How Someone Who Hates Jeans Found Her Perfect Pair

Ask anyone — my mom, my coworker Bobby, my 90-year-old Aunt Thelma — I've never been much of a jeans-and-T-shirt girl. Heck, I've never been much of a pants person, at that. I love fashion, but, God, do I love comfort even more. And, jeans just don't do that for me. Which is honestly okay. Aside from feeling a little left out of the whole super-low-rise, hyper-distressed, skintight-denim trend my classmates ate up from Abercrombie and Hollister in the mid-aughts, my life and closet have actually been pretty satisfying so far.

I can pinpoint my disdain for jeans to two (very embarrassing) childhood memories: that day in kindergarten I peed my pants (I was wearing Gap jeans and a red sweater). And, in third grade — at the height of my obsession with Limited Too — when I begged my mom to buy me these white satin-effect, denim pants that looked verrry appealing on the rack. It was only later that I realized actually wearing them felt a lot like a straightjacket for my bottom half. Turns out, even little Ellen was an impulse buyer at heart.

Truth be told, I dabbled with a few non-sensational, dark-wash skinnies in high school and college, but I never felt great in any of 'em. My main gripe ultimately came down to a lack of confidence and comfort in them. I hated rises that cut awkwardly into my midsection and ones that felt too stiff to sit in. To further complicate matters, standing at 5-foot-3, I have a small waist with athletic thighs and calves — meaning finding a good fit and length for every area has resulted in endless frustration and dressing-room meltdowns — until recently.

This past May, I decided to seriously revisit this wardrobe staple, and my standards for my new denim were pretty high. But, listen, I think I've finally found the one: these AG jeans. They're incredibly comfortable, sit at my natural waist, offer a hint of stretch, and taper at my ankles.

After finding these, I realized: Jeans were never actually the enemy — I just wasn't finding the right jeans. Since introducing these bad boys into my closet, I've worn more denim this summer than I have in the past three years. Sure, I'm still getting used to, you know, owning a pair I actually like, but I'm managing just fine. And, I wouldn't call them life-changing, but I do gladly concede that my closet is much more well-rounded. That's nothing to complain about.

Carrying some hefty denim woes of your own? Shop for AG's Stevie Ankle Jeans from Anthropologie.com — they come in tons of colors and petite sizes, too! — then share your favorite picks in the comment section below. I'm already on the lookout for my next Perfect Pair.