There’s a tremendous amount of talk in the blogosphere and mainstream media about the offensive Mom Jeans. There are complete posts, photos and all, devoted to warning women about the fashion flub so many have fallen victim to.
I myself was pretty oblivious to the Mom Jeans hype until someone accused the President of being a violator himself. That’s when I started doing a little research on what the hullabaloo was all about.
And more importantly, did I have a pair of the much despised denim hanging in my closet?
After a little research I found out that Mom Jeans are bad for your mental health, and if you are wearing Old Navy or Gap jeans, you’re apparently one of the greatest offenders.
And guess what’s hanging in my closet? Oh yeah, about eight pairs of Gap Long and Lean jeans. Clearly I’m a habitual offender.
So, what makes jeans Mom Jeans? High waists and long back pockets.
Let’s first start with the waist issue. I want a higher waist. When I’m bending over to grab a sack of sugar off the shelves at Shaw’s, the last thing I want is to give the rest of the shoppers a peep show of my bum crack.
Sorry to be so graphic, but it’s true. No one needs to see that. I avoid it at all costs myself.
Also, no one needs to see my midriff. The last one who got a good look was my obstetrician, who might have also been the last one to see my bum crack. And I’m totally fine with that.
But the greatest offense is apparently the pockets. If the pocket goes past your bum cheek, you are wearing Mom Jeans. Ok, so this is a huge issue for me.
My butt has never ever looked like Shakira’s. It’s always been sort of pancakeish and where my bum cheek ends remains a mystery to this day.
So, all back pockets on jeans I wear will most likely hang below my bum cheek. Horrors.
The evidence and pictures presented convicts me of being a Mom Jeans offender.
Here’s the thing….
It’s crap. All of it. The high waist, the long pockets, the momness of it all. Crap. Crap. Crap.
I’m 42 years old. When I was in college we didn’t have hip huggers. High waists were the in thing. And guess what? I didn’t want for dates.
I didn’t sit in my dorm on a Friday night because I was wearing Mom Jeans, gnashing my teeth and praying for the day that low-rise jeans would come into style.
On the contrary, I was shaking those long pockets and past the navel waistline jeans on the dance floor at my local campus club.
I even went on to snag a husband, get pregnant multiple times, all while wearing the non-sexy Mom Jeans.
Here’s the thing I don’t understand…
The term Mom Jeans. When did it become offensive to look like a mom? I’m a mom of four and I don’t feel that I have to give up my sexuality to carry that title. Moms can be sexy too.
The jeans are not what makes you sexy. The jeans don’t define you. You define you.
So, if you have a closet full of Mom Jeans and you feel sexy while wearing them, rock on you sexy thing. Own it. Because it’s you that makes you sexy. Your smile. Your laugh. The sparkle in your eyes. You make you sexy. No jean can take that away from you.
And for those of you who wear the low rise, hip hugging, midriff bearing, bum crack showing non-Mom Jeans, you too can rock on with your sexy selves. I’m all for you wearing what makes you feel your best!
I’m just here to tell you that you don’t have to feel blue when wearing your blues. Even if your back pocket hangs below your bum.
 |
YES!!! I refuse to wear low rise jeans!
I think though that your jeans are well fitting and look good on your body type and your style. The link you posted points out ill fitted clothes, your clothes are not ill fitting.
I definitely think everyone should dress how it is comfortable to them, especially moms because I think it can be a stuggle to be working so hard for the kids and family without losing your own sense of style and worth. I am a big supporter of stay at home moms (for example) getting dressed every morning and even putting on a little make up because feel good is a great start for a great day.
I agree with everything you stated. Every mom for themselves. As long as you feel good, that’s all that matters.
Yeah, I am a mom and I don’t feel the need to hide it.
And I had TWINS. Nobody wants to see me in low rise jeans unless they are super in to muffin tops. My body just isn’t shaped appropriately for low rise jeans.
I don’t think my body was designed for low rise jeans in the days that I could actually wear them. And if you buy low rise jeans, then you have to replace all your underwear. Who wants to do that??
two words: yoga pants.
