Identifying the perfect pair of jeans is never easy, but eventually we find that fabulously fitting pair and we are elated! However, as we wear them for a couple of days we are often horrified to find that that they no longer fit – they have grown at least a size from our thighs upwards. We are left with a pair of ill-fitting denims that makes us look bigger than we are. What can we do about this?

 As always, prevention is better than cure:

• Go down a size – your jeans should be snug, looking almost too tight when you buy them. Wear them for a couple of hours and you’ll find that they’ll start to grow – this time into that perfect fit.
• Hang dry instead of tumble drying – tumble dryers have unfavourable effects on denim that has as little as 1% stretch. The heat first causes the lycra to contract (which is why our jeans feel tight after we’ve washed them), and then subsequently to lose its elasticity completely (causing them to “grow”). If you have tumbled-dried your jeans, their fit will never be the same again.

I have always been mindful of buying my clothes too small, but I have learnt to make my jeans the exception. Buy them tight and ignore the washing instruction if it permits tumble drying.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 10th, 2006 at 7:01 am and is filed under Clothing Care, Instant Style Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.