jeans trend for women in fashion

MANILA, Philippines – It is interesting to note that women have been borrowing jeans from men even before 1934. In 1873, clothing brand Levi’s produced its Levi’s 501 original blue jeans, a type of pants built durable enough to endure the active lifestyle of American ranchers of the West. According to Levi’s data, the ranchers’ wives or sisters would also wear the said jeans, foreshadowing the “Boyfriend” jeans trend for women in fashion.

Of course, there was the need to cater to women per se. In 1934, Levi’s came up with the Levi’s 701 line, with the original aim of targeting American women who work in ranches as well. The jeans phenomenon went viral through every decade, with style incarnations such as skinny and flare, among others in every wash possible. Denims have since become a staple in every woman’s wardrobe.

Nowadays, there are a lot of choices that women can choose from. However, the journey to bagging a pair that fits perfectly well can be challenging for most.

“It can be hard,” says Mary Anne Aviles, a technical support staff for a private office based in Manila, “sometimes it takes me hours to find a good pair when shopping.”

Ivy Bernales, a wellness products sales distributor in Bacoor, Cavite, shares the same sentiment. “I look for five pairs in every boutique that I go to,” she relates, “so that’s like trying out 15 pairs if I decide to visit three clothing shops.”

Racel Amurao, a clinical instructor teaching at a university in GMA, Cavite, usually finds it easy to get a decent pair of jeans but says that one has to be patient when looking “for a perfect pair that matches your personality.”

“Finding the perfect fitting pair of jeans is a search that most women dread,” says Jen Jimenez, marketing manager of Levi’s Philippines. Jimenez explains that in a global survey, 54 percent of women “try on at least 10 pairs of jeans to find one pair they would buy.”

“It’s true. I’m one of them,” says Aviles upon learning of the survey, adding that an ideal pair of jeans usually constitutes a “perfect fit, color, feel, and style.” Bernales observes that women are on the lookout for jeans that contour well on the areas of the legs and the derriere.

Women’s curves tend to be varied in form, and Levi’s has identified four common dilemmas with jeans that women often deal with: Muffin Top (overhanging flesh spilling over the waistline), Camel Toe (the crotch’s outline is seen as the result of tight- or ill-fitting pants), Gaper (an open area caused when a smaller waist is paired “with a bigger ‘behind’”), and Sausage Casing (the outcome when one wears “skinny jeans that hug the flesh too tightly”).

“I’m naturally pear-shaped so my waist is smaller in proportion to my hips,” says Agoo Bengzon, a contributing editor for Preview magazine. She furthers that she used to buy jeans an inch bigger than her waist size to “accommodate my hips,” which often gave her a gaping problem behind.

Bengzon, along with some of Manila’s fashion editors and stylists, have been tapped by Levi’s as brand ambassadors for its Curve ID line, jeans that are based on a woman’s shape, and not on her size.

“We believe that all women deserve to be beautiful in their jeans,” says Jimenez, although she mentions that creating good jeans “is not as simple as just measuring a woman’s waist.”

By collaborating with 60,000 women around the world, Levi’s has engineered three Curve ID custom types for every womanly curve possible “using the ratio of a woman’s high hip and seat measurements. The smaller the number, the straighter the body shape. The greater the difference, the curvier the body shape.”

The Slight Curve is apt for straight figures as it defines the waist and accentuates curves through slim fitting the thighs and shaping one’s behind. Meanwhile, the Demi Curve seeks to frame even proportions by flattering the waist and smoothing one’s overall shape. For curvy women, the Bold Curve hugs the waist and eliminates gaping and pulling by providing ample room in the seat and thighs.

For fashion stylist and brand ambassador Alyanna Martinez, the “scientifically designed and measured fit system” behind the Curve ID line has solved the problem of women of all shapes and sizes in terms of finding jeans that fit well. “I was never one to be into wearing denims because I was tired of continuously having to have my pairs altered to fit me perfectly. Now with my perfect pair, I can enjoy my denims stress-free knowing they fit my body perfectly.”