Jeans can be skinny. Jeans can be slouchy. There is even such a thing as "skinny slouchy jeans."
One thing is for sure: There is no one perfect Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants pair that looks great on anyone who tries them on.

Before you head to the dressing room yet again, we've compiled our best shopping advice to help you find your perfect denim (without all the bells and whistles).
A few smart rules to shop by from O, The Oprah Magazine:

Go slowly when you shop. Quality time in the fitting room—45 minutes to an hour—pays off. Pick a store with lots of inventory.

Sit or squat while you're trying on jeans to make sure not too much butt is showing (and to gauge comfort level).

Be flexible about size. An 8 in one brand may be more like a 10 (or a 6) in another. When in doubt, take more than one size into the dressing room.

Buy two pairs when you find great jeans—one to hem for heels, the other to hem for flats. You'd be surprised how fast styles get discontinued.

Tone down to a dark blue wash; it's most slimming. Special fabric treatments (whiskering, abraded texture) make sense only on areas of the body you want to spotlight.

Think wardrobe, rather than one grubby pair you wear to death (that's so college). Three to five jeans are the minimum: one or two for work or going out (dark, straight-legged denim looks most polished), one or two for weekends (with sneakers or flats) and one with extra give or stretch for "fat" days.

Next: Stacy London finds your perfect pair

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