RSS Feed
via Email
Technorati
Stumble Upon
Del.icio.us
I’ve always had hips, even before having a child. I’m also tall, so that creates a few issues when finding jeans. In the past I’ve found several favorite pairs that fit just right at Lane Bryant.
Imagine my surprise this weekend to find they had changed their jeans line and had a new measurement system. I was bombarded by an over-friendly saleswoman asking if I had tried on their new “Right Fit” jeans. Before I could say anything beyond the word no, she had a tape measure wrapped around my waist.
Now get this - she said in their new styles (which came out in early August) I would be a size 1 blue circle. Never mind what the colored shapes mean, I was still trying to pick my jaw up off the ground after she said a size 1. My response was, “Lady, I haven’t been that size since elementary school.”
The well trained woman proceeded to explain the “Right Fit” jeans in detail. Apparently after an extensive research study they developed fashionable jeans that would fit your body and flatter your curves. The new system includes sizes that begin with 1 and end at 9. It also is coded according to a colored shape and your waistline. Yellow squares indicate a straight fit, red triangles are for the curvy woman and blue circles (like myself) are all hips.
Being the intelligent person I am, I quickly realize this new sizing system is made to make me feel better about myself, but it’s also a form of deception. There is no standardization in jean sizes, which is why I can wear a size 14 in some styles and a size 16 in others. So it really doesn’t matter how you label my jeans, they will still fit completely different from brand to brand.
All this aside they didn’t fit my body very well. The material was super stretchy and felt like burlap. I did not care for how form fitting it was, and it didn’t flatter my body style or hips curves. The waist gapped in the back and they were far too tight in the thighs.
What made me angry was that when I asked the saleswoman to try on a different style (besides the blue circles), she wasn’t going to let me. How crazy is that? Who’s the customer? I ended up leaving disappointed in both the service and the new clothing line.
Your experience may be totally different. After all we are unique individuals in all different shapes and sizes, but in my opinion Lane Bryant is just playing with our minds.
Stumble it!
Add to Del.icio.us
Digg it!
Subcribe to RSS Feed
Leave a comment
That sounds like the Elisabeth line by Liz Claiborne.
Back in the day (I have no idea if they still do this) their sizes were all 1-2-3.
Like you’re not a 22! You’re a 3! Eat UP!
I don’t like the sizing mind games at all. It implies I’m not intelligent enough to understand what size I am.
I had the same issues there a few months ago. I think this new change will result in a loss of customers who do not need to be deceived.
I need a whole new wardrobe this year!!!
I tried these last night… went in after striking out on a size 14 in the Gap Curvy Jeans which I wanted to try…
Sales girl was great, no pressure selling and left me to shop when I wanted to, but sent me into the dressing room with both the blue and red styles just in case - no measuring tape needed.
The blue style fit great in the waist but was too big on the bottom (which has NEVER happened to me) but the red was pretty good. The waist on the boot cut style is too high for me, but the flare style fit great.
I think they might stretch out some and might end up being a shade too big but if I toss them in the dryer before I wear them each time I think I’ll be in love.
It’s worth giving them a try - all jeans fit different and these aren’t like anything you’ve tried before, like them or not.
Good luck, ladies!
I have always had problems with jeans not fitting because I have no butt ( a problem more than enough of my friends have asked to take off of my hands). I have never had jeans that would fit both my butt and my legs/thighs. Both were either too baggy or too tight. I went in and decided to give these new jeans a try after hearing ravs from my sister in law who i more than blessed in the backside. I guess on my size (7) and grabbed jeans in all three styles. The yellow worked MIRACLES. I have never felt so confident in my life! I love these jeans and reccommend them to anyone!
Well, I have to tell you, a few months back I tried the right fit and walked away pretty disappointed, because like you, they weren’t very forthcoming with style options or sizes… Yesterday I went on a mad frenzy to find the “perfect” jean. I went to every department store in the mall, tried on all styles and brands, tried the Gap, even stopped at Banana Republic (Lord, the $98 jean) but I was determined to find the perfect jeans after years of having a big gap in the back and a saggy butt. So, the girl measured me, said, “you’re a red 3″. I tried them on and they were way too baggy for me, so I said, well, can I try the yellow? With a little grumbling (I’m not sure why they think a tape measure is always exactly right), she got me the yellow 3 in the bootcut. I was happy but the waist was a little high, when I mentioned this to her, she offered up the flares…Whoo hoo…let me tell you…I FINALLY found the perfect jean (and mind you this was at the end of 5 hours of jean trying-on). These jeans sit just low enough that you don’t feel like you’re wearing them at your bust AND they have a little bit higher rise in the back so yourbutt doesn’t hang out of your pants. YEA!!! So, ladies, give the right-fit another shot, you may be happy…remember the sales girls are paid by the hour, not on commission…
I LOVE the Right Fit jeans. I have never had a pair of jeans fit my thighs, butt and waist properly. These jeans are a miracle. Sorry you had a bad experience with the sales person, but “delusional” seems a bit strong. If you’ve been able to buy a pair of regular jeans (Lane Bryant or otherwise), you’re a lot luckier than I am! =}
I don’t care what the numbers are on my jeans as long as they fit!
