A source guide to premium denim for stylish, real, curvy women.
Denim is perhaps the most fundamental part of any woman's wardrobe, but if you're larger than a size 14, you may have a difficult time finding a pair of stylish, sexy jeans. Although certain brands of premium jeans are made in plus sizes, most lines of designer jeans are sized only within the 24 to 32 range. Here are some of the leading lines offering high-end denim designed to complement a voluptuous form.
Tummy Tuck™ Jeans by Not Your Daughters Jeans®
The control top pantyhose of plus size premium denim, Tummy Tuck™ Jeans' exclusive criss-cross panels works to flatten the tummy, lift the butt, and allow ladies to wear one size smaller.
Creator Lisa Rudes-Sandel designed Tummy Tuck™ jeans to slim the often problematic lower abdomen, contour the hips, and elevate the bottom without cramming women into uncomfortable material. These jeans prevent muffin-tops (love handles that spill over restricting waistlines) and peek-a-boo rears thanks to mid-rise straight- and flare leg designs made from denim with four percent Lycra (instead of the usual two percent). Available in slimming dark washes and ten premium styles, Tummy Tuck™ denim promises comfort, mobility, style, and a slimmer profile.
Svoboda
Svoboda, by Jessica Svoboda – a company created in 2004 with the goal of providing fashionable clothing for style-conscious, shapely women – is one of few companies offering premium plus-sized denim in sizes 8 to 24. (www.svobodastyle.com)
In a July 2006 article in LHJ.com Jessica Svoboda explained that she couldn't find jeans that were stylish and fit well, so she created popular styles modified for the plus-size body.
Such modifications include thicker and higher waistbands (by two to four inches) to minimize gaping at the rear and provide extra tummy stability. Svoboda's five-pocket jeans also help balance a curvy woman's proportions with large buttons and oversized, low-set back pockets to create a slimming effect and give derrieres a visual lift.
The cotton-spandex blend of Svoboda denim gives the jeans a figure-forgiving stretch factor, and a range of more than 25 dark washes provides flattering variety. But it's the finishing elements such as the incorporation of contrast piping, raw edges, embroidery and patchwork that separates these jeans from ordinary plus-size denim.
Antik
A favorite of curvaceous celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Antik denim is fast on its way to becoming one of the most recognized brands in the world (True Apparel Company, 2006). Owned by the "Denim Godfather", Mr. Paul Guez (under Blue Holdings Inc.), Antik denim's signature elaborately decorated hand-wrought embroidery and patchwork are reminiscent of an era when things were made by hand. (Blue Holdings Inc.)
Fuller figured ladies everywhere can enjoy fabulous Antik bootcut jeans in dress sizes 14 to 26 exclusively at Avenue.com.
Yanuk
Also a division of Blue Holdings Inc., Yanuk premium denim is hotly sought after in L.A. and New York City, worn by curvier celebrities like Beyoncé Knowles, and available in plus sizes 14 to 26 exclusively at Avenue.com. Yanuk jeans are famous for their authentic vintage wash techniques and their flattering fit that has a gravity-defying butt-lifting effect. (CoutureCandy, 2007)
Seven7
Seven7 (not to be confused with Seven for all Mankind) began as a European brand of jeans in the 1960s by Gerard Guez, brother to the "Denim Godfather." (Seven7Jeans.com)
These sexy-fitting jeans are all made from premium stretch denim and come in bootcut, straight leg, capri, gaucho, and trouser styles in sizes 14 to 26 at Avenue.com, Macys.com and Lane Bryant.
