For as long as I can remember, I've had to hem my jeans, deal with them bunching awkwardly around my ankle, or wear heels to keep them from dragging on the ground. I always longed for a pair that just... fit.
In theory, hemming isn't a big deal, but I admittedly resent the fact that my jeans end up costing more because of this additional step. I'm also an instant gratification girl when it comes to clothes: I like to wear purchases I'm excited about ASAP, with whatever shoes suit my fancy.
You can imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered my now-favorite jeans that I didn't have to hem or alter at all: Abercrombie's Ultra High Rise Ankle Straight Jean. I can say with confidence that they're hands down the best-fitting and most comfortable jeans I own, and that's thanks to the fact that you can purchase various inseam lengths: extra short, short, regular, long, and extra long.
Here's the thing: Plenty of denim brands make petite jeans, but I've learned that "petite" and "short" are not synonymous. Petite sizes are generally proportionately petite throughout, whereas "short" simply addresses the inseam (aka length).
Sometimes I like the way a pair of jeans fits me in every way aside from length, so when denim brands offer a short inseam option, it's like built-in hemming without a higher price tag. When I saw that Abercrombie does us all one better by offering extra-short to extra-long inseams (short and tall girlies alike love to see it!), I knew I'd just struck gold.
Let's get into some technical specs: The short inseam on the ankle jeans (which I'm wearing above) is 24.75", whereas the regular is 26.75". A 26 to 27 inseam is usually perfect for me (I can sometimes swing 28, depending on the cut and style), but I opted for the short inseam on these for the true ankle look—and they hit the perfect spot on my leg. I can also wear them with heels, so I tend to reach for them often (and that's an understatement).
If that's not enough to convince you, there's the fact that I was able to opt for these jeans in Abercrombie's viral Curve Love fit, which gives you more room around the hips and thighs, thus eliminating that pesky waist gap. Between the Curve Love fit and short inseam options, it legitimately feels like these jeans were tailored for me before they hit my doorstep. Two words? Chef's kiss.
shop more color options here...
Cristina Corvino is a senior editor for Hearst Magazines. A few of her favorite things include all things Christmas, cheese, coffee, and baseball. (Let’s go Mets!) She loves rewatching Gilmore Girls and Downton Abbey, and her favorite new(ish) shows are Ted Lasso and Trying. (Seriously, try it!)
