Fit Review Friday! Mother Denim Petites Lil' Insider Crop Step Fray and Madewell Petite Kick Out Crop Jeans
Happy Friday! It's been a little while since I looked at denim, well it's actually been at least five years since I've bought a new pair of jeans. The last pair I bought were from Athleta when they used to offer Sculptek Jeans in petite sizing. They fit well, and they were pretty comfortable, but they weren't SUPER comfortable. The past four years I've been wearing Vuori joggers. For 2024, I made a vow to discover jeans that are as comfortable as Vuori joggers. For science of course!
Denim is officially back and athleisurewear is out. Everywhere I looked, wide leg jeans and flares were dominating the shopping malls. Even on the streets I saw a sea of blue denim. It really brought me back to my teenage years where all I wore were a pair of JNCO's that dragged on the floor, much to my mom's dismay. JNCO's are back by the way, except they cost four times as much!
A few weeks ago, I went into Anthropologie to touch some denim that were on display. Most of you know by now that I love the feel of soft fabrics. It's very important to me. My fingers roamed all over the denim table and I came across a super soft pair of jeans. When I looked at the label, it read Mother. I'll admit, I rolled my eyes and said to my husband, "Seriously, Mom jeans?" But my curiosity won out and I tried them on in the fitting room. Granted they were not petite, so they look a bit off, but here are a couple of pics.
Wash - Across The Finish Line Size 27
If I'm going to keep the promise I made to myself that jeans have to be as comfortable as Vuori joggers, I should size up from my usual 26.
For reference I'm 4 feet 11 inches tall. I'm usually a size 4 in Lululemon Aligns, size 6 for Scuba Joggers for a more comfortable fit. Athleta I usually wear size 0P or PXS.
Wash - Night In Venice Size 27P
also wearing Allbirds Wool Runner 2
One of the Mother Denim washes I liked at Anthropologie was called Night In Venice, mainly because of how soft it felt. I made a note of it and ordered a pair of Lil' Insider Crop Step Fray in the same wash. The petite inseam measures 24 inches. They are meant to be crops and they are ankle length on me. I admit to not loving the fraying at the hem, but I took a scissor and cut off the ends for a slightly neater look. That said, I love everything else about these jeans! They're super soft, very comfortable in a size up and after a full day of wearing them out and about, I didn't want to immediately take them off when I got home, which is normally how I feel when I wear jeans. They are stretchy and light to medium weight denim.
These are considered high waisted, but they hit just below my belly button, which is how I like my jeans. I'm not a fan of super high-rise. I prefer the rise to be under 10 inches and these are 9 and 5/8". Perfection.
I find these to be very flattering, I love the bootcut style. They hug the hips and thighs without feeling tight, they are stretchy. I'm also posting a ton of photos, because they are expensive at $228. But I'm willing to pay the price if they check all the boxes. Also note that Mother denim is made in Los Angeles, which also explains the higher cost.
The fray hem is shorter in the front and longer in the back. I have seen this style over the last few years and I don't love it but I don't hate it. It's pretty convenient when it comes to wearing sneakers and boots, so it's fairly practical, but it's a little odd looking to me. It could be because I'm not used to it. This is the first time I'm trying on this type of denim.
Night in Venice is a very dark denim blue and I love it. I prefer my denim to be on the darker side. Medium blue is as light as I go in terms of jeans.
Next up, we have Madewell Petite Kick Out Crop Jeans in Arlen Wash. These jeans are currently on sale for $89.99. Let's see how they compare to Mother denim.
Arlen Wash - Size 27P
Also wearing Allbirds Wool Runner 2
I decided to try a less expensive pair of denim to see if the premium denim was really worth it. Madewell jeans are typically $128 to $138 for full price and on sale they're under $100. I'm very pleased to find petite sizing is way more available than it was five years ago. Hallelujah!
These have a 9" rise with a 25.5" inseam. They sit a smidge lower on my belly button, which is still fine. The denim was medium weight, they feel a little rougher and not as soft as I'd like. These feel like your average denim that I would expect to find at The Gap. They don't have a lot of stretch and they have that slightly stiff feel of brand new denim, whereas the Mother denim felt perfectly broken in already.
The Arlen Wash is actually the perfect medium blue that I love with light whiskering.
Even though these are 25.5" in length, they feel a little short in the back. I'd have preferred these to be an inch longer or so. I'm wearing size 27P as well and the fit is very similar to Mother denim.
For the sale price, I thought these were okay, I didn't love them and didn't find anything speical about it. Fit was fine, but the stiff denim was a turn off for me. Mother denim however, is a keeper. I also think the darker the wash, the softer the denim. I'm not sure if that's 100% true across all brands and washes. But this is still very early on in my research and there's still a ton of other brands I need to try. I'm hoping to add a few more pairs to my closet throughout the year. So far we're off to a good start!
Let me know if you have a pair of Mother denim jeans in your closet. Tell me which jeans are your absolute favorite and I'll add them to my list to try. That's it for me! Hope you enjoyed this post and have a fabulous weekend!
