Levi’s Wedgie Icon jeans | $88 (made with American Cone Denim)
Today I have completed 44 years on this earth and enter into my 45th. Whoa.
I’ve been getting all deep and reflective these last couple days, as I do around my birthday, but I’ll spare you some of that today.
I will just say that I am more grateful than you can even imagine that I can do THIS for YOU every day. Whatever THIS is, and however it continues to evolve.
I do feel another shift coming on though, not one that will take me away from here, but one that will actually take me deeper into The Minimal Closet (remember that?) and towards a resolution, or at least a much more goal-oriented attempt at consuming less. I say that, and have said that I want to consume less over the years, but obviously, I haven’t. I consume less than I did 5 years ago, yes, but not ENOUGH less. So I’m going to devise an experiment to see if I can reach a goal, or at least get closer. And it will probably involve therapy. LOL
Anyway, onto the jeans. I’ve been very proud of the way I’ve been able to transform my body, and my health, over the last 4.5 years. Of course, I always thought that if I lost weight, and got my body to where I was happy with it, and thought it looked “acceptable,” everything else would fall into place and life would be all unicorns and rainbows. Ha. It may actually be that the opposite is true. But I’m okay with that, and look forward to continuing to grow and work through ALL my emotional and sartorial baggage.
I ordered the 100% cotton Levi’s Wedgie icon jeans – which are actually made in China, BUT with American Cone denim (mentioned in this post) that I’ve been interested in trying – last week from Amazon and received them yesterday. I stuck with my regular size 29. As soon as they arrived, I put them on and wore them for 5-6 hours. THEY ARE TIGHT. And even after that many hours’ wear, they’re still pretty snug. They loosened up a little, but not a whole lot. And the high rise makes them pretty constrictive. (it doesn’t help that I’m bloated ATM)
But, man…they look good! Not the most important thing for me, but it doesn’t hurt either. And I think that if I continue to wear them, and as some of my water retention goes down the next day or so, they’ll be more comfortable. They do actually fit my legs really well, and don’t gap in the waist at all, so they fit – although they’re still longer than I’d like. I just wouldn’t want to wear them to a big dinner or anything!
The button-fly is a little weird, since it adds quite a lot of bulk right there, but it’s not a deal breaker, and actually made them a little easier to get on I think. I did have to jump up and down a little and almost had to lay down on the bed to fasten them (like I used to have to do with a similar style Guess jeans MANY MANY years ago!), but button, they did.
So, I’ll do a better review next week after I’ve worn the jeans more, but so far, so good. I definitely recommend them if you have a body type like mine: small waist, larger hips/butt and substantial legs. Did I mention that they fit my calves pretty well? Something that’s nearly impossible to find in straight/skinny leg styles.
I know quite a few of you have or have tried the Levi’s wedgie jeans, what did you think of them?
I got a pair this summer and I LOVE them! I think they make my butt look great 🙂
I sized up, but I have been meaning to order another pair in my usual size. I do wish they would make them without the frayed hem. That is the one thing keeping me from wearing them to work. I got a pair of Madewell’s cruiser straight jeans–they have a very similar fit and are a little more polished looking.
Happy birthday Gretchen!! Thank you for spending the time to write some thought and shopping provoking pieces to share with us!!
they do amazing things for the back end, that’s for sure.
i love the frayed hem, but of course, i have a super-casual lifestyle. and it makes it easier to hem/cut
Happy Birthday!!! I love the jeans!
Happy Birthday, Grechen! Thank you for your wonderful posts and invaluable insight. Hope you have a fabulous day! I ordered those Simulacra pants last night, btw. 🙂
They look great on you Grechen!
And happiest of birthdays to you!
thank you catherine! and i’m so glad you got the pants, please let us know what you think about them!! i hope you love them as much as i do 🙂
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Those jeans look GREAT!
Happy birthday, Grechen!
I have read a lot about these jeans, but the name itself is very off-putting to me—they sound like corsets or high heels to me: making you look conventionally good at a too high cost in terms of comfort and freedom of movement. But they do look great on you, Grechen!
I have too many jeans right now (14 pairs!) that I love so I don’t need more, although I must say that it’s all I am wearing and jeans are the only piece of clothing that I still find exciting these days. I basically build my day’s outfit from the jeans: wide-leg jeans—fitting top, skinny—oversized top or tunic or dress, slightly flared or straight jeans—anything on top; black jeans- white or gray top, blue jeans—black top. That’s all the thinking that goes into my outfits lately.
I hope you had a great birthday and celebrated all that makes you YOU!!!
You look amazing and Happy Birthday lovely lady,
I’m so used to stretch in my denim I couldnt go back to no stretch- I love Levi’s but my body has changed. I started going through menopause at your age and now premium denim only looks good on me. I’m hoping to bounce back somewhat when this is over. So shake your shimmy girl!
love and best wishes, gena
Happy, happy birthday, Grechen – enjoy some new adventures and challenges on this next turn around the sun. And BTW, you look great!
Happy Happy Birthday Lady! Those jeans look great! I used to love button fly jeans back in my 20’s (we are close in age, you and I)!
Very excited to see where you go with the minimal closet. I’ve been very happy with my minimal closet process over the past few years (I only own three pairs of jeans and one of those is for yard work/painting only). However I was very sad to see this morning that I have two tops with pen marks on them. One I knew about but the other was a surprise. I’m torn right now between wanting to replace them quickly and feeling I should wait until I can hit the goodwill/consignment stores.
Wow, those do look fab on you!! I am currently breaking in a pair of cone denim (unwashed) jeans, and after about two weeks, they feel WAY less restrictive. Also, I bought a pair of new 100% cotton 501’s this summer, and they were pretty tight and semi stiff. Now they are way soft, and have loosened up nicely. I really like the strides Levi’s has made towards ethically-sourcing their cotton. I believe they were one of the first major companies to stop sourcing it from Uzbekistan which often uses child labor. And the reduced water thing is cool too.
Keep me posted on your quest to consume less! I want to too!!! Right now I’m trying to go with only three well considered items per season (outside of collaborations). It’s hard! But it’s really forcing me to weigh my options and find my priority items.
Oh, and Happy Birthday!!! 🙂
Happy Birthday! I think getting older is an accomplishment and fabulous in so many ways. The only reason I say that is as a disclaimer for what I’m about to write: You do not look a day over 30 my dear. You must be doing a lot of things right. xxoo
A very happy birthday to you Grechen! I’d run out and buy these pants except that I own a pair of 100% cotton high-waisted jeans from Madewell already. That said, the cut does look great on, and I’d recommend that everyone try themselves a pair.
Happy belated birthday, Grechen! Our birthdays are only a couple weeks apart, and I just turned 45. I am hoping that this year I can transform my health the way you have done the last few years. Looking forward to bearing witnesses to whatever changes this year calls out of you. Cheers!
thank you christina 🙂
This is late, but happy birthday! I hope it was a good one. 🙂