I own zero pairs of the jeans at the moment and my friend recommended I try Levi's since she loves them.
Alas, still no dice. 26" waist, 37.5" hip, very long abdomen area/high waist. 5' 3" tall, with about 26" inseam from crotch to floor. Most of the pants were too tight in the thighs, too loose in the waist, and were very difficult to move around in or sit down.
The 28" length pants were a surprisingly nice length for me, but they only had a few styles with that length in store. The sales associate recommended I might need jeans with elastic, but that they didn't carry them in stores and to check online.
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Does Levi's have petite sizes?
Are short jeans the same as petite?
What height are petite jeans for?
[Pictured: #1 Levi’s 501 Originals size 26x28/30?, #2 Levi’s 501 Cropped size 26x26]
My last pair of good jeans are on their way out, and I am in desperate need of new ones. I’m looking for something 100% cotton, because I’m over the polyester/lycra/rayon blend stuff. But I’m struggling with the sizing and shrinkage aspect.
For reference, I’m 4’ 11”. I get measured professionally for work somewhat regularly, so I know my waist and inseam are both 27”, and I double checked after trying some jeans on at the nearest Levi’s outlet. When I went and tried a few different sizes and styles on, I found that the 27s were ENORMOUS on me, the 26s were pretty roomy (about 2 inches of room in the waistband on most pairs, sometimes more) and the 25s were snug, almost uncomfortably so.
I’m looking for some advice from more experienced petite folks on how much shrinkage to expect, since I’d rather not spend $100 on jeans that I ultimately won’t wear because the sizing was off.
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Should I go for the 26s and hope they shrink to fit my waist better or are they unlikely to shrink that much? Or will they even just stretch out too much during regular wear and I should size down to the 25s?
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And should I be getting a length of 28/30 or the cropped/ankle cuts of 26/27? The shorter pairs seemed to hit nicely in store, but I don’t want them to shrink up too far in length. I don’t actually enjoy my ankles being that cold.
I also realize the 501s pictured are maybe not the most flattering cuts on my frame, so if any petite women have some suggestions for styles they like, I’m open to that too!