And, you look good darlin’!
All hail the yoga pants. God’s gift to women.
Right on, Mel! Rock on (in your mom jeans!)! And can I add that I’m sick of the stupid shiny bling that is a “must have” on the so-called non-Mom jeans? NO BLING.
I know. What’s up with the butt bling? Everyone’s butt is bedazzled these days. It’s disturbing.
I didn’t know my Old Navy jeans were “Mom jeans”. Oh well, I love them just the same. Enough low rise to be comfortable, but not showing that plumber’s crack as my kids would say. I agree with Laureen as well, I am sick of all the shiny on everyone’s hind end. I teach at a community college so needless to say I see everything from pajama pants to nightclub wear on a daily basis. I think I’ll stick with my Mom jeans proudly as long as they fit my body!! Thanks for making me laugh today.
You got it. As long as they fit and make you happy. That’s all that should count. I’m just so tired of people telling me what to wear. Everyone needs to worry about their own behinds. Literally.
Thanks for that link. I love it when someone does the hard task of compiling it all for me to see. I love the way your jeans fit on you. How they make you feel is all that matters. And I highly suggest looking for a pair of lululemon pants, they are the miracle butt pants. They make every behind look amazing
I so want a pair of Lululemons, but for the love of all things holy, they are expensive! That said, if they make my butt look nice, maybe I’ll buy a pair.
Thanks for sharing. I now have a 3 year old and back in the day I used to wear lower rise jeans ( Now there is a small muffin top ) My problem is the lower tummy! Its hard to find pants that dont want to fall down from my lack of bum LOL!! You look wonderful!!
Thanks Angela! I once bought a pair of low rise jeans and I constantly had to yank them up. I’m not sure how other people keep them from falling off. I guess I’m not hippy enough to wear them. I’m sort of flat in the hip region. And that lower tummy is a problem for most everyone that’s given birth. Uggh.
The absolute best thing about mom jeans is that you can wear super comfy granny panties. Woot!
Bwa ha ha! The funny thing is that I wear hipster panties. But for some reason jean hipsters don’t work for me. Go figure.
As long as I can find jeans that actually FIT I count myself ahead of the game! Anyone else think that those “sexy” low-rise jeans make even the skinniest kid look like they have love-handles? Thanks, I’ll pass.
I just don’t get the appeal. I guess if you are way skinny then they are flattering. But if you’ve eaten a burger within the last ten years, not so much.
You GO GIRL !!! Rock those jeans, you look great !!!
I too refuse to wear low risers and show the world my butt when I bend down. That’s just nasty (whether you’re a mom or not & wearing those).
Thank you for your great post and the good laugh. You’re awsome !
You’re awesome for putting up with me, lol.
You look great in those jeans. I personally like low rise. I have no waist and never did (i’m 46). I’m just straight down with no butt either. I’m not heavy but I don’t like anything tight around my waist. I buy age appropriate and make sure my arse isn’t hanging out. My favorite funny thing is watching people w/ low rises on, thongs and tattoos-tramp stamp, for all to see
. My daughter left for school today in the tightest jeans I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how she can breathe. Being the good mom I am, I told her she looked great (she did though, with her shirt, belt and beanie). Oh to be able to rock a 17 year old body. Ha ha.
Thank you! I have nothing against people who wear any rise jeans. I just get grippy when people tell me I’m out of fashion because I wear regular rise. I hear you about the teens. My son’s friends wear the ultra low rise jeans and I see way more than any person should. I wish they’d leave something to the imagination!
I always thought I just had a longer than normal crotch and that’s why low-rise or mid-rise jeans flaunted my womanly parts…. I’ll wear “mom jeans” any day of the week if it means I don’t have to get a Brazilian just wear some pants so I don’t scare people!
It used to be the biggest concern we had was having camel toe. (I can’t believe I just typed that) Now, we need to make sure we are wearing the trendiest rise. Oy. And I did that Brazilian wax thing once and I swear to you I saw God. Massive mistake!
You look totally awesome!!!
