Hello Lovelies!!
I am extra excited for this blog post because over the last few months I have been working to create the PERFECT denim collection and one of the hardest pieces for me to find was a good vintage straight leg jean! I was super picky on wash, how much cotton was in the fabric, the fit through the hip, and distressing at the leg opening – it was a lot to handle! But in the end I fashioned my favorite jeans ever and here is how I made it happen!
As a plus size boss babe I have a hard time fitting into 100% cotton jeans. A lot of jeans made in my size have extra stretch to accommodate your body’s curves, but I wanted jeans that were shaped for me from the beginning- small waist, high rise, and particularly a higher rise in the back.
I started with searching for thicker jeans made in extended sizes and found these (added options for sizes 23-34 and 16-24)! These all had at least 99% cotton to hold their shape which I love!
I got a pair in size 18 not knowing how it would fit and honestly I could have tried to see how a 16 would fit but I didn’t want to start small. The waist was still a little big and the pair I found had no distressing so I went to my favorite tailor, had the waist taken in, and then had the bottom cut with a raw edge!
Lastly, I wanted to tweak the wash a bit and make them look a little more worn, so I added a little at-home bleach like this:
You don’t want to over do anything so I made a tub of warm water with a few cups of bleach, soaked the jeans (put them in while wearing gloves) for 20 minutes, then rinsed them in cold water and let them dry overnight! The tricky thing about this process is the jeans appear darker when they are wet, but again you do not need to change the color too dramatically so watch them closely as they process!
And that’s it! I love wearing my new jeans and I plan on keeping them in good shape by washing them rarely!
My last good tip for y’all is to store your jeans in the freezer! Sounds weird but the cold will help them to not stretch out AND it kills unwanted bacteria to keep them clean!
Hope you found some inspo from my denim journey!
xx,
A