Ah, jeans. They might be one of my favorite things in the entire world. I own more pairs than I am comfortable saying, and there’s too many to count anyway.

Recently, I did a full on clean out of my jeans. By clean out, I mean I got rid of….not many. Most of my jeans went into storage in our basement. Let me back up.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve put on a bit of weight, particularly since the birth of my daughter nearly 2 years ago. Last fall, I got sick and tired of having a closet full of beautiful clothes, many of which I couldn’t wear because they no longer fit properly. I decided that I should only have clothes in my closet that I loved wearing and that fit, so I began a purge that started with my jeans. I discovered many items I still loved, I just don’t love them on the body I currently have. I decided to box them up in plastic containers and store them for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time in hopes that my healthy changes will allow them back into my life (and my closet).

Since my jean collection was down to only a few pairs after the clean out, I asked for a pair or two for Christmas. My go-to pair (post-purge) are from New York and Company – shocking to me as their pants have never fit me – but these are jeggings, and they’re the perfect combination of stretch and structure. I wear them almost constantly. Naturally, I asked for another pair for Christmas.

My parents got me 2 pairs, but they were both high-waisted (not my fave), so I decided to return them. Yesterday, I popped in to NY&Co on my lunch break to take advantage of their buy one get one for $10 and use my merchandise credit.

Here’s what I tried.

I have been looking for a pair of white jeans. I have a pair I packed up that no longer fits and I’m annoyed that right before I got pregnant I donated another pair I had that would have fit me now. I tried these (Soho Destroyed White Skinny Jeans) but they didn’t really work for me. First of all, they were a bit see through (often an issue with white stretchy jeans). Secondly, they were destroyed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good destroyed jean, but if I’m only going to own one pair in white, I’d rather not go with destroyed because they will get more wear if I can wear them to work. My office is casual, but I try to stay away from anything ripped or frayed.

Another pair of destroyed jeans, since a pair of destroyed blue jeans are definitely on my wishlist. These are the Soho Destroyed Superstretch Leggings in Force Blue (here). I really liked these, but there were two other pairs I liked better, and my credit only covered those. I couldn’t justify an extra $70 for this pair.

Pair 3 are these Soho Midrise Skinny. I passed because they only had them in an 8 which was too big (talk about vanity sizing…I’m usually a 10 everywhere else but I’m a 6 in NY&Co jeans). Also, the pocket size and placement didn’t do my ass any favors.

This pair hit the jackpot! I find that lighter wash jeans are hard to come by lately and I had purchased a pair back in December that had to be returned, so I was on the hunt for a better option. These jeans were the ticket. I was completely shocked they worked for me – these are the Curvy Legging. I grabbed them thinking why not, and they were perfect. Of all the things I am, curvy – in relation to my lower half – I am not. But for some reason these really just worked.

The second pair I bought was this pair of Curve Creator jeans. They have a cut that works well for those of us with minimal butt, giving a little more shape than most jeans. Win!

Overall, I was happy with my shopping trip. I am definitely going to be keeping my eye on the sales at NY&Co over the next few months; if I can get a good deal, I may scoop up the destroyed pair I tried or another shade of the Curvy Leggings.

Where is your favorite place to shop for jeans?