I had the same experience with them - wound up buying a pair to try them anyway (and needed a pair of jeans for a work function), but I absolutely hate them.
They are unconfortably tight, itchy (even after multiple washings) - and even better… the pockets ripped through on the first wearing!
I could care less what the number is on my jeans, but the fact that the sales person REFUSED TO LET ME MOVE UP A SIZE still annoys me. And I’m annoyed at myself for actually being suckered into it, too.
I haven’t been back to Lane Bryant since. And did find a very comfortable fitting pair of jeans - with the right inseam, even, at a men’s store. For half the price.
The pair of jeans? Are my “oh god, I forgot to do laundry and don’t have anything clean” jeans. With how uncomfortable they are, they tend to be good punishment to keep up on my laundry.
I personally hate these jeans and was SO disappointed in them. The sales lady at the store measured me and informed me that I was a 6, average, yellow (meaning I have more weight in my waist, which I knew). Great. Fine. I like the illusion of me wearing a size 6. I tried the jeans on and they seemed to fit really well. I was excited to buy them. I wore them to work the next day and by 11:00 in the morning, they were so baggy that I could easily take them on and off without unbuttoning. The butt was so baggy I could grab a handful of material. I took them home and washed them in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. No luck. They were slightly tighter when I put them on but quickly stretched back out after an hour of wear. I went back to the store and bought a size 4 thinking that I just needed a smaller size. Again, these fit great in the store. Got them home–same thing again, though with slightly less room b/c of the smaller size. Still, I can literally pull these off without unbuttoning! It’s ridiculous! I expect a little stretching out but COME ON. I thought about going back to try a 3 or a 2 but what’s the point? I’m tired of wasting money! I want my money back!
I used to work at Lane Bryant, I always encouraged the customer to try the other 2 styles, because everybodies body is different and things fit us all differently, especially with bras.
I’m going to have to politely disagree. I don’t think the numbering system for the sizes is deceptive or is supposed to trick you into feeling differently about yourself and your size because you’re magically now a 5 instead of a 22. The number just indicates your waist size, and the color/shape designates how your hip size relates to your waist. Simple as that.
I may fit into a Blue 1, but I still know that I generally need to size up and buy an 18 in bottoms. Nothing changes that, but I don’t care what size I think I’m wearing as long as it fits. (Am I *really* even an 18 though? My waist and hip measurements fall into two different sizes, and, according to some size charts, sometimes not even consecutive sizes. I’ve never encountered a line that addressed that fit problem, but the Right Fit system does just that. I have a hard time believing that most people are built just right and are one straight size top to bottom. I’m one of the few people I know that has everything tailored. Don’t most people just settle for a fit they can get away with rather than a proper fit?)
As for the Right Fit sizing, if you haven’t noticed, for any single numeric size, the waist measurement is the same across all three colors. A 1 is always a 34″ waist. The color is just indicative of your hip size in relation to your waist–Yellow if your hips are 2-5″ larger than your waist, Red if 6-9″, and Blue if 10-13″. If you fit into the Blue sizes like me, it’s obvious your waist and hip measurements would put you into two different traditional sizes. The same would be the case for Yellow. Yellow 3 and Blue 1 are much less confusing than saying you’re an 18/14 (waist/hip) or a 14-16/18-20.
Personally, I’m having pretty good luck with this Right Fit business. It’s nice not having to take every pair of pants I own to the tailor. I’d never shopped at Lane Bryant before they came out with the Right Fit line. I heard about it, measured myself and then went to the store. I wouldn’t let any of the SAs help me! I think I would have been less satisfied if I did.
My only issue is that I wish they would adjust the rises and cuts a little more if they’re going to call some of the sizes “petite.” Petite is a proportion; short is length. They should be called short instead. I wear a Blue 1, and since I mostly wear flats, I go with the petite version although they’re a tiny bit short for me. At the same time, I’m short and short-waisted. The rise comes up rather high, and the rise of a petite size is the same as the average version. I also tried a Red 3 because those are made to fit the same size hips as a Blue 1, and I noticed that the rise on the Blue styles are much higher overall.