Jeans that look and feel great: Kut from the Kloth

Eddie Bauer changed the cut of their jeans a year or so ago, as did the Gap, and I haven't been able to find cute, comfortable jeans to wear. The new Eddie Bauer jeans look awful on me and the Gap jeans look great in the dressing room but when I get home they are just too low-cut to be comfortable or practical to sit down in.

I'd just about given up when I stopped in at Buffalo Exchange (a thrift shop chain focused on clothes for 30-somethings) on the way back from the Ballard Sunday Market. I spotted two pair of jeans, tried them on, and loved them both. The best pair was called Kut from the Kloth. The saleswoman raved about them but said the were no longer in production. I bought them — for $19.

Fortunately, the saleswoman was wrong. They're still going strong, and Macy's carries them in Better Denim (remember "Better Dresses"? Now it's "Better Denim."), and you can find them on eBay.

Turns out I'm not the only person who thinks Kut from the Kloth is the gods' gift to the short, curvy woman.

Check out these reviews from The Demoiselles and Cleveland's Shopaholic blog.

The one caution about Kut jeans? Watch out for the ones with the flaps on the back pockets. Ugh.

The knees have it

No, this isn't a post about fitness and knees. It's a post about women's fashion — specifically, pants.

I was standing in my walk-in closet this morning trying to figure out why a pair of Eddie Bauer corduroy pants I bought two years ago look great, and why a pair I bought four years ago (same corduroy, same size) look dorky.

They have the same fit at the waist and hips, and the hems are the same width. But the newer pair looks hip and trendy and the older pair -- they're not quite "mom jeans," but definitely dumpy.

Finally I figured it out. It's the knees.

Current fashion includes both skinny jeans (tight everywhere, including the ankles) and flared jeans (wide at the ankles). But both styles are slim at the knees. Older pants, which were straight from thigh down to ankle, now look like something you'd see on a gardener or someone cleaning out their basement.

Weird, but enlightening.

I packed the older pair away. The style will be back in two or three years and, somehow, they'll look just right. And I'm not just being snarky: Last week I had people raving about a pair of flat black leather riding boots I was wearing with an A-line skirt. Where did I get them? Well, 10 years ago, the last time flat boots were in style, I bought them from Santana of Canada. I nearly took them to a consignment shop five years ago when pointy toed boots were the rage, and two years ago when strange-looking heels and rounded toes were the thing. Fortunately, I held on to them. My fashion secret is a large closet and two attics.

Fashion: Best of 2007

I've put together a list of some brands I thought were particularly impressive this year. Note that many of the links go to a retailer's site rather than the manufacturer's; that's because most of the manufacturers have pretentious "branding" websites with vacuous Flash intros and lousy navigation. The retailers, by contrast, want to sell things so they have sites that actually work.

SHOES
Corso Como. American-designed, Brazilian-made, these leather boots and shoes have a high-fashion look but quite a bit of comfort. High-quality materials put the prices in the $100 to $260 range. Look for them online at BarefootTess.com, Nordstrom.com, Piperlime.com, and Zappos. In Seattle, you'll find them at local boutiques such as Nuovo Modo in downtown Seattle and the new Lambs Ear Shoes in Fremont. Note: You may want to size up a half size for these. And be sure to check for online sales.
Runners-up: Born (for comfort and quirky good looks) and Sofft (for a comfortable high heel; but be aware, you want to be sure to try on a pair half a size down...in the larger size, feet can tend to slide forward into the roomy toe box, leaving a gap at the heel).

BAGS
Mandarina Duck. This Italian company's patented fabrics are striking and unusual, with bags featuring a mix of leather and nylon-type materials. Even leather bags are likely to feature a mix of sueded and finished leathers, plus plenty of pockets, sturdy construction, and models that magically expand via snaps and zippers. All this styling comes at a price ($200 - $400). Do beware of the synthetic fabric bags which, while resembling backpacks, are neither waterproof nor stain-resistant.
Runners-up: Matt & Nat vegan bags (at Shoefly and Sole Food in Seattle) and Libaire (online) for sturdy bags in rich-looking pebble leather.

BRAS
Wacoal. "Sure they fit great, but they're so expensive," you say. That's no longer the case. You can find most styles of these $60 bras for $20-$25 (new with tags) on eBay—so try them on at Nordstrom, buy one, and get the rest online. (If you are someone who has long avoided underwires as being uncomfortable, a Wacoal can probably get you to reconsider.) To see Wacoal's vastly expanded catalog of styles, for all styles and shapes, visit the major online lingerie sites like Bare Necessities and Fig Leaves, which have a better selection than Nordstrom. Fig Leaves has one fancy Wacoal model selling for just $15 this week.

TIGHTS
Now that sheer pantyhose have been declared hopelessly out of style, grownups can enjoy wearing opaque tights. Unfortunately, my top picks are devilishly hard to find: The synthetic-blend tights from Hot Sox. Nordstrom carries only the metallic version, so check out local shoe boutiques (where I just ordered two pair).

SLEEPWEAR
This is all about nightgowns and loungers, like the gorgeous lightweight cotton knits at Soma. Look for the long, slim V-neck loungers, sometimes with matching robes. These are not big, baggy t-shirts. (Do, however, watch out for the Soma sleepware that isn't machine washable; who wants to hand wash a bulky bathrobe?)

JEANS
I tried quite a few styles and brands of jeans this year, and didn't come up with any winners. I can, however, recommend Eddie Bauer's Classic Fit bootcut corduroys (the plain ones, not the fussy-looking embroidered ones). Eddie Bauer offers several fits in tall, regular and petite, including the contemporary Classic Fit with has a modern (slightly low) waistband. For those of you hunting for jeans, it's always worth checking out the style advice (based on your measurements and preferences) at Zafu.com.

SWEATERS (BASIC)
No nominees in this category, I'm afraid. I didn't like the styling of The Territory Ahead three-button cashmere (too boxy). Macy's Charter Club house brand cashmere seemed narrow and tube-like and bunched up on the shoulders (but better than nothing—I bought one). Eddie Bauer didn't have a single Merino wool sweater for women (it had winter sweaters made of cotton, a real mountaineering faux pas!). I thought the Sundance Catalog and Garnet Hill cashmere sweaters were a bit overpriced (and the Garnet Hill v-neck had one of those low, low necklines). The styling on the L. L. Bean cashmeres made them look like sweatshirts. J. Jill had novelty rather than classic sweaters (mostly cotton, some in wools). So, I have to confess, I got all my sweaters this year on eBay and at consignment shops. I did, however, order a Red Moon brand gray cashmere jersey at the Amazon.com sale this week, so will report that later. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Objects in the mirror may appear smaller...

Long ago -- when you bought jeans at Army Navy stores and you weren't in the Army or the Navy -- I vaguely recall buying women's jeans using men's waist sizes.

Today, the ultra-pricey women's fashion jeans are being sold by similar numbers. The problem is, what's a 30 in one brand is a 32 in another, and so on. The online fashion site Adasa.com has been putting together a guide to sizing for many of the major brands (7 for All Mankind, Frankie B, etc.). However, when you see that a size 10 is a 31, check the General Sizing Guide above to make sure you correspond to Adasa's definition of a 10 -- because it runs a good bit smaller than a 10 in a non-premium line such as Eddie Bauer or The Gap.