love everyBODY: Denim

I have the unique opportunity to talk to numerous women via direct message on my instagram account (Kelly McCoyd) regarding style questions, tips, and advice. I feel incredibly fortunate for the community and friendships that have been formed through social media. A common theme throughout many conversations is the request for specific brands for certain body frames and heights. I decided to reach out to the best resource I have – YOU – to share with me brands you love for various body shapes and sizes. From that was born the series, love every.BODY, with the goal to celebrate all shapes and sizes. I always want my social channels to be a place of inclusivity, self-love, and celebrating how beautifully unique we all are.

The focus of the first week was denim and there were so many recommendations which I’ll break down below. I’ll continue to ask for a new clothing item each week to share on future posts. My hope is that this series will serve as a resource for you to easily refer back to in the future for assistance in finding brands that fit well.

FIT TIP: Make sure you pay attention to the inseam length!! I’m 5’4 and find that 27 inch inseam tends to be the best length for a true ankle length denim on me. Petite denim is often 26-26.5 inch (but some may be under 25 inch), regular length 28 inch, and tall 32 inch or longer. Of course, I never hesitate to take something to the tailor if it is too long, but knowing the inseam is very helpful while shopping.

The most commonly recommended brands for petite denim under $150 were:

Wit and Wisdom, Madewell Petite, Gap Petite, Abercrombie Short (or extra short with a 23 inch inseam!!), Loft or Ann Taylor Petite, Everlane (the ankle length styles), NYDJ, and American Eagle Short. I love Levi’s as an under $100 option, but do often have to hem them due to length. Something I didn’t realize, but now I know – Madewell, Abercrombie, and American eagle offer petite, standard, and tall sizes within standard and curvy fits. Both Madewell and Abercrombie curvy fits had multiple recommendations for a great fit when your waist is smaller than your butt/thighs. The NYDJ and Lucky style Ava fit were also recommended for a similiar curvy fit . Additional under $150 recommendations: Sofia Vergara, Level 99, Levis, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Express petite, Talbots, Lucky.

For petite denim over $150: Frame, Joe’s Jeans, 7 for Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, Mother denim (cropped styles), Paige, and Agolde (the Riley crop). The white pair of jeans from Frame were specifically designed for those under 5’3″. Frame and J brand were recommended for curvy petite and if you go with the cropped styles, you may not need to hem them!

For denim brands that offer extended sizes under $160: Abercrombie, Democracy, Free People Curvy, G-Star Denim, Pennington Denim, Decade Studio, Torrid. Democracy is apparently also great for giving a boost to your backside. Torrid also has petite with short and extra short lengths Fox Factor is a brand based in the Netherlands and Belgium, but with free world wide shipping. Decade Studio is a Canadian brand with free shipping to the US + international shipping is available.

For denim brands that offer tall fits: American Eagle offers long (30″) and extra long (32″) lengths. AG Denim offers 32″ inseams. Paige Denim offers 34″ inseams (also recommended for Tall, curvy fits). Abercrombie Tall denim is 32.5″ inseam. Express denim offers 34.5″ inseams in both regular and curvy fits. Athleta Sculptek also offers tall – the styles are limited to skinny denim, but with a great stretch. Madewell offers Tall and Taller lengths with 32″ and 33.5″ inseams. Mango was also recommended for Tall denim. Mango does not clearly describe fit details, so it ends up being more of a guessing game until you can actually try it on.

This mainly focused on petite, curvy, extended sizes, and tall fits, but 99.9% of these brands also offer regular lengths. One brand that wasn’t mentioned but is a new favorite of mine is AYR denim – I’ve only tried the YES YES YES style, but was thrilled with the cropped straight leg length, high waist, and perfect stretch that never stretched out with wears. Safe to say these may be my new favorite denim! Below are my most worn pairs of denim (the Levi’s required hemming). I also love & other stories denim as another great under $100 option! They don’t share fit details on their site, similiar to Mango, but the favourite cut denim in the regular length is quite long…if I had to guess, I would say easily 28-29″ inseam. I have to hem these due to the long inseam, but the cropped style is more appropriate on my 5’4″ frame.

I hope this post is helpful and welcome any feedback on how to improve sharing this information. Thank you again for being an incredible resource for compiling this post!

Xx Kelly