I finally bought some eShakti jeans, something I have been putting off forever, even though it seemed like custom jeans might be the solution to literally my entire perimenopausal jeans problem. But they were expensive, and more importantly I would have to do all those measurements. Finally, finally, finally, I made myself do all the measurements, and I placed the order. I ordered three pairs, of three different styles.
There are several ways in which these are the worst jeans I have ever owned. Well, really only one way, and it’s the crushing disappointment: I EXPECT normal jeans to maybe not fit well or look good, but I DID think that by doing THE ULTIMATE CUSTOM JEANS I would get jeans that fit nicely and were comfortable. Instead, it’s as if someone who hates me took my exact measurements and used them to make jeans that would make me unhappy in as many ways as possible.
I have never had a “muffin top” issue in jeans, even though I am not slim and I carry a fair amount of weight in my tum area, so I used to be perplexed by the issue as experienced by others. Were people maybe wearing jeans a size too small? Well, these jeans give me a muffin top for the first time ever. All three pairs create it out of nowhere. I don’t know how they do it. It’s some sort of magic. Well, but also the jeans are too tight. But I have OTHER jeans that are too tight and do NOT create a muffin top. So, as I say: some sort of special custom magic.
I have shortish legs for my height, and I had thought IF NOTHING ELSE I would finally have jeans with the correct inseam. But no! The hems are still dragging on the ground for me to step on! How is this possible?? Some of the measurements I had to take were new ones for me, but inseam is VERY FAMILIAR. And it was easy to cuff a pair of my existing jeans to the right length, and then measure THAT to confirm the measurement I took of my leg. And yet!!
I made sure to take my measurements when I was at the highest end of my usual weight range. I took each measurement more than once, and wrote down the highest measurement I got; whenever possible, I rounded up. I did not want tight-tight jeans. I am currently in the middle of my weight range, and the jeans are still too tight. I had to struggle to get them on. And yet they ALSO need to be continually hitched up.
I had heard again and again that eShakti items Have!! Pockets!! And the jeans do have pockets. They are no better than the pockets of my usual, non-eShakti jeans: half of my phone fits in the pocket.
What it feels like to me is that I ordered absolutely non-custom jeans: it is exactly as if I chose a new brand, and I ordered the lower of the two sizes I fall between, and they’re ill-fitting like any jeans could be, and also too long as jeans always are on me, and that I should have ordered the higher of the two sizes I fall between. It does not feel as if I received jeans that were made for me in any way. It is difficult to describe how discouraging it is to FINALLY do the ULTIMATE AND MOST DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE option, and have it be the same as the normal, non-ultimate, non-extra-work-and-extra-money option.
EShakti promises that if you’re not happy, you can send the items back and they will be fixed. But there are two possibilities here:
1. Either I somehow did all my very careful measurements WRONG. In which case, this is not eShakti’s fault and they shouldn’t have to fix it.
2. Or else I did my very careful measurements RIGHT, and STILL got THREE DIFFERENT PAIRS of jeans that don’t fit right and make me miserable, in which case I don’t want to deal with this company at all anymore; I will just write this off as a failed experiment, and I will know better for the future. Extending the torture and disappointment and work by sending pictures of myself in the jeans (gah!!!), taking my measurements again, trying to list what about the jeans makes me unhappy (“Everything”), packing them up and mailing them, then quite likely receiving three pairs of jeans that STILL don’t fit—no thank you.
Plus: I already waited too long. In case you are about to urge me on this issue. This is one of my own personal Life Tax issues: for some reason, when I buy new clothes, I leave them sitting in the package for…well. Maybe I don’t want to say a time frame. It varies. But it often means I have gone past the return window.
What happened in this particular case was that I took out the first pair fairly promptly, like after only a couple of weeks. And they were so extremely disappointing, and the prospect of trying to fix the situation was so discouraging, I left the other two pairs in the box for months and months; after I tried on the second pair, and put it directly into the Goodwill bag, I waited so long I wasn’t even sure there WAS still another pair to try on. I finally tried on the third pair today, the pair I’d had the highest hopes for (because they were boot-cut, which is usually my favorite cut), and that brings us up to now. It is over a year since I placed the original order.
I will say this, though: at the grocery store this morning, two separate women stopped me to tell me how much they loved my jeans. Which is not something that typically happens. (The jeans are embroidered, so they are more eye-catching.) The jeans felt a little more comfortable, after that.