And those jeans are so stylish & not “Momish” at all…
I have always thought that Mom jeans are the ones that are really light wash with baggy legs and seriously tapered at the ankles. Not flattering.
I know of a nerdy little (middle -aged) man that collects pictures of whale tails too (where your thong peeks out of the top in the back) – another good reason to not wear anything low rise…ugh…and yes …he takes the pictures himself…
elise
Right! I used to think the same thing. That mom jeans were those old lady jeans that belted above the waist. I guess they’ve fine tuned the definition now to include most of the Gap and Old Navy lines of jeans. Grumble.
And I can’t believe the guy takes pictures of women’s bums. OMG, that made me laugh. Deviant, but hysterical.
Those look like those FREE Gap jeans you’re wearing. I picked up a pair that exact same color! I think that it would be great to have a party with mom jeans as the theme!
Why yes they are Barbara! Good eyes! If you plan the party, I’ll bring the wine. And for those that don’t have mom jeans, I’ll bring a few extra pairs to share.
Goddess, you are rockin’ the mom jeans!!! I always thought “mom” jeans were the Erkel type LOL…
Why thank you! I guess the powers that be are getting pickier about what constitutes mom jeans. Maybe I’ll just switch to yoga pants altogether!
I agree with all the readers above who say you rock the ‘Mom Jeans” Melanie. You look great and I agree with you that the low rise, butt crack, tramp stamp jeans are not appropriate; for any age! We should not be advertising or selling that with our look. Keep on rocking your Mom Jeans and looking great; we are with you girl!!
Thank you. That was a very sweet comment.
Hear, hear! Well said!
You are one Badass Goddess!
;o)
Lol, thanks. Right back at ya!
Yeah, Mel, those aren’t the “mom jeans” I normally think of. Those are way too cute. I think of mom jeans and think of the acid wash, ballooning butt, high waist and tapered ankle 80′s jeans that have been hanging in a woman’s closet since, well, the 80′s. Guess what…if you are able to brag that you can still fit into those jeans you wore in 1986 and you are still sporting those exact same jeans…its not a good thing!! I, too, wear Gap, Old Navy, and YES, “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans” brands and love them because they work…I’m a mom and am the same age as you are! Just because we are mom’s and work our mom jeans doesn’t mean we have to be Ms. Frumpy Dumpy!! You look fabulous and if this is what the new definition of wearing mom jeans is, then I’m a part of the esteemed club, too!!
That’s the thing. Mom Jeans are being redefined. If you check out the links in the post, you’ll see that they are being even more particular. Especially the issue about the pockets. When people start devoting photo essays on where pockets and zippers fall, you know they mean business. I’ve heard very good things about the Not Your Daughter’s Jeans. I haven’t tried on a pair myself, but need to. I really do like the Gap jeans.
I highly recommend the NYDJ…they are definitely a step up from the
Gap (which I LOVE, too, by the way) and the price tag reflects that, but they are FANTASTIC. Us both being the same age, of the same build and fabulously smart shoppers…I was able to find them drastically reduced at the end of the season at Nordstrom and thought I had died and gone to heaven. Even better…I was shopping with my mother who promptly took my children to ride the escalators and told me to “take my time”. It was the jean shopping day in which the planets aligned. I wish the same for you!
Actually, in all of my posts, I talk about the pocket absolutely needing to come down below the curvature of one’s butt (the pockets that stop above the curvature are the Mom Jeans), so those jeans are not at all Mom Jeans on you – they look great! It’s all about how they fit the particular individual, just as I showed in my post that Long and Leans look great on my friend, and terrible on me. Also, I definitely recommend mid-rise for almost everyone, not low-rise – I agree – everyone should keep their crack to themselves!
Amen, sister! Preach it! Need I say low rise only serves to highlight the width and depth of mah muffin top?
p.s. I love those jeans!
You go girl – cannot stand the midriff, muffin top or butt crack!! Though I do need help buying the best fitting jeans for my body type – I WILL ROCK THEM, when the time comes – LOL!
i guess i wear mom jeans and i’m only 26! lol i get most of my jeans cheap (i keep changing sizes like mad) and so i get “redneck” jeans. levi’s baby! the pair i am wearing today are more angled for horseback riding and working sooo yeah no butt crack here. and honestly, i hate that look (with all the crack)
Your mom jeans look great! Where are they from?
