The Hunt for New Jeans

At a little more than two years old, my rag & bone skinny jeans (similar, affiliate link) were on their last legs, with a few pulled threads, something I'd never seen before, and thinning spots on the inner thigh, which is typical. I usually wear my jeans until the fabric gets worn thin and rips. I thought I'd have a few more months to shop, but a few weekends ago, as I was getting dressed, I realized that there was a hole worn through in the back. Oops. So I'm officially in the market for new jeans.

When I last shopped for jeans in 2015, I had never owned a pair of designer ones before: I wore Uniqlo skinny or straight leg jeans, which fit me fine and held up well enough, except that they also stretched out a bit shortly after each wash. I thought that something more expensive might solve the problem. I also knew I only needed one pair at a time - I'd always opt to wear my "favorite" pair over any other, so splurging on just one pair made sense. 

I shopped haphazardly, entirely online, ordering and trying on several pairs from Madewell, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales. (Totally not the best way. It's very inefficient!) I wasn't paying attention to fabric composition then. I probably assumed everything would be mostly cotton with some spandex for stretch. Out of everything I'd tried, the rag & bone ones fit best. It was only after I'd picked them that I realized the fabric was only 64% cotton (34% polyester, 2% polyurethane). I didn't worry about it much, just assumed that the other fabrics helped with the close, skinny fit, and with allowing the jeans to keep their shape without stretching out, which they did.

Although I had originally planned to shop in person this time around, I'm finding myself entirely without the energy to do so on the weekends, so I've instead started my shopping process online. I realized quickly that my strong preference, this time around, for jeans that are, say, 98% cotton or similar, results in extremely limited choices. The other criteria are for it to be a pair of skinny or slim straight leg jeans in a dark wash. I haven't liked any of the ones I've tried on so far! I confess to some temptation to go back to rag & bone skinny jeans again, as they really do seem to have the most flattering fit on me, even if I now know from experience that the durability isn't great.

Any recommendations for jeans that might fit the bill? Alas, because I'm quite short of leg for my 5'3'' height, most jeans are too long, by such a large margin that it's hard to imagine them looking right on me, so I end up sending so many pairs back. Also, merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! My family and I are pretty low-key about the holidays, so we've just been relaxing together in the DC area suburbs.