How Should Jeans Fit? The Ultimate Guide for Women

Finding jeans that fit perfectly is a gamble, don’t you think?

It’s like looking for a rare gem. It takes a lot of trials and loads of patience, but the good news is it is doable. It is possible to find jeans that fit your body perfectly.

The secret is knowing the critical things to look at – height, waist, rise, and hips. Once you know how to determine the fitting of these four key things, you are well on your way to finding the jeans of your dreams.

Since we get asked alot by readers how they can find jeans that fit, we thought we should delve deeper into this topic to help you and everyone else learn the secrets to finding the perfect jeans.

Keep reading!

How Do you Know if Jeans Fit Perfectly?

Most people think that jeans fit perfectly when they sit right at the waistline. However, it’s not always that the waistline is the determining factor. There are other key areas that must also sit right, like the hips, butts, ankles, crotch, fly, and thighs. 

A general rule of thumb is that jeans should not be overly tight or loose. They should also not pinch on your skin, they shouldn’t restrict your movement, and it shouldn’t be a struggle putting on or taking off.

Should Jeans Feel Tight at First?

Yes, however, they shouldn’t be uncomfortably tight. A little tightness is okay because jeans tend to stretch after a couple of wears. They would ideally be stretched by about 2-3 inches. That’s why you want it to be a little tight at first.

Is it Better to Size Up or Down in Jeans?

It is always recommended to size down. This is because jeans will always stretch out after a couple of wears. However, don’t go for more than one size down.

How Do you Know if Jeans Fit Without Trying Them on?

Using your neck is a genius hack to know if the jeans fit without actually trying them on. To do this, take the jeans by the waistband and wrap them around your neck, as shown in this video tutorial.

If the two ends of the waistband barely touch, then thats a perfect fit for you. But if they don’t, or you have an excess waistband, they are not the right fit.

Avoid going by the general sizes given by brands unless you’ve been buying from a particular brand a couple of times before. This is because sizes vary between brands. What one brand may have as a size 8 may be a size 6 or even 10 in another.

If you buy online, you are better off taking your own measurements and comparing them with the given sizing chart.

Related: How to Style Blue Jeans

How to Find the Right Jeans Fitting

There will never be a  time when it will be easy to find the perfect jeans because we all have different body shapes. It is not, therefore, entirely possible for manufacturers to consider everyone’s body type when making clothes. It’s up to us to find what works for us as far as cuts, styles, and materials. 

If you don’t know about the different types of jeans, head over to this post to learn.

Here are the key things to look at when shopping for jeans:

Waist

The waist should fit snugly. It shouldn’t be too tight that it pinches on your skin and shouldn’t be too loose either that it shows a gap or a “bubble.”

To confirm the waist fitting, place two fingers between the waistband and your waist. If you struggle to put your fingers in, just know the waist is too tight. And if they fit in too easily, then the waist is baggy. This applies to both high-waist and low-waist jeans. 

When the waist fits perfectly, you should be able to sit, breathe and walk comfortably. You should also not struggle to button or unbutton your jeans.

Sometimes you’ll find jeans that fit perfectly on the hips but are a little big on the waist. That’s a pretty common problem for women with large hips and small waists. This is nothing that can’t be easily fixed. Just take your jeans to the tailor to have them adjusted, or watch this video tutorial to learn how to take it in yourself.

Hips

The hips can be wide or narrow depending on whether you like them tight or loose. Either way, the fitting shouldn’t be too baggy or too tight. For skinny jeans, bootcut, and slim-fit jeans, they should fit snugly around the butt and hips area.

If boyfriend and mom jeans fit perfectly on the waist, they certainly fit on the hips too. However, you may need to experiment with a couple of styles and cuts to see how each fits you.

We suggest going for stretchy jeans as they are a little more comfortable and offer more walking freedom. Whichever you choose, just make sure that your hips are not too tight that moving and sitting is uncomfortable.

Length or height

The fitting of the length is quite easy to tell. The challenge comes in finding the right length to suit your different footwear.

Most brands offer standard lengths based on abstract models, which some women may find too long or too short. The petite women may find them too long, while the tall women may find them too short.

So how do you go about with the length variation?

Simply customize the length by hemming or cuffing the jeans if they are too long. You can either hire a seamstress to do it for you, or you can simply watch this tutorial to learn how to cuff your jeans. Fixing the length is the best alternative to buying a new pair if the jeans fit perfectly in every other way.

Rise

The rise is another area where most women struggle with. If you aren’t sure what the rise is, it is the area between the top of your waistband and the part where the crotch meets the legs. The rise is often calculated in inches. It measures between 7 to 12 inches, depending on the type.

The rise can either be high, mid, or low. Though the type to choose is entirely personal, your body type and the look you desire to achieve will also influence your choice.

High rise

In high-rise jeans, the rise falls between 11-12 inches. Because these measurements can vary across brands, consider any jeans with a rise that sits above the navel to be high-rise jeans.

High rise is the best for women who desire to accentuate their curves and waistlines. They can also be worn to lengthen the legs.

Mid-rise

Mid-rise jeans have a distance of between 9 to 11 inches between the lower part of the crotch seam and the waistband. They are considered to be the most standard rise. 

Mid-rise jeans sit right below your navel, although this may vary slightly across brands. They are ideal for all types of bodies.

Low rise

The low rise sits between 7-8 inches between the bottom of the crotch seam and the waistband, although the distances may vary across brands.

Low-rise jeans were pretty popular in the 70s when low-hanging bell bottoms were the thing. Today, many brands incorporate the low-rise style in nearly all their cuts.

Low-rise jeans are a great choice for women with shorter torsos as they give an illusion of a longer torso. They are also great for balancing out the torso and lower part.

Related: How to Measure Your Bra Size at Home

When choosing the best rise for your body, also consider your height. If you are a petite woman, the high rise will be ideal for elongating your frame (making your legs look longer).

Conversely, if you have a longer frame, you should consider low-rise jeans to make you look a little shorter. However, these are not fast rules. You are free to go for whatever rise you desire. Some tall women prefer to flaunt their height and will only rock high-rise jeans.

While the overall fit of the jeans depends on the style and cut, it is still important to consider all the key areas that make up the pants. For jeans to be comfortable, they must fit at the waist, butt, thigh, and ankle areas. They must also be of a practical length.

We hope you are now in a better place to find your perfect fit.