I think you look great, Melanie, and I agree, it’s all about the right fit for the right person. After two kids, it’d be a scary sight for me to be walking around with low-rise jeans! I’m more comfortable and better looking (I think!) when the pants fit my body.
Melanie, I am all for comfort first. Mom jeans make me feel comfortable, and they show that I still have a waist well past my prime. Some of those same people who say you should wear a hip-hugger jean, also say that you should try to define the waist. Such a contradiction of terms.
Wear what feels good and makes you look good. The only mommy jeans I will not wear are the ones that are so old that the ass area sags thus adding a new proportion.
It’s just one more way women judge and tear each other down. I mean really… If you have nothing better to do than worry about whether or not my pockets are too long or short, you may want to rethink your priorities. I think it’s bizarre that we spend so much time focused on fitting into some sort of mold of what looks good, all of which is arbitrarily determined by a random group of people, changes constantly, and seems to have absolutely no basis in what women naturally look like.
I thought it was the tapered leg with an elastic waist that made a pair of jeans become “mom jeans”. I’m not even a mom and apparently I too am offending the masses with my mom jeans. I refuse to wear low rise jeans and not just because of the crack issue. I refuse because they are unflattering to my pear body shape. Why on earth would I want a waist band to cut across my widest section? Talk about unflattering…the horrors.
I’m sorry, but “mom jeans” are awful. I am 44 years old, so I grew up in the 80′s with Levi’s sewn tight to my legs. In the 90′s it was gap jeans that went up around my waist. I also didn’t fail to have dates …. because everyone else was wearing them as well! When I look at pictures, I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry, and I was slim.
Jeans up to the waist are not flattering! They coming in high on the waist like Urkel pants, then round out like an apple around the butt, hips, and stomach, then they taper down to the ankles. It’s like someone stuck toothpicks on the bottom of an apple.
Now, I’m not saying muffin top hanging over the waist of short-waisted jeans is much better, but at least recognize that the legs need to be boot-cut and tight at the ankle. Even my mom, who is 66 years old, doesn’t wear mom jeans.
And, what is worse, is that people who wear mom jeans also tend to wear the t-shirt or blouse tucked into the waist which only emphasizes the shape of the jeans.
Another offensive look achieve by mom jeans is that the butt looks like it hangs down low with a long bum crack that stretches up to the waist. And, the jeans are usually stuck up in the bum cheeks, or they are so baggy they droop. I call them poopy-pants.
Just because you can’t see your bum from the back, doesn’t mean the rest of can’t, and believe me, mom jeans are anything but flattering. Personally, its worth having jeans with a shorter waist just to know that when my husband looks at my butt he still thinks it looks hot, and not like his mothers. I’m sorrym but women in mom jeans look like they simply gave up and the only identity they have left is a sexless mom.
Love your post! I recently decided to research the term ‘mom jeans’ and just like you stated, it seems the terms of them might be changing. Not surprisingly, since ‘moms’ also like to update their style, as such would the definition of the term follow with updating.
I wear a slight boot cut style, darker washed, some stitching on the pocket but not overdone. I cannot bear to wear the styles that are overly trendy, for fear of trying to look too young, as I’m 43. And I, like many others, prefer not to show off my love handles or pull my too low rise jeans up all day.
That being said, I thought to ask an expert…….my 13 year old daughter. Now, I realize that any pair of jeans I’m currently wearing will be defined as ‘mom jeans’, simply since I’m a mom, and I’m wearing them. Me: honey, am I wearing mom jeans? Her: yes Me: why? What makes them mom jeans? Her: they are boot cut, and any boot cut jeans are mom jeans.
There we have it, unfortunately for all of us moms that may try, or not care to try, I believe that no matter what we choose to wear they will be considered ‘mom jeans’. So I agree with you completely, wear what makes you feel good, as in any of our children’s eyes, they will undoubtedly be considered ‘mom jeans’.