Don't Fit Your Pants? Gain Weight!

I've never worn tight jeans in my life. I mean, the kind that mostly fit and aren't too short or too long in the rise. Even for the petites department, I find that my rise (distance from crotch to natural waist) is too short relative to the rise that's designed for the pants offered. I have a rather shallow hip. It isn't even much - half an inch or an inch at most, but it actually makes a big difference. For most of the pants I buy off the rack the waistband is too loose on me if the crotch hits in the right place. If I pull the waistband down to where its snug, then the seat and crotch are too low. That, plus my butt isn't exactly filled out. Imagine the Ryan cut pants actually hitting where the Martin pants should...with too much slack at the waistband. With that in mind, I have never worn the tight jeans that most women seem to favor when they go out. (I know, I know...I'm avoiding the 'perfect jeans' search.) For dress slacks, I always get them altered.

So it was a bit of a shock when I randomly tried Banana Republic's low rise boot cuts in 00P this past weekend - and they fit almost perfectly. In fact, they were actually snug on me - in the way that I assume jeans are supposed to fit? To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable adjusting as they stretched to fit over the course of the weekend. Since they were new AND tight, I definitely felt a little hampered in my freedom of movement! I guess I'm just used to a looser fit.

The sad thing is that I realized that it was because I had put on fat around my waist (and probably had a bit of water retention) - and only at my waist. I essentially "padded" my lower waist a bit to fill up the empty space. (In fact, they were just slightly too tight in the waist compared to the rest of the hip area.) So my pants fit better - even though I was wheezing my way up staircases. A bit disconcerting, don't you think? With this added new information to digest, it seems like my current choices are:

A) get winded while doing slightly strenuous activity because I'm losing muscle mass and gaining fat - BUT gain the ability to wear pants off the rack;
B) get back into shape so I don't keel over from sprinting a block - BUT be unable to wear off the rack clothes well anymore;
C) become a crazy gym rat that packs down protein shakes to build up muscle in my posterior to make my hip circumference bigger AND be in shape

Hmm. This is really crazy, because most women exercise to slim down. Not too many people I know actually try to gain body fat to fit into their clothes. And I have to admit, C is definitely not happening (nor have I been able to gain much muscle either).

Unfortunately, my recent good fortune has been dashed. I tend to easily fluctuate a pound or two with exercise, but am unable to actually gain much more mass than that - even with muscle building exercises and protein shakes. I estimate that I was up to about 90 when I bought the pants on Thursday, and am now down to 88. Very annoying as it's ONLY at my waist. I somehow lost the difference from dancing for hours on Saturday night.

So, I'm back to slightly loose jeans again - but it was fun while it lasted! My advice to all those that have a similar problem? Let yourself gain a little extra weight and see if it works for you. I'm not exactly sure if the trade-off is worth it, but it's certainly worth a try!

(I'll post a picture of how things fit when I'm feeling a bit more "full", as I lost the opportunity to do so this weekend.)

Zafu Followup - Loyalty from Honesty

Earlier last week, I posted about Zafu, an online women's jeans shopping guide. Surprisingly, my review managed to get a nod from Frank Pillar at Mass Customization & Open Innovation News. He highlighted a particular point that I think too few retailers realize. Consumers, particularly those that have highly specific needs and have a hard time shopping, really appreciate and have a positive regard for merchants that don't waste their time and resources in a run around. In turn, retailers gain the trust and therefore loyalty of the consumer - something that's not so easy to come by.

I, for one, value honesty when working with a retailer's staff. If you don't have something that fits, tell me, and I'll have a positive feeling about the whole experience. Maybe I'll come back, maybe I'll recommend the store to someone else. I certainly did with Zafu. Waste my time, and I'll walk out annoyed. The trust issue is one of the reasons why I really hate it when clothing companies are purposefully deceitful in their sizing chart claims.

I had also emailed a followup to Zafu's team regarding their size constraints, and received a quick and, to my surprise, somewhat personal reply:

Hi Amy,

Thanks for your email and the wonderful review on your blog (we would like
to include it in our press section if that's ok with you). We've been
working on zafu for fifteen months now and it's just great to be getting so
many responses.

We totally understand your questions and will be dealing with them very
shortly by expanding our size coverage. When we launched zafu we realized
that we had to focus somewhere and decided upon the current offering. Our
code is to start small, do a great job and then expand steadily. I guess
it's the whole walk before you run mantra.

Over the coming weeks and months we'll be adding new products and further
expanding the range of people we can help. By the way, you may be
interested to know that if you create an account we will send you an
occasional email telling you about new jeans that will fit you.

Again, many thanks for writing to us,

the zafu team

We'll just have to wait and see if Zafu really does pan out in the coming months!

Zafu - A New Approach to Jean Shopping?

Zafu is an interactive website that helps to "match jeans to you" for women. It literally launched this past Tuesday and is a novel approach to the problem of finding the perfect pair of jeans. By answering questions about how current jeans fit, your stats, and what you'd like your jeans to do for you (such as make your "butt look perky"), it makes suggestions about what brands of jeans would be the best for your needs.

This is a fabulous concept - but in my unhappy extreme case (see third picture), I'm out of bounds for a great many things (weight, jean size, and, heck, the other questions too!) that have an effect upon suggestion accuracy. Alas, while I'm sure that had anything really been available in my size Zafu would have eagerly dished out recommendations, I already know that the smallest offerings are too big.

But for the rest of you, it may prove to be a great shopping tool. While most of the jeans are designer or specialty brands - like 7 For All Mankind or Diesel, it also offers cheaper or more modest selections such as Chadwick's or Old Navy. I've noticed that the trend level tends to be mostly based on rise height (what a surprise right?). Any age group is welcome to use the tool (although everyone over 46 is lumped into one category!), although it assumes you are of a normal adult size.


When you're done with the survey, a detailed list of specific brands and models is given. What is incredibly wonderful about this is that specific reasons are given about why the recommendations have been given.

Zafu profits through a commission based model for every purchase made through its referral. I can see an online service-based model a little harder to manage than in person. High end stores can generate off (but can't guarantee) loyalty through personal attention and because goods are literally in your hand rather than in the proverbial bush. The good things about a product are much more upfront and personal, and sales pressure is much higher. Online shopping is much more analytical and price focused, since an extra 5 minutes of hunting might get you a much better deal.

All in all, I really like this site, even though I can't use it! (Hey, that must mean something right???) Users have an opportunity to save their information, both as a boon to the customer (if they are happy with the advice of the site) and to the company (for repeat customers). The comments and suggestions that Zafu gives are based off actual user studies, so it's not just force-fed marketing by the brands themselves. I'd love to see them add children's sizes - some designer labels definitely cater to the teenage crowd. Zafu should definitely do this, as the 'tween' segment is growing rapidly. And who doesn't believe that status and body conscious teenagers (and us poor souls who never grew out of that size range) wouldn't want to have these tools available too?