The other morning while I was getting ready for work, I decided to wear jeans. I wanted to be stylishly relaxed and comfy. I was already running tight on time, I started rummaging through them and was getting frustrated because I couldn’t find my favorite pair.

I was tossing a pair here and there, when suddenly I finally found the ones I was looking for. I quickly put those babies on, finished getting dressed, grabbed my things and headed out just in the nick of time. Later in the evening, after a busy day at work, I came home to a denim tornado. I looked at them, all across the room and realized it was time for a cleanse, of the denim kind.

A few days later, I decided that I would start sorting through them. I asked myself, “how do I feel when I wear these?”.  Then I proceeded to try on each pair. Some I couldn’t zip up, with others, I didn’t like the rise, which to felt more like a drop. Plus I’m not into the bottom exposure or having to worry that I am flashing someone when I bend over. There were a couple of pairs that had back pockets that once helped flatter my challenged derrière. I could swear that while I was trying these on, I heard my derrière say “hey, it’s is a lost cause back here (sigh….). I then discovered my ridiculously expensive pairs, that I am probably still paying off. Suddenly, I hit a wall and had to stop. I sat down on my bed in defeat, and thought out loud “I am done, I’ll deal with this later”. I gathered them all and moved them off to the side of the room. As I looked at them all, I wondered how could I of accumulated 30+ pairs?

Skip to a few days later, I was rested, mentally and physically ready to get through these blues. I organized them by style and then started to try them on. While, trying each pair I performed my fit test, in which I would sit, bend and kneel in them. Then I tried them on with various shoes to see the versatility and determine if there was any hemming that I would need to have done. The ones that I couldn’t zip up, were going to be donated.

MIH Marrakesh Flares

Next to go through, were a multiple pairs of flare jeans. Personally for me, I am not a huge fan of flares. I probably bought a pair at someones’ recommendation. But I did discover a pair of MIH Marrakesh Flares that fit me well, good fit for my thighs, and a nice rise. Back pockets looked good on my current derrière. The wash is beautiful and called “CC blue”, the flare wasn’t too extreme.

Jimmy Jimmy’s are in high rotation in my closet

Then on to the straight leg, which are my favorite silhouette. I ended up keeping 3 pairs. 1 light wash with a hint of distressing detail, 1 dark and long so I can do what I call the cuff-twist-roll on the hem, the last were a crop pair. My current favorites are Paige Jimmy Jimmy Skinny’s.

Citizen of Humanity Coated Highrise Jeans

Next, were the ones I call novelty. These were colored ones, coated, and with a pattern. Unfortunately, most of these did not fit, must of been pretty skinny when I was shopping the novelty circuit. But, I was pretty happy because my Citizens of Humanity coated high-rise were a keeper. I will definitely have my eyes open for few new novelties to add to my wardrobe.

McQ Alexander McQueen boyfriend love this punkish-moto look

Finally, the boyfriend jeans, which are my second favorite style. I have 2 pairs of distressed AG jeans boyfriends, so this season I am also going to invest a couple of new pairs, as this is definitely a silhouette I love. They have that broken in, roominess that I feel so comfy in. I also like to style them up to create a relaxed-polished look.

Whew, after all that I realized that there is so many options, but the number one takeaway is fit, and they must be flattering to my silhouette. I know that my weight fluctuates, so I need to keep that in consideration when I am buying jeans. For skinny’s I’ll probably go up a size. For boyfriends, I’ll probably stick with my true size, depending on what kind of look I want. Bottom line, I am not a “panted on jeans kind of gal”. But, I am also a firm believer that you can find jeans that fit well, look stylish and in turn, give you that “I look good” confidence when wearing them.

In the end, I donated a lot of jeans that I could no longer fit into, even if I dropped a size or two. Someone else can enjoy them, plus now I have more room for new jeans. I also think moving forward if I am going to buy super expensive jeans, they have to be just about perfect at that price, not flash trendy and I’ll ask myself “can I really afford to splurge on these?”. In all, I feel organized, with my streamline selection and will stick to my new shopping strategy. Before, I must of been all over the place. No wonder I had so many, and over half of them I couldn’t even wear. I’ve also reduced my frustrating jean search mornings, and denim tornados in my home. Note to self, derrière said to sign up for that soul cycle class!

Funny note; I found a pair of “Pajama Jeans“, that was given to me at Christmas time. For fun, I put them on while I was putting away and organizing my jeans. Would you believe those PJ Jeans are dang comfortable!, I wear them around the house when I am lounging, It’s also great to know that if I need to make a quick dash to the store, I can keep them on and look decent.