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Manufacturers of premium denim tout the fit, rinse and material of their jeans as something unique. However, you can rock a designer jeans look on a budget with careful shopping. One key to making affordable jeans look luxe is to choose styles that fit well and complement your body type. Seek out brand and style recommendations from salespeople and friends who share your body type, and try on many pairs.
Shapely Solutions
"Glamour" magazine recommends four affordable brands for making you look sleeker. The first pick is Victoria's Secret's line of slenderizing jeans. Two other picks, Aeropostale and Wet Seal, have many outposts in malls. Both stores target the teen market, and the sizing tends to run small and the fits tight. Try on jeans one or two sizes up, especially for skinny sizes. The final brand, Mango, is European and features unique cuts that have a fashion-forward sensibility.
Simply Fashionable
You do not need a million washes and leg widths to find the perfect frugal pair of jeans. Adam Glassman, the creative director of "O, The Oprah Magazine" has a simple answer: Lee jeans. Typically running under $50, these jeans suit a diversity of female body types, giving you a fashionable, flattering look. The trouser cut has professional edge. The boot cut has bohemian chic. The straight leg looks nearly like a skinny jean, without squeezing you like a tube of toothpaste.
Timeless Style
Part of the financial equation in purchasing women's jeans is to choose styles that transcend the current trends. Put down those distressed, overdyed, low rise skinny jeans with rivets down the seams, unless you want to plunk down lots of money for one season's worth of wear. Stylist and fashion writer Sally McGraw recommends a straight leg or trouser leg style in a dark or medium wash. She identifies some non-premium brands that still deliver on quality and sex-appeal, including the in-house lines for J. Crew, The Gap and Banana Republic.
High-End Care
Paying less for jeans does not mean you should scrimp on taking care of them. Spot-clean any stains immediately with cold water and a gentle soap. Wash your jeans inside out, on the gentle cycle and in cold water. Dry them briefly if you want a touch of softness and a tighter fit, or hang them to dry and then pop them in the freezer to make them fit like premium denim.
