just wondering if anybody has a solution for those pairs of jeans where the waist is just a tad uncomfortable and all you want is to give your hips an inch more of breathing room???

i always want to cut the waste band off, or stretch them out a little bit, but it never works as well as i like..... are there any techniques, or am i just doomed to uncomfortable jean syndrom?

Well the only thing I can think of could also rip them if you aren't careful...
put them on and then squat down to the floor for a few mins. It stretches all the material when you squat...
But if you do it too intensely or fast you could rip the butt of your pants.

my jeans always stretch out after I wear them a bunch. It's kind of annoying. I either have to buy jeans that fit perfectly when I get them new and then two weeks later they will be too baggy and the waist won't fit right or I have to buy jeans a little tight when they are new and then wear them a few times before they fit comfortably.

my jeans were like that, so I buttoned them up and put them on the back of a chair, pulled down as far onto the chair as the inseam would allow. it seems to have worked. It'll happen through wear too, but it's quicker on the chair.

I do yoga asanas (normally Warrior I and II). It also helps to wash them cold and let the pants line dry.

don't put them in the dryer and wash in cold..i second all the other suggestions

i've had old pairs of jeans like this that i love too much to get rid of, so...

i cut a little downward slit or two in the waistband so it goes like this \/ and gives an extra inch or so. then i just wear a wide belt (through the belt loops) to cover up the slits and make it tight enough make sure my pants don't fall down...

-- ashley --

the technique:

Wring out a clean wet washcloth. Wipe the inside of the waistband, then the outside. Give extra attention to the side seam attachment. Do any pocket seams that meet the waistband. That takes care of a tight waist. If there are more trouble spots move down in this order-the crotch seam from waist to waist comes next-inside then outside. Next do the side seams down to the hip area. Last if the jeans are a whole size too small take a wipe across all fabric down to the legs.

The damper you get the seams, the more they stretch- so deeply dampen tight ares- go light on nice fitting areas. any area that you wet inside and out will stretch a lot-except you have to do do inside and out on the waist and doubleseams like the crotch vbecause there are two layers of denim that need to stretch-so you have to wet them equally.

Oh my I understand completely where you are coming from. I have a wide waist that isnt' much different than my hips so all girl jeans fit too tight in the waist and leave me with a stupid little roll above the waist band. Thanks for asking this, and thank everyone for answering because I'm going to try it.

I've heard that the best way to get jeans to fit perfectly is to get them soaking wet and wear them until they're dry. I've never tried it myself though, so I don't know if it's true.

Haha, inky, that sounds sooo uncomfortable. I've worn clothes just out of the dryer and still a little damp and I just about go nuts, but I'm sure it really does work like a charm!

sheesh. I wonder if anyone ever just gives up on jeans? it seems like women have to go through so much trouble to actually find a pair of jeans that fits perfectly, and then they never seem to actually continue to fit perfectly for any length of time. sigh.

Anyway, I am of the school that washes in cold and air dries the jeans. When they are dry I put them in the dryer with a load of already dry clothes and one damp towel for about 20 minutes. This makes them a little softer, air drying tends to make most of my jeans feel really rough. Then I put them on and do the squat thing so the top gets stretched out.

also, ashular has a really good idea! I need to remember that if I ever find myself with a too tight waist band.

heathertee:
" I wonder if anyone ever just gives up on jeans?"

That's what I did.
For me the redeeming factor of the horror that is jeans is comfort. It's not as if they look great or are especially durable. If they're not comfortable, I just don't see the point.
So, I can offer no advice in the jean-stretching department, apart from buying stretchy jeans...
Sorry.

xs.

These tips are really great. I'm going to try the wet-waistband and chair techniques (already a squatter).

Why I don't give up on jeans: my butt is large, yet flat. Jeans make it look round. (I figure I'll only be able to make it look good for another ten years, so I may as well get my kicks in while I can.)

My mum said that when she was pregnant, she hooked a hair elastic through the button hole, back through itself and around the button ... does that make sense? Then you have to wear a shirt that's a bit too long.

Look out, though! You wouldn't want to fall prey to the Jeans Police:
>http://www.megnut.com/new_york/007464.asp

:)

this sounds gross, but it works.

put them on when they're not quite dry (dry in some areas but wet in the dense areas like the hem, seams and cuffs)...wear them around, sit down and everything. let them dry. they will fit. i do this all of the time.

I am having flashbacks to when I was in 1st grade and I went down the slide in jeans. After it rained. I felt like I had peed my pants for the rest of the day..Ha!! Thanks for the giggle and the great tips. I too, have this problem...

The difference in my technique and wearing them damp from the washer is that they get loose all over if wet all over. My method allows you to only stretch what needs stretched, and leave tight what you like.

i did the hair elastic through the buttonhole trick when i was pregnant, too, and it worked like a charm. as long as your shirt covers the waistband, no one knows the difference.

Very much a tangent: @#§%#§@ H&M and their crappy quality! I bought a pair of jeans in April, and today they broke...a long rip across the back of my thigh. Goodbye to my last pair of "good" pants (ie pants that I don't wear in the metals studio or while painting)! Last time I bought jeans, they lasted for 4 years; these didn't even survive 8 months. I think I'm giving up on jeans too, now.

Sorry, just needed to vent...

for the cutting waistband factor

try not cutting it completely off but cutting it in half stretching that (in formerly named fashion) then turn the waist band in as like a facing it stops that "I can't sit down without turning into a plumber" problem

KattWalk & Heathertea - I'm so with you on the tight-waistband, ready-to-give-up-jeans thing. But I've found out a secret.

Y'know how women's jeans are all too tight in the waist, baggy in the butt, and always, ALWAYS waaaay too short? Here's the secret: Men's jeans fit! They actually make them in different widths and lengths - because the fashion industry understands that men come in different heights and weights, whereas they apparently still believe all women are really short with tiny waists and enormous butts.

Men's Levis fit me perfectly (and believe it or not, Old Navy men's jeans are good too - surprising, considering how horribly all their women's pants are made). Now that I know my waist and inseam size, I can buy a pair in ANY STYLE (from "classic" to "relaxed" to "loose") and know that I'll be able to breathe while wearing them, and my ankles won't freeze. I'll never buy another pair of women's jeans again.

"Y'know how women's jeans are all too tight in the waist, baggy in the butt, and always, ALWAYS waaaay too short?"

Can someone please send those jeans my way? I always have to re-hem my jeans (or any pants) because they're too long...If I go to a shop that uses inch measurements (rather than s/m/l sizes which are hopeless), I still end up having to buy too long jeans because their smallest size is 32" inseam. 30" might work, but I never see that size anywhere... There are no "petite" departments in Sweden (at least not that I've seen), so I really have no choice.

Also, once I've found a pair of pants that I can pull up over my hips without getting claustrophobic, they are very likely to be too large in the waist. *mutters*

Hey, maybe you could come here and buy jeans, and I could go to the US? We should start a shopper's exchange organisation... :-)

Katrin- I used to wear guys jeans too, infact I don't think I owned a pair of women's jeans until I was 22 or 23. I think it has something to do with my being tall, narrow hipped and lacking an ass, they guys jeans did fit perfectly. Somehow I got roped into this women's jeans cycle and haven't tried on a pair of men's jeans in so long. What was I thinking!?!?! I need to go back, thank you for the reminder!


teagrrl- awwww I just got the most perfect pair of jeans at H&M last week! Now you tell me they will fall apart in 8 months... darn, I will just have to be extra special careful with them!