There are a number of people that I’ve met on Substack that are my girls.
is one of those people. She KINDLY let me harass her into showing me what she wears in a week (for my other newsletter, ). SO when she suggested a review for these TikTok viral jeans, I couldn’t say YES fast enough. Her writing voice will make you smile and convince you to convert to the Gap gospel.
My relationship to clothes turns on the centripetal force of DENIM. A pair of jeans mark time in a way no other material clothing object does. I recall the acid wash jacket and jeans set I wore as a 4 year old going to day care; the Limited Too flared jeans with flower embroidery at the hems I purchased with a Christmas gift card as a tween that made me feel like I could star in my own Disney Channel original movie1; the stretch BDG skinny(ish) jeans from UO I purchased and repurchased on deeep discount as a broke undergrad and wore out (usually a mere three or four months into owning them). We won’t speak of the JNCO era.
These days, as I crest toward a rather grown ass 40, my personal style through-line remains thematically the same, still dipping into various ridiculousnesses (big shoulders! big collars! big sleeves! tiny purses!). And still, nothing hits quite like a pair of loved jeans. They ground my everyday, a mostly quiet life in a mostly quiet small city, with lots of walks to the library, time spent with kids and teens and kids at heart, eating and laughing, ensconced in cats and cat hair.
Enter Gap and the viral 90s loose jeans.
I saw these pop up with some frequency across various social media feeds and audibly scoffed. YEAH RIGHT, I thought. This is all just the influencer complex hard sell, and a jean categorized as mens is only going to work for a particular subset of body types. I wear and swear by a wide span of menswear including knits, button downs, coats, and jackets. Things where you can play loose and fast with fit. But jeans? Nah.
Yet. The Jeans Force was pulling me in. And after searching them up on Tiktok (please tell me I'm not the only one who does that) these jeans truly seemed like a Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants situation, fitting the diverse spectrum of shapes and sizes damn near perfectly. They were relaxed but not overly baggy. Just midrise enough to not sit right on your intestines but also not dip so low that an unwanted whale tail situation is imminent. They skimmed over curves rather than squeezing them. Stars were in my eyes. I was convinced enough to try, so I waited until Gap had one of its 40% off sales and bought two pairs, a light wash in size 28/28, and an “ultrasoft” light tan in 28/30. Each pair cost a shade under fifty bucks (their regular price is $80).
And baybeeee, once I put them on, no one could tell me anything. I instantly felt like *that girl*.
THE REVIEW
The combinations of rise to waist to hip to thigh to inseam to hem width strike a magic balance that settles very nicely. Is it perfect perfect? No. But it’s imperfectly perfect, I would say.
For sizing reference, I am 5'3, with a 24 inch waist and plushy 37 inch hip with equally plushy legs. My primary issue with jeans is a waist gap, the back of the waistband standing high and proud away from my lower back, leaving me looking like someone just plucked me off a hanger. My secondary issue is the inversion of that, jeans that fit at the waist but are too tight in the seat and/or thighs. To paraphrase Danny Glover’s famous line from the Lethal Weapon series - I’m just too old for that shit2. It’s uncomfortable, and I feel conspicuous in a way I would rather not. The waistband on these jeans, though, lies flat against my torso. From there, the 100% cotton denim drapes and doesn’t cling, falling into a straight leg that neither tapers nor billows.
The rise – which I measured at 11inches in the front and 14.5 in the back – in combination with the waist measurement, a true 28, means that there’s room in the crotch such that these aren’t just standing jeans, but sitting jeans, napping jeans (my greatest talent is my ability to sleep anytime, anywhere), jumping jeans, even side kicks demo jeans (I have a very boisterous niece and nephew). I could use a belt to pull these up a lil but with spring finally here, I’m feeling a more casual look. Like: literally - I woke up (from my nap) like this. If your measurements work with each other differently than mine, it may mean that these jeans fit higher on your waist without a belt and give a more pulled together and demi-snatched look, but without the discomfort of a compressed middle. Sizing is inclusive, and mix and match, with waist sizes from 28-42 and inseams from 28-38. Fun for the whole family!
Editor’s note: Gap knows they have a unisex hit on their hand because they even include a chart to convert men’s to women’s and model the jeans on men and women!
I make no great claims toward skill in evaluating the ins and outs of denim in terms of fabric, but nothing with either pair I received caused a concern. The fabric is substantial but not heavy, and doesn’t feel crunchily rigid at 100% cotton. The seams and finishing look good - not whoawow tidiness, but certainly up to par and ready to stand up to regular wear. I’ve worn both pairs a few months now and there are no loose threads (though I should note that the light wash pair came slightly pre-distressed at the hems). The “ultrasoft” pair were barely softer, which was fine by me since I mostly got them for the color rather than the label.
Styling-wise, these have worked so well across all the items in my closet, including some that have been languishing. I tend to go for volume x volume, and still do, but have been experimenting with my more high femme shoes and tops, which these jeans level out nicely.
In sum: the ease of wear, expansive sizing and color options, the price point, and most of all the FIT make these two pairs of jeans one of the best value-adds to my closet in a while. At the risk of sounding a bit dopey, they’ve reminded me in the best way of the jean dreams of my past, foregrounding the pragmatic playfulness I strive for in my closet that has of late swayed toward one of those words or the other. And! These are tween-aged niece approved, no small feat.
Editor’s note: I’m not exaggerating, I JUST ordered myself a pair of these pants! Other friends have raved about them and I was finally ready. I paid $63 because, let’s be honest, Gap is always running a sale 🙊 pls say I’ll be as cool as my internet friend now?!
Editors note: Ahhhh…. the days of Limited Too! They were sweet.
Editors note: I’m wheezing. SAME, GIRL.
Not only impressed by the denim but also can we get a tour of Athalie’s house?! It looks so chic!
I have VOWED to myself to not buy a single pair of jeans until the fall bc im truly full up but damnnnnn this post is making me regret that vow! Hoping they still exist come September but my goodness they look fab on you Athalie!