I’ve never tried EShakti’s jeans, only their dresses, and their dresses always work out for me and have ridiculously large pockets. I am so upset for you that the jeans are disappointing.
You wore the 3rd pair to the store? And people complimented them? Interesting.
Are they 100% cotton? If yes, they might stretch to fit and rather quickly. A wash might relax the fibers. If no, I’ve got nothing and am disappointed with you! Especially with LIz’s comment above mine about the ridiculously large pockets in dresses. WHY??????
I saw/read/heard/absorbed somewhere that women were thought to carry contraband? weapons? Idk, something the patriarchy did not want them carrying in pockets and that’s why they took them away. Idk if it’s true. But I’ve also heard that because so many women were defending themselves against handsy men with hatpins, HATPINS were made illegal. Not the handsy dudes. Let’s bring back the pockets and hatpins, ladies. We’re roaring towards the past with everything else, have your weapons ready.
I learned in grad school that it was because if women had pockets they could carry their own stuff (money, keys, etc), whereas if they didn’t, they had to rely on a man to carry their stuff for them, and that made them dependent on men. Patriarchy. Or maybe that was a theory we came up with in grad school? Either way, patriarchy.
I’ve also heard that it’s about fashion, keeping the “lines neat” or whatever – so, putting aesthetics over function, which strikes me as, once again, patriarchy.
I’ve also heard that it just costs more to include pockets but somehow that never seems to be an issue for men’s clothes, so….
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh my god, the TWIST in that final paragraph! revealing the narrator to have been (perhaps) unreliable all along (i am joking here, of course you are reliable about how the jeans feel on you, but it sounds as if they look great. which is a small but important victory)
I ordered a custom dress from them and was similarly disappointed. Mine was for an event so I then had to hustle to find something to wear. No more shopping there for me.
Ugh ugh ugh. How disheartening. Although I did find the dark humor here to be quite fabulous: “it’s as if someone who hates me took my exact measurements and used them to make jeans that would make me unhappy in as many ways as possible.”
I, too, pay a repeated Life Tax on this same thing. I just re-tried on two things I bought from amazon and determined to send back because they were ill-fitting and unflattering. They had surprisingly NOT gotten any cuter on me in the interim, but now the return window has closed. For a couple of weeks now, I have had several sweaters from Ann Taylor in my closet that I need to return, and a blouse from Ann Taylor that I ordered at the same time which is still in its original packaging. WHY ARE WE LIKE THIS, SWISTLE???
Ha! – I am utterly your polar opposite. I get very uncomfortable if it’s more than a few hours after getting a parcel and I haven’t tried on the contents. More often than not any returns are sent back the same day, straight up the road to the post office or collection point – the ‘clear the decks’ feeling is strong! 😆.
Preach to Sally!! My husband is like — but where did the box go? And I’m like I RETURNED IT — but he hadn’t even tried it on yet. Move! Hustle! Boxes MUST GO.
I’ve been hearing that eShakti is going through a major downturn in quality control and customer service lately. Which is a shame — I bought one of the best dresses I’ve ever owned from them.
I recently made my first eShakti purchase. After waiting six weeks, I asked for an update and was told that they were having trouble sourcing the fabric and couldn’t give me any estimate of when my order would be completed. I asked for a refund and they said they would do it. So yeah unfortunately I think their reputation is solidly in the toilet now.
I’m so disappointed for you, just reading this. That is so sad that you custom ordered three and all three are awful. :(
In personal jeans news, I bought a few pairs at the thrift store recently. They seemed fine in the changing room but then they fall down during actual wear. My Mum said I need to try suspenders / braces and then I was at another thrift store this week and found a new purple pair of suspenders for $3. Purple is my favourite. So I bought them, but I feel like actually wearing them might be too weird. Like it’s some old man style or some early 90s student style and not mid 40s mom style.
This is random but the jeans + suspenders look will always remind me of Janet on Three’s Company. My brother and I used to watch the reruns when we were waaay too young for that show. So maybe it’s really a late 70s lewk? No idea.
Ugh that is so disappointing. I have been trying to convince myself to start wearing dresses more often to avoid the problem of uncomfortable and ill fitting jeans but it’s hard to change the sartorial preferences of a lifetime.
Have you tried overalls? No uncomfortable waistbands! All the overalls I’ve purchased have stretchy elastic parts on the over the should part. All of mine have tons of pockets. They are cozy.
