I'm in Love With Lee

Not Tommy Lee

Not Spike Lee

Not Sandra Lee

Not Robert E. Lee

Or even Bruce Lee

I'm in love with regular old, Lee. There I said it. To tell you the truth I've always kind of looked down on Lee. Thought Lee wasn't good enough for me... that Lee was dare I say... uncool.

But as of yesterday I have changed my ways. Lee is suddenly hip. I will let the world see me with Lee and I'll be proud and confident. In fact I'm going to show Lee off to all my friends.

Ok ok I'm talking about Lee jeans. Surprised? Yeah me too. I went shopping last night for some new clothes over at the local Kohls. My favorite pair of Gap jeans finally got a hole worn through the inner thigh and I needed something to replace them, pronto.

I sauntered around the Kohls for a half hour or so picking up anything and everything that looked like it might be suitable for entry into my wardrobe. I ended up carrying an armload of about 2 tons of clothes into the dressing room, including close to 10 pairs of jeans.

Finding clothes that look flattering is a very daunting task. Especially when you're pretending you're on What Not to Wear and trying to decide if the outfit you have on would ever appear on one of the sample mannequins and if it follows "the rules."

I tried on pair after pair of jeans. The stack slowly dwindled while I wondered if it was actually possible to try on 500 pairs of jeans and have none of them fit correctly. I wasn't getting down on myself for any extra cushioning I might have, in fact I was becoming frustrated with the selection of jeans available. I know what I want. Finding it is another story. They're either too high waisted or very low rise. They taper too much or they're too light of a wash. Or I find the perfect pair, but they're out of my size. It's one thing after another.

I got down to the last two pairs of jeans. These were more of a trouser style jean. I was looking for something a bit more casual, but these would be a bit nicer looking and besides, I had one or two pairs of regular jeans I could wear if I needed to. The thing was... the last two pairs of jeans I had to try on were Lee brand. I've never liked the look of Lee jeans much and the casual Lee jeans I'd already tried on were very high waisted and looked ridiculous. But I figured, what the heck. Might as well try them on while I'm here.

Holy crap... these jeans were AMAZING! Both pairs sat just below my belly button... high enough to lock in my pooch, but not so high as to make me look 20 years older. They were both a cotton/spandex blend so they stretched just a bit and the waistbands were thick, great for slimming the tummy region. One pair also had an added feature that I've never seen before. The waistband looked normal on the outside, but had a 2" wide elastic band sewed onto the inside to allow for an even better fit. It keeps the back of the waistband from gaping, which is a problem I encounter frequently due to my ample (yet quite spectacular) rear quarters.

The best part of all was these jeans were only like $30 each. Winner winner chicken dinner.

Here's the jeans I got:

Lee Jessica Trouser (Black Retro Wash)

Lee Natural Fit Reese Straight Leg (Indigo Rinse)

(These have a tab-front closure which I love)

So, if you're in the market for some jeans too, give these puppies a try. They come in lots of sizes and have inseams of 30", 32", and 34" so you should be able to find some that fit you. If not, try some other crazy brand you blew off long ago. You never know.