help me find mid-priced denim

i have a problem.

a big one.

i have been searching high and low for mid-priced jeans that aren't too skinny and aren't too wide. like straight-up stovepipe. not hugging my calf nor too flared or bootleg. not too cheap but not too expensive. and i can't find them.

i started with gap, trying on every style in every size and color. always skinny, $69.50 / real straight $69.50

next i went to the matchsticks from j.crew ($98), but i'm not sold. they're way too long (even the short sizes) and i hate hemming jeans because they never look the same.

then i went to anthropologie (i have a gift card, woot!) and tried on every single pair they had in store. every. single. pair. again, either too skinny or too wide. ag colette bootcut, $168 / ag stevie, $168 / joe's muse, $158



and now i'm waiting for these to arrive from ann taylor although i think they'll be too skinny. (i think the outfit is so cute, btw) - $88 plus 40% coupon EXTRA40

these *might* be good, but it's so hard to tell from the shoddy fitting on the model (really, loft, really?!), $59.50 plus 40% with code EXTRA.

if you were me, where would you turn next? i really don't want to pay more than $100 but i just might have to...and is it a pipe dream? are there no straight leg jeans for less than a benjamin out there anymore?

oooooooooooooor maybe i'm not cut out for straight stovepipe jeans. maybe it's all in my head. just maybe.

ps. can't wait for my cousin katy to arrive!!! she gets in tonight and we have so much to catch up on. can't wait can't wait.

gap's jeans do it again

gap has done it again with another great pair of jeans. i saw these in an ad in this month's lucky mag and immediately went online to get the story. they don't seem to be available online for purchase yet, but i have the feeling they're out there somewhere. the gap 1969 website says they became available july 6, and i fully intend to keep my eyes open for where and when i can buy. let me know if you see them anywhere!

butt studs

i'm loving the studs all over everything that is "in" for fall, including those on these current/elliot skinny jeans. i really like the stud details but i'm not in love with the jeans themselves (nor the $279 pricetag - ouch). and there's definitely a little too much whiskering for my taste.

above: current/elliot skinny jeans with studs

so i went on a mission to find an even better pair for a way better price and the answer wasn't hard to find. i die (rachel zoe shout out) for blank denim's skinny jeans with original stud pockets. i should also mention that these have been around since [i think] 2007 - blank knew studs would be "in" before anyone else, i guess. at $78 a pair i'd say it might be worth getting blue AND black.

above: blank denim skinny jeans with original stud pockets

photos from shopbop.

affordable jeans that are cute? sign me up.

update thursday 8/13: gap 1969 jeans are $20 off today and they added the style i've been waiting for: the destructed skinny jeans in medium wash. pictured here:

~~~~~~original post below~~~~~~

above: always skinny destructed button jeans - $69.50

above: cropped light wash boyfriend jeans - $69.50

above: always skinny black destructed jeans - $69.50

when my new september lucky mag came last week, i tore it right open with a flourish. and what stopped me in my tracks on the very first page? an ad for "america's best fitting premium jeans" - from the gap. hmmm, ok. you've caught my attention, gap. naturally, i went on the website to do a little perusing.

i'm loving many of the styles and my favorites are pictured above. the best part? the price tag. nothing is above $69.50, from what i see. the other best part? i hear the 1969 cuts are staying the same from season to season with the only changes being color and details (buttons, rips, etc.). so if your best friend "accidentally" steals your favorite jeans and refuses to give them back, just buy yourself a new pair.

photos from the gap.