Shop:
*I've partnered up with Allbirds! Click on my link for a free pair of Trino socks with your purchase of shoes or apparel. Offer will automatically be applied at checkout if socks are added to your cart.*
(I have this, very soft and cozy fits TTS.)
I picked up a bunch of accessories. Would make perfect gifts too!
Hi Leslie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review and looks like I'll have to dig out my jeans lol. I never spent too much money on jeans and mine are all GAP's that I got on sale.
Both my LLL and Athleta orders arrived. I ordered the Dance Studio Pant short in sizes 2 and 4. Size 4 is only a tad longer than size 2. It feels more comfortable at the crotch (the rise is short and size 2 is tight at the crotch) but overall it fits big, and the pockets bulge out. I have the original version of the Dance Studio Pant and the fit is way better with a higher rise, though the inseam is 33” inseam lol. Sadly the Dance Studio Pant Short is not for me. :(
I also ordered the Softstreme Cinch Waist Jacket in Belgian Blue. The sleeves are too short for my liking and it’s going back as well. No luck with my LLL purchase.
On the other hand, Athleta’s Granite Blue is a lovely bluish grey (I have a pair of LLL On The Fly Pant in a similar color but I’m not sure about the color name). I got the Avenue Wide Leg Crop and Attitude Pant II (I have both styles in other colors) and am going to keep both. I love that Athleta use non-abrasive material for a lot of their pants so I won’t have to worry about pilling.
Andrea
Hi Andrea! Admittedly, I haven't been to GAP in a long time. I used to work there when I was in college and loved their clothes back in the aughts.
DeleteThat's disappointing that neither size worked for you in the Dance Studio Pants. That's for letting us know about the rise. I have the cropped version and I like those a lot. Too short for you though, unless you want them above the ankle.
Yes, I have the Softstreme Cinch Waist Jacket and the sleeve length is perfect on me, so it would be short for you. It's one of the rare jackets that actually fit my short arms!
Nice on the Athleta pants! I have Granite Blue coming in the Avenue Wide Leg in regular and petite sizing. I am hoping one of them works for me. I love the color. It'll go with a lot of tops.
Thanks for your review!
Oh my gosh, that Mother Denim is expensive! I clicked on the link for the step fray jeans, and they're $350 CAD! I really like that pair on you though. I got a pair of jeans with that sort of unfinished step hem a couple of years ago, and had them hemmed into a crop so that the hem was even. I guess I'm not that trendy, lol.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite pair of jeans right now is a high-rise, wide-leg pair from Old Navy, believe it or not! The denim is very soft in the medium wash I got (I did get another pair in a dark wash that were scratchy, however). They come in petite lengths too, but I believe it's a 28-inch inseam, so I have to wear them with chunky shoes.
The other brand I buy from a lot is Silver Jeans. They don't offer petites per se, but some of their jeans come in different inseams. I often buy their cropped styles, as they work as full length on me!
Hi Lola! Yikes that is very expensive for Canadians. I have to apologize for all my Canadian readers. Mother denim is expensive even for US, but sounds like it's crazy expensive in CAD.
DeleteI'm going to have to head over to Old Navy and GAP to see how their denim is these days. I haven't been in those stores since I used to work there in my college days. Maybe they'll surprise me!
I haven't heard of Silver Jeans, will have to check them out as well. I'm hoping that I don't have to resort to hemming, but we'll see, if I really love a pair, I will though.
Athleisure on its way out? Say it ain’t so! I need to live in my sweats and leggings indefinitely 😆 jeans look good on you though, maybe with a couple washes they will be as soft as your joggers!
ReplyDeleteHi AC! I'm with you on sweats. I haven't touched my leggings in a long time and will probably have to remove them from my closet. It's been years...
DeleteLeslie the Mother twist ankles look super cute on you! I'm so happy you're on the denim train b/c I love denim! The petite fit looks amazing in that brand. When we are in the US I frequent Nordstrom rack for jeans, so I wonder if they have Mother. I wonder if Silver is a Canadian brand. And I've never heard of JNCO. Their super baggy styles remind me of Japanese anime characters for some reason. It's a very youthful look so I can't pull it off at my age. Sad that athleisure is on its way out as I love some of my patterned and textured leggings. I was wondering if you can do a fit review on the Vuori Halo essential wide legged pants in short and their granite cropped hoodie. I find the halo performance hoodie too long as i'm short waisted. And have you seen the pretty new colors for the performance joggers. Cindy
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy! Thanks! I just looked at Vuori's Halo Wide Legged Pant and my size is all sold out in the short length. It's a 29 inch inseam which would definitely drag on the floor for me. I can definitely do a fit review on the Granite Hoodie. And yes I saw the new colors for the Performance joggers. I'm trying not to buy more since I already have a ton! But if I ever retire some of them I will get more.
DeleteHi Cindy, yes, Silver Jeans is a Canadian brand, but they have a US website as well :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lola for clarifying that. ☺️
DeleteThe Mother jeans look amazing! I'm debating on getting some. If you are ok saying, what are your waist and hip measurements?
ReplyDeleteHi there, my waist is probably a 26.5 inches before eating anything and then it just expands as the day goes on lol. My hips are around 34.5 inches. If you do get a pair, let me know what you think!
Delete