Hey all of you three readers, I've got something I just HAVE to share with you. THESE JEANS. Barbell Apparel looks pretty stinking awesome, if you ask me.
I think most of us will readily admit to despising that event that must happen every couple of years...jeans shopping. Find your new favorite pair, buy two or three or eight of them, and then one day after you've started your new fitness regimen or had a baby or changed jobs or ate four bites of cake...BAM, your faves no longer fit. Better yet, you think they fit, and then you reach down to pet the dog and you hear that ominous "rrrriiiiiipppppppp." Threads shredding, splitting open the crotch or backside or even the knee. Then you spend a half hour changing your outfit to go with yoga pants instead of jeans just so you can go to the mall and curse at every single pair of jeans you try on. Best. Day. Ever. NOT.
For those of us who aren't built like toothpicks but aren't thick-boned either...you know, the right-in-the-middle-average-but-no-one-makes-clothes-for-the-average...it sucks. I'm sure it can suck for either end of the spectrum as well, but seriously, how many women are ACTUALLY the exact same pants size between their waist and their hips? My guess: not very many.
I found a great pair of Levi's at Costco once. It was great, they fit perfectly for like five years, and after I wore them for the first week I went back to buy another pair. They were less than $20, which, for favorite jeans, is unheard of. Recently I have tried on every single pair of Sevens and Levi's that Costco has had over the last year, and NONE OF THEM fit right. Banana Republic and Ann Taylor usually have pants that fit me pretty nicely, but jeans? Forget it. Paige Denim makes a pretty nice pair for curvy girls, but they're over $150 a pair, so that's kind of like saying, "hey, you're average so we're going to charge a premium because we can." And that's annoyingly expensive. I have a pair of them, but I definitely do not plan on buying a second pair, at least not for a very long time.
About a year ago I started really lifting - I mean, increasing my personal records by leaps and bounds, getting way stronger. Not just toned, actually making strength progress. I'm talking about going from squatting barely 45 lbs (on a "strong" day) to squatting my body weight plus 10 lbs, on a regular basis. Bench pressing, dead lifting, etc, all hitting personal records.
So, what happens when you really drop it like a squat?! It shows. Mostly in your butt. And you split the crotch of almost every pair of jeans you own, unless they're super stretchy or way too big to begin with. Which, I suppose, is entirely possible, because you will definitely reduce your pants size if/when you start lifting - and that's a promise. [Suggested reading: 10 Pounds Down (And Counting). Side note: Jen Sinkler is fantastic.]
The problem is, when your waist starts shrinking and you lose a bunch of body fat from lifting, usually your butt stays about the same, or gets a little bigger - only this time around, it's getting super muscular in addition to storing some necessary body fat (because that's just where women store it). So your pants don't fit anymore. Your waist is smaller, but you can't get those size 4s past your mid-thigh because you're strong. Your muscles are going to split those pants. Damn it. So you try the next size up, and a 6 snugly fits up around those thighs and booty, but then you get a nice big gap at your lower back and you're showing everyone your plummer's crack. And belts just end up looking stupid at that point, because they just make your pants bunch up all over the place and then you're not comfortable anyway.
The solution: Barbell Apparel's jeans.
I'm so stoked to try these jeans!!! The Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday the 25th, so if you are so inclined you better become a backer SOON! I chose the two-pair plus t-shirt option, because I wanted both the women's skinny and the women's bootcut pairs. They don't ship until July, and just thinking about waiting any longer is killing me. I have one pair of jeans that sort of fits and doesn't have a rip in it. I need to expand my casual wardrobe options, people.
I need these jeans. And I bet you or someone you know could love these jeans as well.
Happy jeans shopping, friends! (Ha, ha, ha) I'm really hoping the Barbell Apparel jeans will be the end of my jeans-shopping misery!
