I know these are slim jeans and I know everyone says one must be, well, slim in order to wear them. Right? And to some degree this makes sense: Slim guy, slim cut jeans. Larger guy, larger cut jeans. Well my husband is in his late 60s and things have sort of shifted around over the years. Specifically, everything from his butt and thighs has been redistributed to his abdomen. He is usually very hard to fit because most
pants that fit around the waist are huge, baggy and sloppy looking everywhere else. Enter the 513; absolutely the best fitting
pants that I have ever seen him wear. They fit perfectly. Everywhere. So what is the deal? Why do these jeans fit so well and look so good? I really had to think about it and it took me many tries before I caught on. Since my husband refused to go to the store to buy some jeans, I was left to my own devices and I learned a lot about men's jeans (and Levi's in particular) in the process. I am oversimplifying things here but there are generally two things that describe the way a pair of jeans will fit a man, aside from the waist size and the inseam. First, there's the cut. This is how the pant fits in the rear and thighs. Levi's has seven general cuts, going from tightest in the rear and thigh to loosest in the rear and thigh: Skinny, Slim, Regular, Original, Relaxed, Loose, and Comfort. Second, there is the look and style of the leg. Levi's has four leg cuts: Skinny, Taper, Straight and Boot. So, add this all up and there are four variables: 1. Waist size; 2. Inseam (or length); 3. Cut; and 4. Leg style. With Levi's you can generally mix and match. So they have the 504 Regular Straight, the 508 Regular Taper, the 559 Relaxed Straight, the 513 Slim Straight, etc. Generally the cut is listed first followed by the leg. All of the Levi's styles come in virtually any waist size and in virtually any length so as long as you get the right waist size, it will fit around the middle regardless of the cut (or the leg). So for an average proportioned guy, the 513 Slim Straight will run slim or close fitting in the thigh and butt (in his proper waist size) but for my husband, they fit like normal
pants would since he is so much smaller than average in the seat and thighs. Make sense? All of this assumes you get your correct, actual waist size so guys, do not skimp there even though it is tempting. Example: If I were trying to fit a short guy (say 30"L) with a skinny waist (say a 32"W), but with large thighs and a big butt, I would probably start with something like the 550 Relaxed Taper or the 559 Relaxed Straight because the Relaxed cut will look normal on him assuming he is wearing his correct waist size. I hope this helps those of you who are not of average proportion and are struggling to find a pair of normal fitting jeans. My husband never looked better and for the first time in forever he actually likes his jeans!