Ooo, ooo! I for one would love an overalls brand recommendation! With the full understanding that different brands fit different types differently etc., etc., so there will NOT be a future post that starts “ROSE LED ME ASTRAY!!” I wore overalls while pregnant and postpartum, and then stopped for some reason and am thinking of getting back into them. I thought maybe the Duluth ones, but have yet to take the plunge.
I’ve got two pairs of the gardening overalls from Duluth. One of those pairs has gnomes on them and I also got a gnome hat and I love them. Then I have another pair from REI and they are not as stretchy, they are cotton canvas like, but I like them a lot too. I am awaiting Duluth shorts overalls in the mail today. Hope they fit great bc I want to be a person who is comfortable in overalls in all seasons. I have a one piece flowy jersey jumpsuit I like too, can’t remember where I got it, super cozy, but kind of annoying to go to the bathroom in and the nice styled ones can be pricey. But I’m reallly in love with pants and not having tight waistbands in my mid 40’s.
I have the gnome ones! They are adorable and they have SO MANY POCKETS. Like, pockets on pockets on pockets. The first few times I wore them, I kept discovering more new pockets every time I put them on.
Do you have an opinion on the Duluth sizing? I was thinking I would round up a size (by the size guide it looks like I’d be between L and XL, but I was thinking I might actually go to XXL), but I don’t want to look like a giant toddler in baggy overalls. But I also definitely don’t want to feel like they’re SNUG or TIGHT, either, especially since I’m always crouching down and bending over at work.
I HAVE BEEN VERY TEMPTED BY THE GNOME PATTERN
I wear a 14 or 16 in most pants(almost all of my pants are from ll bean or Duluth). I have the L overalls and they are baggy, in a nice way, but I’m not swimming in them or anything. The gnomes are amazing. I have the new gnome baseball cap and I also got a cotton bralette with a gnome pattern last year. I’ve also got the hemp button down shirt with gnomes. I at age 44 am all in on gnomes and overalls!
I have the green gardening overalls and could not love them more. Roomy, REAL pockets everywhere.! some with zippers for extra security! No sagging. They have elastic over the should straps so if you need a quick trip to the bathroom they can be wiggled out of quickly. Some sort of breezy material that I never get hot in! I am long waisted with short legs for my height and these are the only overalls that do not give me a wedgy situation. I am busty and the bib part does not look weird with my large boobs. I am a professional lady who has to work in office attire and when I am not, I am generally in those overalls.
Oh!! I too am long-waisted with shortish legs, so one-piece items AS YOU WELL KNOW can be Fraught! So this is one of the very things I was wondering!! The green ones are the ones I am most drawn to, too. I mean, I am more drawn to the patterned/gnome/daisy ones, but the green ones are the ones I am most likely to buy, because they’ll go with the most things.
What is your opinion on the SIZING? I would like them to be endearingly baggy, without making me look like a clown.
I am in general an 18W. I would classify myself as curvy (large bust and hips) with a long torso and short legs for my 5’8″ height. I bought them in the XL x 29 and find them comfortable but not clownish. I am not sure about “endearingly baggy?” They are not so baggy that I look like an adorable orphan in too large of clothes for they are loose enough that I can squat without a wedgie and move comfortably no matter what I am doing. The elastic straps completely solves the one piece with long torso issue in my opinion.
I rarely recommend items without hesitation, but this is something I would recommend.
i DO NOT recommend their overpriced t shirts that shred in the wash like tissue paper left in a pocket.
There is no “reply” button for your comment below but I hope you see this and snap up a pair.
Thank you!! <3
My first reaction was that overalls are cute on other people but even more outside my style preferences than dresses, but the more I think about not having to wear a belt, the better they sound.
Dovetail overalls! I love them, especially the shortalls. I’ve tried the Duluth ones and they don’t fit me well, but I really like the ones I’ve gotten from Dovetail. They have different inseam options for their overalls and the shoulder straps are stretchy and you can adjust the strap length more than the Duluth ones.
I haven’t heard of dovetail before and finally checked it out. I’ve got to try some of their pants and overalls now!
I am interested in this!! If it is not too personal a question, I would be interested in knowing each person’s general Body Type—like, more apple? more pear? Are you long-waisted and short-legged like Melissa and me?
