Did you know that Levi’s is active in the fight to defeat Proposition 8? Interestingly, within the same week, I both rediscovered Levi’s and learned that their politics line up rather closely to my own. I know, I know, I don’t do politics, but I find the fact that something like Prop 8 could even wind up on a ballot to be offensive beyond all belief. That’s all I’m sayin’.

Anyway, back to the pants. My struggle to find pants that fit is extremely well documented here. Where do I begin? I’m not very tall, I have a really short torso, and – here’s the really scary part – my waist is only 2″ narrower than my hips. Are you feeling my pain yet?

A few weeks ago I got to wondering what ever made me stray from my Levi’s roots. Back in the day – way way back before such a thing as women’s Levi’s even existed – they were my favorite pants. In high school, I bought them at the Army-Navy surplus in Seattle on… what, 4th and Pine? Pike? Something like that. Seedy, anyway. I was kind of a little thing and I wore a men’s 27×29. After moving to Los Angeles, I continued to wear surplus store Levi’s throughout my many years of toiling in the fields of punk rock. Then at some point I strayed – I think the timing may have coincided with my first real job. And I’ve been struggling to find pants that fit ever since.

Well, I’m not exactly a little thing any more, so I didn’t think the same kind of pants I wore in high school would be a good choice now that I’m, ahem, of a certain age. So it was with a great lack of confidence that I set out in search of some old-school Levi’s, despite a tip found on Metafilter that women’s Levi’s 515 jeans seem to fit the hard-to-fit.

Since I live on the Trendy West Side, basic Levi’s can’t be found in these parts. No, not at all – it’s all that designer $200 stuff around here. Forget that! I had to go on a big-box tour of the greater San Gabriel Valley. I fully expected to end up in the men’s department, getting strange looks and wondering which fitting room to go into.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that each store had a ginormous selection of women’s Levi’s. And they come in lengths! And they aren’t all low rise! I went from Macy’s to Kohl’s to the soon-to-be-gone Mervyn’s, carrying armloads of different styles and sizes, until I found both the hero pair and the runner up.

Our Hero is the Women’s Levi’s 505 Straight Leg, in Broken Dark Wash. Not too tight, not too loose, no gapping waistband, not too low, not too dark, not too light. How’s that for just about perfect? My only complaint was that I couldn’t find them in other washes, which according to Kohl’s do exist. I can order online – yay!

They look even better with the cuffs turned up and some Chuck Taylors – a look that is rather dear to the rockabilly chick that secretly (or not so) lives inside of me. Despite the fact that Chuck Taylors are not exactly comfort shoes.

Our Runner Up is the Women’s Levi’s 515 Boot Cut, in Blue Wave Wash. That tip from Metafilter was spot on! Again, would like to have found a few more colors in stock, but these can also be found online. The fit is almost exactly the same as the 505’s, but with a boot cut leg – a little more modern, a little less retro.

Although my size/length combo seems to be facing extinction in the brick-and-mortar world, I’m thrilled to have made the discovery of women’s Levi’s (and the discovery that my size/length combo is fairly easy to find online), and to now have Pants That Fit. I’m thrilled to know that I’m not somebody who will ever have to resort to three-figure designer denim. What was good enough in high school, and in my punk days, and in my rockabilly days, is just about perfect now. I’ll wear them happily – and even more happily, if that darned Prop 8 doesn’t pass.