At first blush, that seemed awesome, but it turned out there were a lot of problems with Madewell’s size 20 claim. Based on Madewell’s own size chart and some very confusing information from its customer service reps, those “size 20” jeans would only fit a size 14/16 body — which is not very body positive. So we ordered Madewell’s controversial “curvy” jeans in three sizes to figure out, once and for all, what’s ACTUALLY going on with these jeans. Here’s our honest review. Watch the video below and keep scrolling for a detailed photo review.
Good American, Lane Bryant, and Universal Standard’s size 20 denim all fit a 42-inch waist. Torrid’s size 20 has a listed waist measurement of 42 to 44 inches. According to all of these brands, plus others that I consulted for research, a “body” waist measurement of 35 inches is more consistent with a size 14/16 than a 20.
Unfortunately, many of the extended size jeans appear to only be available online. There’s confusion about which plus sizes will be available in which stores, and when — if ever.
Nicola is a size 14/16 — the average size of a woman in the US — and though she admires the brand’s denim, she’s never been able to wear Madewell pants. “They’ve never made denim anywhere near big enough to fit my size 14 butt,” she said. “I’ve always yearned for a pair.”
According to the size chart, Nicola will wear a size 32 (defined as 14/16) in Madewell jeans. So she’ll be trying her natural size and the biggest size Madewell offers, size 25 (aka 20/22).
We asked our size 20 coworker Jessica to be the model for the size 35s, but the jeans would not go over her thighs.
Pictured: Madewell’s “curvy” high rise jeans ($128, Madewell) in black sea, size 26 (left) and 32 (right).
The curvy line of Madewell denim has a special cut for “hourglass” shapes. According to Madewell, they have “a narrower waist with a contoured band, a longer rise (for a rounder booty) and a little extra room at the hips and thighs.”
The curvy line of jeans are available in sizes 23/000 through 35/20-22.
I’m trying these jeans in a straight size 26 (defined as size 2), and Nicola is trying them in a size 32 (defined as size 14/16).
Because I’m already intimately familiar with how Madewell jeans fit me, I was happy to act as the control in this experiment. Would these “curvy” jeans fit me, a straight size person, any differently than the standard fit?
There was only one way to find out.
Madewell’s “curvy” high rise jeans ($128, Madewell) fit me almost exactly the same as the standard high rise skinny jeans fit do. The waist was a little narrower (which I liked) and the denim was a little stretchier than any other Madewell jeans I own, but the fit changes seemed to end there.
After six hours spent wearing these jeans ($128, Madewell), there was an extra 1-2" in the waistband.
For me personally, cool, this is another pair of skinny black jeans that makes my butt look cute. But that’s kind of the point: I already have those jeans. Every brand makes those jeans. Straight size women with small waists are not an underserved fashion population — we have more denim options than we know what to do with!
So I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Part of me was expecting a re-imagined “curvy” fit that was REALLY different from Madewell’s usual, not more of the same. I wanted this “extended” line to not just be about larger sizes, but also different body shapes — because body diversity really matters.
“My first thought looking at these jeans ($128, Madewell) was, ‘Oh no! These are NOT going to slide over my hips.’ The size 32 looked tiny,” Nicola said. “Stylish, high-end jeans have always been just out of reach, given that I ride the fine line between plus and straight sizes. I’ve experienced too many dressing room kerfuffles with jeans that looked just like these to think that Madewell’s denim might actually fit me.”
“Hooray! Madewell did the damn thing with these jeans ($128, Madewell).”
“I was relieved not to have to be mad at this brand about these pants ($128, Madewell).”
“The waist was VERY stretchy, which I also liked.”
“For someone of my height and body shape, I thought Madewell did a bang-up job making size 32 jeans,” said Nicola. “But I can’t say I could recommend them for size 14 ladies with rounder body shapes or thicker thighs. The fabric, though mighty comfortable, is quite thin — I could feel my thighs eating away at it not four hours after putting them on. You’ll probably have holes in the inner thighs after a few months.”
“If you’re not hourglass-shaped, the Madewell jeans might not work for you,” said Nicola. “I’d say plus-size people should try them on first, but it’s unclear if the extended sizes (32 through 35) will be available in Madewell stores, or just online.”
These jeans have the same rise, and a similar denim composition to the size 32 pair Nicola had previously tried on (this wash has 4% elastane, which means they’re meant to be a bit stretchier).
“We bought these jeans because I was expecting to have to size way, way up to fit in them,” Nicola said bluntly. “But when I held up the size 35 jeans, they were almost the exact same size as the 32s.”
“I looked at these jeans and I actually heard an abrupt record scratch in my head,” said Nicola. “Like, ‘No, there’s no way those could fit someone who’s a size 20/22.’ Those might actually fit ME.”
That is absolutely wild — and Nicola was quick to point out that it doesn’t make much sense.
Even accounting for the slightly different denim compositions — the size 35 jeans have 4% elastane, while the 32s have 2% — both product pages instruct shoppers that the jeans fit true to size. It’s fair to assume both the 32 and the 35 are accurate representations of their respective “extended” sizes… otherwise why would Madewell put that size on them?
Reader, she took my money.
“They were slightly looser in the legs than the 32s, but I still could have worn them around all day and been completely comfortable in them. Going up four numerical sizes shouldn’t have given me a fit that’s this close,” said Nicola. “Again, I’m a 14/16 — these jeans are meant to fit a 20/22!”
“These felt like a slightly thicker denim than the size 32 jeans, but they were just as stretchy.”
“I feel like these jeans ($128, Madewell) are just straight size jeans sized up. I feel like these are not cut or sized for plus-size bodies.”
“If I felt finally of worth in the size 32s, the 35s took me all the way back to square one,” said Nicola. “This made me feel like it’s my body that’s the problem for Madewell, even though it’s clearly the size of the clothes.”
“At the very least, I know this is only a starting point for Madewell, and I’m hopeful they’ll use this as an opportunity to listen to plus-size women and give them what they really need, which is NOT denim designed for thin women that’s just a little stretchier.”
If you’re within the size 12 through 16 range and hourglass shaped, Nicola says you CAN buy Madewell’s extended size jeans — but wonders if you SHOULD. “If you’re on the smaller side of plus, you’ll probably look nice as hell in these jeans,” she said. “They fit me really well. But these jeans are $128, and you might be better off spending that kind of money on a brand that specializes in plus-size denim.”
“It’s like Madewell is doing a complete disservice to plus-size women, and maybe made a hasty attempt at body-positive marketing before doing the proper research or hiring plus-size women to help with sizing and fit,” said Nicola. “There are a LOT more plus-size women who are going to keep missing out on cool girl jeans. Making jeans for my mainstream plus-size body is great, but you can’t pat yourself on the back for inclusion until that size 20 denim ACTUALLY fits a size 20.”
