Runner’s Strip: Jeans shopping

For every runner athlete who’s gone shopping for jeans and wound up wanting to punch someone in the face.

jeans shopping for runners
I can’t take sole credit for this one. The AWESOME quip that gave me the inspiration for this cartoon came from Sally Bergesen, founder of Oiselle, a kickbutt running apparel company. Yesterday a few of us were tweeting on the frustrations of trying to find jeans that FIT when you’re an athlete, muscle-clad, kickbutt female. Usually you wind up with some problems:

* The jeans WOULD fit in the waist but you can’t get them above your quads. Literally.can’t.raise.them.
* Go up to a size that doesn’t cause your quads to hulk-out but the waist is super saggy. We have six packs, not kegs.
* There’s also an issue with the cut of the butt. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but for whatever reason any size that fits my legs causes this funky pooch in the back; I think it’s because the waist/butt/quad ratio is off and you wind up with extra denim at the waist, so when you sit it’s like a sideways tepee.

I’ve not worn jeans for years…now, to be totally fair I work from home and literally live in running clothes. Like, live in them. #SweatsandtheCity

AAAAND, I will also argue that running clothes can be quite fashionable, I mean just take a gander at my awesome shirts:
hot running shirts
and we ALL love Oiselle who are keeping us clothed from our rundies out to our hoodies.

oiselle

Photo Credit: Oiselle


But that’s not the point. Runnerchicks DESERVER to be able to go to the store and find a pair of jeans that fit without winding up a mess of frustration and wanting to punch someone in the face.

Wise up, World. We are runners, we are women, we are STRONG…we have muscles. And we look d**n good with them.

———–
More cartoons HERE!!
———–

1) What’s been an issue you’ve had with finding a pair of jeans, or any article of clothing that clearly didn’t account for your runner bod?
2) What is your ‘normal people’ fashion like?
3) What’s another vent you’d just like to get off your chest so you don’t punch someone in the face?? 😉

14 Replies to “Runner’s Strip: Jeans shopping”

  1. OMG love this post. Since I don’t use the scale, I always judge and keep myself in check by “checking in with my jeans”. Now, just the other day I thought my jeans felt “different”. Tight? I don’t know, just “different. They totally fit but I noticed it was an upper thigh muscle type issue that was changing how they fit. You are so right – jeans need to be made for us athletic girls. I am thin. I am muscular. I am a runner. I should not have to deal with jean issues! lol…But this is so important for girls to realize- rather than think they “gained weight”, they just changed shape or have a better shape or muscular running legs that require the right jeans. I live in leggings and this is why!

    • oh don’t get me started on this one!! haha. the scale is NOT able to see the difference between muscle and fat, it can’t read body composition. what’s more is it can’t tell you function, power, etc…a PR is always going to trump whatever some silly scale says. 😉 oh, and on those jeans…goodness, they need the ‘runner cut’ jean. 😉

  2. Thank you Cait!!!!
    I love wearing jeans in my down time, but there are very few companies who make appropriately proportioned jeans for someone with a runner butt and legs and a little waistline!! I don’t want to have to resort to boyfriend style jeans that look like I’m dressing from my actual boyfriend’s closet!
    And pencil skirts. Don’t even get me started… That is my ‘normal person’ fashion for work, but containing these legs into a tube of fabric that was fitted on a human coathanger is blasphemy against the holiest of running deities.
    Other than than, dresses can be a lifesaver. The fuller the skirt the better 😉

    • Oh my gosh, do I know the sausage leg feeling well. 😛 So forget those dang pencil skirts and skinny jeans…here’s to hulking them out and being proud of your strong (fast/awesome/distance running) legs! 🙂

  3. I hate jean shopping! I have the hardest time finding a pair that fit right, they’ll be too tight in one spot and too loose in another. Come on! I finally found a pair of Levis that I liked, so I bought two pairs of them. That’s enough jeans for me 🙂

    I love the Oiselle distance shorts! They are my favorite running shorts.

  4. Hahaha this is hilarious. I avoid jeans at ALL COSTS precisely because of this reason. I’m also a cyclist, so yea, big thighs that are just gonna get bigger. I live in yoga pants and running clothes anyways 😛

  5. Awesome part of living in Singapore: I have virtually no desire to ever – EVER – put on jeans.

    Awesome part of working in athletics, and from home: I wear workout gear most of the time.

    Choice when I’m NOT in workout gear: Easy, breezy dresses, usually from Athleta. Tech fabric even in my ‘off’ time! 🙂

  6. I second that emotion!!

    Just had the traumatic experience of jeans shopping for the first time in over a year. I couldn’t find a single pair that would come up past my thighs/glutes. I left frustrated, but proud of how muscular my legs have gotten.
    I’m glad to know I’m not the only one. I guess I’ll just keep wearing my running clothes everywhere.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*