Squeezing real-world curves into lean-fitting denim -- few things are more frustrating. Thighs get sausagey, derrieres get flattened (or worse) and you can't bend over without offering innocent bystanders a free peep show. A few years back, Not Your Daughter's Jeans rode to the rescue with a line of functional denim -- jeans that promised to flatter what you have and hide what they should. Now, amazingly, premium denim brands that didn't deign to make sizes larger than 30 are getting in on the action. Even J Brand -- makers of Mary-Kate Olsen and Nicole Richie's toothpick-thin dungarees -- just introduced a line of roomier styles called Blue Label. We tested five of these purportedly figure-fixing jeans. Some weren't cute and actually created a few extra bulges. But the best fit us so well and made us look so svelte that friends demanded we spill our secret. Judging by the cupcakes we ate yesterday, there's no secret -- it can only be the jeans.
Just squeeze it
THE BIG DEAL
-- Erin Weinger
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Rozzie Rae "Bette" jeans
($145, www.rozzierae.com)
Claim to fame: Designed "for the sexy American woman," meaning those with a pear- or apple-shaped figure.
Style quotient: Raw indigo coloring and a high, '70s-style waist put these pants right in step with today's denim trends. But there was a problem: The zone between the pockets and the waistband was much less constricting than eitherof them, resulting in an unsightly bulge right around the love handles.
Comfort: They're stretchy but thicker than the other pairs we tried. We felt sexy through the thighs, as our pesky Jell-O jiggle was almost completely compressed. But above the thighs? Not so much.
Bottom line: They're cute, comfortable and go up to a size 36. Just wear a long shirt.
****
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J Brand Blue Label "Monroe" jeans
($178, www.jbrandjeans.com)
Claim to fame: With its latest line, J Brand expands on its famous peg-leg silhouette by adding roomier hips, thighs and a contoured waistband to minimize the chance of contracting denim's deadliest disaster: the dreaded plumber's crack.
Style quotient: Our midnight blue trousers were the coolest-looking pair in the pack, and with good reason. Blue Label uses the same ink-stained washes and sleek, stretchy fabrics that have made J Brand a fashion favorite since 2005. Next to a pair of J Brand's standard fit jeans, you'd be hard pressed to tell Blue Label apart.