I’m a pear, although I believe I may be in the middle of my middle aged transition to Apple. I’ve got a pretty small waist and pants are always gaping at the waist and tight on my thighs and hips. My inseam is 32, and I feel I’ve got a long torso. I’ve tried some jumpsuits that are too tight in the crotch. I find for me the Duluth overalls are baggy, but comfortably baggy and not to big, and the fabric has a nice stretch and I have plenty of room in the torso.
Thank you!! It sounds like you and I might be well-matched in terms of what overalls work for us!
FInd someone who sells Judy Blue. Probably online. The sizing is weird and they’ll have a short return window, but they have good sized pockets, lots of stretch, and the inseams are true. If you buy a pair with a short inseam, it’s short!
Oh no, what a terrible disappointment. Jeans themselves are so fraught anyway – even more so in perimenopause AMIRITE – but to order custom jeans and STILL have them be so ill-fitting, well. How disappointing indeed.
I have jeans that I wouldn’t say fit me well, exactly, but I am comfortable in. I live in fear of the day they fall apart and I have to quest for new jeans. Why is it so awful? I’m sorry you had such a disappointing experience.
That does sound disappointing.
Note: this is eventually going to get to the point of jeans on middle-aged female bodies even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.
My kids don’t like jeans so they never wear them and when the younger one was in middle school and needed a pair for a play we wanted to get something as cheap as possible because we knew they’d get no wear after the play so we got a pair at a thrift store. They were a boys’ Husky size, which is what fit the kid at the time.
Years later after a significant weight loss due to a diabetes diagnosis (that took me from obese to overweight), I found these jeans in a drawer and as my jeans weren’t fitting very well any more I decided to try them on on a whim. And they fit! So apparently I now have the body of a chubby teen boy.
I am not suggesting this for you, as I’m an apple and you’re a pear, but I thought it was an indication of how unpredictable getting jeans that fit can be. It just makes no sense.
I also have had the unexpected surprise of fitting into a pair of my son’s hand-me-down jeans. They are actually one of the best fitting pairs I’ve ever had, which is astonishing since my son is shaped like a green bean and I am definitely pear-shaped with mighty butt and thighs. And the pockets are so lovely and deep! I am not sure what imp impelled me to try the jeans on before putting them in the thrift store pile, but I am so glad I did.
YES. I have a sweatshirt I wear all the time that used to belong to one of my kids. It’s from the junior men’s department. It was lying around one day when I needed something to put on quick, so I put it on quick—and now it is mine and I am wearing it out. I would not normally think to shop for myself in junior men’s, but here we are, at least in the case of this one sweatshirt.
Similarly, when Rob was in preschool, the preschool had Hawaiian shirt day. I bought him something inexpensive from the Wallllmart boys’ department—and his teacher was wearing the exact same one from the same department, just a larger size.
I draw comfort from the fact that I am at least faster to try things on than my spouse.
Backup comfort: There’s a collection point for a local “store” (it’s free) for school age kids, including high school kids, near my house. I figure it’s fun for them to get my rejects, which are not trendy but are also not visibly Mom-ish, while they still have tags on.
Since my youngest left for college and I stopped bothering about dinner, I have lost some weight. Not, however, so much that going down a size in jeans spared me my first-ever muffin top. I was humming the 30 Rock song for the rest of the day.
My eShakti skirts are great. I don’t love the other stuff I’ve bought from them.
That’s so disappointing! I was so excited to get custom jeans when they first started offering them and was similarly disappointed; I had hoped that they would improve with time and practice. I do love that their dresses have proper pockets, but I am far more likely to wear jeans and a tshirt as my daily kick around wear than I am to wear dresses.
As a large-breasted woman, I do like their shirts. They always fit perfectly. And the dresses are good too. I will definitely avoid their pants though!
I’ve been sewing for years (quilts, bags, curtains, fun things) and in the last 5 years have recently started sewing clothes for myself again just because NOTHING seems to fit me how I want it to fit. I finally have great fitting jeans – but it took 3 testers to get the right fit.
This is so dispiriting because I wanted to believe that if I just took my measurements and got bespoke jeans I’d finally have jeans that I’m fully satisfied with but this experience suggests not. I’ve mostly just given up on jeans. I can’t wear them to the office and they’re not so comfortable that I like to wear them all weekend long. I mostly just wear them to casual get togethers when it’s not hot. I’ve tried to come to grips with the truth that they really aren’t for me especially not for how much they often cost.
I custom ordered two dresses from them several years ago and was similarly so disappointed that they didn’t fit at all. I had done all of the measurements and then they were wildly uncomfortable in like 5 different ways. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of trying to return a custom item, either, so they are still in my closet today. I think this has officially motivated me to get rid of them…
it’s so disappointing with all of the work that went into getting them and the work it would take to return.
