Charlie's

Last winter, I read about a store in Philadelphia called Charlie's. This store's claim to fame is that the owner, Sebastian, could just take one look at you, pick out a pair of jeans, and they would fit like a glove.

My sister-in-law, Marnie, lives in Philly so I asked her if she had ever heard of the store and, if so, were the claims true. Well, not only did she know of the store, she buys her jeans from there. And, yes, she said, Sebastian really can pick out a perfect fitting pair of jeans by just looking at you.

Now you all know about my search for new jeans in this post. Hey, they weren't from Charlie's but they were a vast improvement.

Well, the day after I published that post I got an e-mail from Marnie. She had read my blog and said that she and my brother had just been discussing what to give me for my birthday (Nov 10) and Christmas. She explained to him how I had asked about Charlie's last winter and loved the idea of getting fitted for jeans. She then made her offer: Would I let them buy me a pair of jeans from Charlie's for my birthday/Christmas gift?

After a long e-mail where I rambled on about how I wasn't sure I could say yes because of kids wielding markers, strangers running down the road with open bottles of bleach and about the wisdom of wearing the equivalence of what could feed a small African nation on my butt, I said Yes!

So, this past Friday, I met Marnie in Philly and we headed to Charlie's. I tried to keep my expectations low in case my baby beaten body proved to be too much for the experts. And, there was a momentary disappointment when we walked in and Sebastian was nowhere to be found. Instead, a young salesgirl asked if she could help us. We said that I wanted to be fitted for a pair of jeans.

"Do you want light or dark jeans?" she asked.

That was it. That's all the information she needed to go to a stack of jeans, pick out a pair and have me try them on.

The first pair seemed tight in my thighs, but according to salesgirl, no, that's how they're suppose to fit because (here's free tip #1 for buying a great fitting pair of jeans) they will stretch a half size. So you want them to be tight, but not uncomfortable. Marnie and salesgirl agreed that the first pair was a good fit. I was still skeptical.

So I tried on a second pair. This pair didn't want to button over my jelly belly, so I stepped out of the dressing room and declared the obvious. "Oh, that's how there suppose to fit," says salesgirl. "Did you put them on right?"

Now, if I had been a comedian, there were 100 great responses to that question. But apparently (and here's tip #2 for buying a great fitting pair of jeans), you have to squat and grab and tug and pull to put them on properly. My lack of skill in putting jeans on was probably the demise of pair # 1 and #2.

So I moved on to a third pair. A great fit according to Marnie and salesgirl.

Fourth pair. Another great fit.

So I narrowed it down to two pairs and let the length decide it. I took the pair that didn't need to be shortened (a service that Charlie's can provide). So, here are my Joe's Jeans, dark wash, honey style.

And that was it. Salesgirl was brilliant in picking out a properly fitting jean for me. I'm still in awe of her skills. Obviously, Sebastian has taught her a thing or two.

I have not worn my new jeans yet. Well, I take that back. I put them on yesterday to show a friend, but I have vowed that these are special jeans that should only be seen on special occasions. Plus, in the 45 minutes I had them on, Jr. broke them in with his drool. Need I say more?

If you'd like some more tips for buying a great fitting pair of jeans, check here for some tips from Sebastian himself.

And one more piece of business. Back in this post, I mentioned how Say Anything thought I needed to try a smaller size jean in order to get a better fit. I said that she was crazy and would clean her house if that ever turned out to be true.

The problem? Joe's Jeans use an European sizing system and I don't know its American equivalent. So can anyone tell me what a European size 29 converts into?

And, finally, a huge THANK YOU to Jeff and Marnie for my wonderful present. I appreciate you giving me such a special and completely indulgent gift.

Charlie's

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2006/11/charlies.html