Best jeans for a pear shape: rise, leg and pocket placement

The best jeans for a pear shape are the ones that fit the waist and the hips at the same time, which most jeans do not. A pear’s waist is small relative to the hips, so jeans that fit the hips stand away at the back of the waist, and jeans that fit the waist will not go over the hips. Four choices solve it: the rise, the cut, the back pockets and the leg.

Not sure you are a pear? Three measurements in the Body Shape Calculator will tell you, and the pear body shape guide covers the rest of the wardrobe.

Why jeans fit pears badly

The calculator’s pear reference has a waist around 74 percent of the hip measurement. On 40-inch hips, that is a waist of about 30 inches. Jeans cut for a straighter figure, with less difference between waist and hip, have to be sized up to clear the hips and seat. The extra room collects behind the waistband, where it shows as a gap every time you sit down.

So the first job is not finding a flattering style. It is finding a cut that matches your waist-to-hip difference.

Rise: where the waistband sits

The rise is the distance from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband, and it decides where the waistband lands on your body.

• High rise sits at or near the natural waist, the narrowest point. It draws one continuous line over the hips and keeps the waistband away from the widest point. For most pears this is the easiest rise.
• Mid rise sits a little below the navel. It works when the cut is right; the risk is a waistband that sits on the curve of the hip and slides down at the back.
• Low rise sits on the hips themselves, drawing a horizontal line across the lower body. It is the hardest rise for a pear to wear without a longer top.

If your torso is short relative to your legs, a very high rise can reach the ribs. The long torso or long legs guide shows how to check, and which rise to pick for each result.

Cut and stretch

Look for jeans described as a curvy cut or as having a contoured waistband: both are made for a bigger difference between waist and hip. Stretch helps too. Denim with some elastane follows the curve from waist to hip; rigid denim holds its own shape and has to be cut for yours.

If you love a rigid pair that gapes, buy it to fit the hips and have the waist taken in. A tailor does it at the center-back seam, and it is one of the most routine alterations there is.

Back pockets

Back pockets act as a frame for the seat. Their size and position change how wide it looks:

• Medium to large pockets, placed so their lower edge sits on the curve of the seat, keep the proportion.
• Small pockets on a full seat leave a wide area of plain denim around them, which makes it look larger.
• Pockets set low or far apart pull the eye down and outward, the widest direction on a pear.
• Flap pockets, heavy studs and fading across the hip put detail on the widest point.

Pockets that sit on the seat, not below it. A leg that falls from the hip, not one that hugs under it.

Leg shape

The leg decides what happens below the widest point.

• Bootcut and flare widen slightly at the hem and balance the hips. They are the classic pear choice.
• Straight leg falls from the widest point of the hip in a vertical line. Easy, and it suits most shoes.
• Wide leg in a high rise balances hips with volume all the way down.
• Skinny and tapered narrow right under the hips, so the hips look wider by contrast. They work with a top that ends below the widest point.

The fitting-room test

Put the jeans on, then sit down. Check three things: no gap behind the waistband when you sit, no pulling lines across the front of the hips when you stand, and the back pockets sitting on your seat when you look in a mirror over your shoulder. If all three pass, the leg shape is down to taste.

Jeans for every body shape

The same four choices apply to every shape; only the priorities change.

Dresses follow the same logic of where a line sits; for pears, see dresses for a pear shape.