Not All Jeans Are Created Equal

Confession: I own a pair of 'mom jeans'

Don't ask me where I got them. (Okay- the tag inside says Old Navy, but I don't remember buying them.)

I'm the sort of mom who buys whole new wardrobes for my children in the spring and in the fall. But I rarely buy myself new clothes. If I do, they are expensive, because I'm learning that when it comes to clothes-ESPECIALLY JEANS- what you pay for is what you get. If I'm going to buy it, it better make me look smokin' hot, and it better be of excellent quality, because even a pair of jeans that looks spectacular can't make the cut if it is just going to fall apart in a few months. (read: beware of Aeropostal!!!!)

Now, it is true that my entire family is essentially a walking Old Navy advertisement. I love Old Navy. I love that I can shop almost completely off of the Clearance racks, and still get adorable, colorful, outside-the-box clothes for my children. I love how in the summer, you can get 3 for 15 deals on mini shorts and tank tops for girls, and muscle shirts for boys. 45 bucks each, and you've got a weeks worth of outfits that are cheep enough that you don't have to worry about sidewalk chalk stains, or sun fading- but they're still so adorable that your kids don't look like rag muffins. Once, I bought 6 dollar swim suits for all my children. Scarlet will fit into hers again this year.

It was the same with me during my entire high school and college career. As soon as Old Navy was in business, my family KEPT them in business. My mom shopped there on a regular basis.

Unfortunately for me, once I got pregnant with my first child, my body changed. I mean, it was a good thing. Before my first child, i was an almost-size 8. But just weeks after she was born, i was an easy size 6.

After my second child, i was down to a size 4, and my bust size was much smaller as well. (I know. TMI.) The sad thing was, I have noticed since I was finished with my first pregnancy that I could no longer effectively wear Old Navy clothing. I was deeply upset by this.

Once, there was a time when I could don a $30.00 pair of jeans (again, one reason i love Old Navy), some old t-shirt, and whatever clonky pair of shoes, and I looked like a doll. It seems now, that my style has changed. It had to. I had to try a lot of things to figure out what made me and my new, smaller, leaner and mommy-scarred body look decent.

Somewhere along that trial, i came up with a pair of what is not-so-affectionately known as a pair of 'mom jeans'.

Okay. For MY body, ALL Old Navy pants are mom jeans. The particular pair I ended up with is the worst though. They sit high on my waist, which isn't necessarily bad- it's a really good way to cover up that muffin-top that some people (especially new moms- i have one and like I said, i'm a size 4! I'm not sure it will ever go away!) have. However, my stomach is flat, so there are two handfuls worth of denim just below the pockets, and just above the croch. I mean, what do they expect someone who is a size 4 to be filling all that extra space with? They are hideous and I hate them.

Now, the question is, do I wear them? Yes. Yes I do.

But only when I have no other choice.

Over the last 6 months, I have somehow damaged all of my good jeans. There was an adorable pair of dark washed pants from American Eagle Outfitters that just flattered my figure beautifully. Unfortunately, they got holes in the croch (hey- i'm a girl. I cross my legs a lot.) and you just can't fix that kind of thing. The other pretty decent pair of jeans i have- well, lets just say I sat in something red and sticky that one of my kids was messing with. They were salvaged, but it took several stain treatments and I had to wear the mom jeans for several days before I had the relief of slipping myself back into my low rise, tight fitting jeans. - they're not exceptional by any means, but they are a million times better than my baggy on top, tight on bottom, up past my belly button mom jeans.

The thing is, I COULD go and buy a couple of new pairs. I would suggest Gap (which is the same company as Old Navy, it's just more expensive because it's better quality. Unfortunately, I have had bad luck with Gap jeans. Just about every pair i have ever owned has been stolen. YES! Stolen! But that's another post.) but it's pretty pricy for us right now. Not only that, but I'm hoping to get knocked up within the very very near future, and considering I've used all my maternity clothes have been used through 3 pregnancies and thus are pretty worn out, I am hesitant to buy anything new that I won't be able to fit into within the next 5 months. I'd rather spend that money on maternity clothes and then somehow milk the money for new, quality not-mom-jeans out of my husband once I lose the baby weight.

Maybe this time, I'll luck out and be a size 2.