected, especially for the low full price of $54. I like how affordable they are, but some of the other options out there are actually cheaper on sale. With Nordstrom, you may have to wait for a while before anything gets marked down. As for the jeans themselves, they were definitely sort of sheer, although not the most sheer I've ever seen. I would wear nude seamless underwear for sure. The length was on the longer side at 29" and the legs weren't sausage-casing tight, but the waist was too big, so I would recommend sizing down (unless you have athletic legs). The material (65% cotton, 33% viscose, 2% spandex) felt a little thin and cheap. Also, the front pockets aren't real, which is inconvenient but does prevent those unsightly pocket outlines. Overall, not the best option out there.

Verdict: Thin and somewhat sheer. Large in the waist.


(White 26)

Last month I tried on these jeans in my usual size 25, but they were too tight and made me feel fat. At the time I just blamed the fit, so I didn't even bother trying on a larger size. Recently these same jeans were on promo with an additional discount, so I decided to try them again in size 26. This time I liked them much better. By sizing up, the leg transformed from super skinny into skinny-straight, which was more slimming visually. The pockets were very shallow (more like half pockets), so they weren't too bulky and it was hard to see their outlines. The waist felt fine (maybe a hair loose), and the length was reasonable at 28". My one complaint is that although the denim felt quite thick (90% cotton, 8% polyester, 2% spandex), it still somehow showed the color of my underwear. Also, they're a little expensive at full price ($115), but they're a good value if you can pick them up for under $60.

Verdict: Like. Still a little sheer though. Size up.



LOFT currently has a wide selection of white jeans, but sizes sell out pretty quickly during the season so if you're interested, be sure to buy sooner rather than later during one of their frequent 40% off sales. I had high hopes for this skinny jean, because the fabric is my ideal blend of 98% cotton and 2% stretch. I was a little worried about the fit though since LOFT jeans traditionally don't fit me well, especially in the waist. Like most LOFT jeans, the waist on this pair was a little big, but the overall fit through the thigh was decent. As you can see in the pictures above, the leg was quite skinny, so you can make out the outline of my knees. Also the pictures don't capture how the fabric didn't move well with my body. Wrinkles appeared along the seams whenever I moved. Furthermore the pocket outlines were pretty visible. However, the saving grace is that this is the most opaque pair of white jeans I have seen in a while. Of course, if you really looked very closely, you could still see my underwear color, but it's about as close to opaque as you can get for white jeans.

Verdict: Like. Mostly true to size, but a little big in the waist.


Now that you've seen the pictures and read the reviews, I could really use your advice! Should I keep the J.Crew jeans, the LOFT jeans, or return both and keep looking? I got them for around the same price ($45). Neither pair is perfect, but they're both good enough. Please let me know in the comments!

13 comments:

  1. I have the Loft ones and I like them. I think the J.Crew jeans look best on you out of the three. I'll have check out the J.Crew ones sometime. Joe's Jeans has white denim that they claim is stain resistant. It's a cool idea but at $179 a pair, I think I can just go through three pairs of regular white jeans.

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    1. I totally agree that $179 is too much for a pair of white jeans. Maybe I would pay that much for the perfect jean, but I would want it to be a more versatile color.

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  2. I suppose it depends...do you want a pair of white jeans so badly that you'll deal with either the sheerness of the J.Crew jeans or the larger waist of the LOFT jeans? Does one thing (sheerness or loose waist) bother you more than the other? For me, I found that it's not worth buying something if I'm not completely in love with it, which is why I haven't found my perfect pair of white jeans. I tried on the Articles of Society jeans when I was in Nordstrom a few weeks ago and they looked too tight on my legs (even after sizing up). I hated the sheerness of the J.Crew pants, and I tried a different wash in the LOFT jeans but wasn't impressed with how loose they were. As much as it would be nice to end the search and pick one that is good enough, I know I'll end up regretting the purchase later when I find the pair that is good enough, ya know? So I guess it's something you really have to consider!

    xo Kimi

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    1. You're right. Ultimately the flaws will bother me, and I'll just end up looking for another pair, so I'm going to return both of these. I also remembered that I have a pair of white flare jeans sitting in the back of my closet. Maybe I'll try to wear them now that flare jeans are back on trend!

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  3. The JCrew, definitely. Much more flattering! My experience with the toothpick cone denim is that they stretch out slightly, but not too much. The denim has a lot of elastic. They wash well without shrinking up too much, at least in the dark color.

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    1. I've been really liking the new toothpicks. Have you tried the Parker wash? That's my new favorite out of the three pairs I own.

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  4. I actually like both the J.Crew and the Loft ones on you. (They look very similar in the photos to me, but maybe my attention to detail is not super good!)

    Like Kimi said, if you're already noticing details that you don't like about both, it could be best to wait and see if something better comes along? I've often regretted buying things when I noticed details I didn't like as much when trying on.

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    1. Thanks for your advice! I decided to return both pairs and continue the search for my perfect white skinny jeans. In the meantime, I'll try to wear this pair of white flare jeans that I own and see how they work out.

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  5. The LOFT and J.Crew jeans look similar to me although it looks like the LOFT jeans are a tiny bit better length-wise. I agree with Kimi that you should consider whether the fit or fabric composition are going to be bothersome to you if you keep either pair. I say if you aren't in love with them then keep searching.
    Finding the right pair of white jeans are such a hassle as I'm sure you know after trying on 20 pairs. I bought a pair of J Brand white jeans from Ebay and they were pretty well fitting and didn't have any sheerness issue but I've lost enough weight to make them look not so hot now so I've tried to find a good pair of skinny white jeans since last summer. I just bought a pair from H&M because they were $10 but I honestly don't have super high hopes that they are perfect (although that price is). All I want is for the pockets to not show through and that they fit well.

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    1. I definitely wasn't in love with either pair since I already found a bunch of issues, but I think I really wanted to end the search. Anyway, thanks to everyone's sage advice, I'm going to return both pairs and keep looking. I hope those H&M jeans work out for you (and what an awesome price)!

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  6. Thanks for the shout-out! You've gotten sound advice and made a good decision IMO -- keep searching until you find a pair that ticks all the boxes for you. Sounds like your flares might fill the gap in the meantime. Good luck!

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  7. Love the J. Crew the best on you.

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  8. Love the J.Crew jeans on you. Now I want to order them too. :)

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