I know you didn’t ask, but Universal Standard (not the brand at Target) are my holy grail jeans. they have huge pockets, enough stretch to be comfortable, don’t gap on me, don’t get saggy, and last for years. The Donna High Rise Curve Straight Leg and Seine High Rise Skinny are my favorites. You can get all of their pants in 27 or 32 inch inseam, too (I size down one size in most of their stuff)
FWIW my anecdotal experience with universal standard is every single pair has holes in the inner thigh inside of a year. I patch them up because I’m like that but $100 jeans that go holey in a year are not my jam.
So glad they do work for someone though.
The pockets are good except my newest pair was cheap on the rear pockets and the phone only goes 1/2 way.
That’s disappointing. I usually have the thigh hole problem for jeans but my US jeans have been going strong for years🤞🏼I also only buy during their semi-annual denim sale for $50-60 which makes it less painful (their return/exchange process is pretty easy too)
I started getting them at the free, then $25 and now $30 (?) trade in events.
But yeah. Last remaining pair seemed to go holey AS I WROTE THIS. I knew it was coming, still ironic.
I am impressed that yours are good to go. Well done!
How frustrating that you went out of your way to order custom-fit jeans and none of them worked. I shop only at thrift stores for clothes nowadays so that I can easily try on a bunch of different brands and not pay much money. My problem is that I found a pair of jeans I liked and decided to buy them after wearing them for maybe a minute in the dressing room. Later, when I wore them all day they felt tight and uncomfortable and I just don’t want to wear them again. I need to train myself to shop for clothes that feel a little looser than I think I’ll want.
I have been solidly happy with Torrid boot cut jeans. Most of the rest is too young for me but I did snag a sweater dress once I still love. 16 short, 5’ 4 1/2”.
I love the concept of a Life Tax. Instead of feeling guilty, like I made a mistake and it’s a Personal Failing, Life Tax makes it sound like just another part of life – nothing personal, nothing I did wrong, just life. So thank you for that concept!
Hunh, I didn’t even know that Eshakti made jeans. But how very frustrating! I am sorry that these required so much effort yet were still unsatisfactory. Good grief.
I wear jeans constantly (my “work pants” are, almost without exception, jeans in any color but blue) and am fortunate that the quite affordable GV Amanda version sold by Costco (and/or on ebay) fit me well enough, though I’ll also admit that I may not have very high standards for what’s good enough. Mostly it just means “not too tight,” also, none of this silly low-rise stuff, and adequate pockets. So.
I had only recently discovered Eshakti (at least in an actually-buying-Eshakti stuff sense) and tried to buy 3 (non custom) skirts from them, but ended up with only 2 and one very much later than I wanted it (that skirt is great, though, and the other’s not bad. The third was one of those no-longer-available things and the communication throughout both the first delay and the 3rd not-available processes was horrible, mostly meaning absent).
Still! The pockets! And I’ve since taken to shopping for Eshakti things on ebay and have gotten several dresses I quite like (though it’s a bit of a crapshoot, one I should probably take in to have some seams modified), but am no longer ordering from them directly because of the customer service (and a general though imperfect goal of trying to buy used for environmental reasons).
@Swistle, I hope you are able to get some jeans you like! Though it sounds like you may be too jean-shopping-exhausted to try at present, which is understandable.
I had the same thing happen with a dress from eShakti. It didn’t even look like a dress any more, just frankensteined bits of material in wild measurements (that were somehow mine? and I did re-measure and had done it correctly, but the dress didn’t fit? It was a problem with all the bits between the measurements – they didn’t flow or work together. Or fit.)
They told me I could only get a refund if I paid for return shipping. I was so mad at the dress I mailed it back even though the post office wanted something ridiculous like $30. I never got a refund of any kind. So I lost the money I initially spent, plus an extra $30, and didn’t even have the dress. I felt stupid having nothing to show for all of that. Not even a terrible dress I could bring out to show people and say SEE!
How did I miss this post?!! Particularly since I’ve been on a jeans quest myself. I have reliable sources that tell me Abercombie, Loft & J Crew all have true shorter inseams. Although, I have found that both Loft & J Crew jeans tend to sag; which is a big NO from me. So the search continues…
I’m sorry you thought you’d found the solution; only to be let down again.