Let me set the scene.
I took William, Alexander and Benjamin with me shopping last week. We hit some of my good ol’ favorites – TJ Maxx, GAP, Banana Republic, J.Crew and Old Navy. While at Old Navy, I found 4 pairs of jeans that I absolutely loved. The kind of I-have-to-buy-them LOVE.
But…
William – my 4 year old – wanted to go get some ice cream.
Alexander – my 3 year old – wanted to look at “handsome shirts.” A “handsome shirt” is any shirt that has a collar.
And Benjamin was having fun trying to pull as many hangers/tags that he could get his hands on as I pushed him along in his stroller.
The funny thing is that I had left Henry at home with my husband because I thought it would be “easier” with just the older boys.
So how was I supposed to try on these 4 pairs of jeans? That I so desperately needed and wanted to see if they fit…
EASY.
Which brings me to my Fashion Advice for Moms today! Have you ever heard of the “if the waist of the pants fits around your neck, it will fit around your waist” trick? (Otherwise knows as the neck-to-waist trick.)
Let me save you tons of time in stores when needing to try on pants…
**Updated! Yes… it may not work for all. But let me tell you… you will get a very good indication if the pants will fit. As for Joe… you are so funny… I have never tried this on MEN. You will have to tell me how it works! Men have such a different body type… especially when fitting pants. So – try it and tell me how it works!!
42 responses so far ↓
1 Nikki @ The Guilty Parent // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:16 am
Audrey this is the best fashion advice EVER! I swear you could give me a dozen more tips and this one would be the one I will remember and pass on to my daughter!
2 Joe Cascio // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:27 am
That’s pretty amazing. But doesn’t it only work for pants that fall at a certain place on your hips?
3 this mama // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:28 am
This is a great idea, but it just doesn’t work for me. I don’t know if that’s true for all plus size moms or just me, or if it depends on the shape of any woman’s body. If one is more apple than hourglass, even if she is “average” or smaller, would it still work?
4 Megan // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:51 am
Oh! I’ll have to try that! Great advice!
5 Kristen M. // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:57 am
Fascinating. I’ll have to try it out.
6 Sharon - MomGenerations // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:09 am
I must admit that I was very skeptical when Audrey passed along this advice to me a few years ago. I mean, my neck/my waist/perfect fit? No way! But I am a convert. This “trick” does work for me, and it works with amazing accuracy. I have purchased jeans that hit the higher part of my hips and pants that are meant to hit the waist… and it has worked every time (I am more hour-glass shaped). I LOVE this tip because it saves so much time while shopping. If a pair of jeans or pants catch my eye, I do the neck trick… and if the fit isn’t just right, I don’t even bother trying them on!
7 moosh in indy. // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:09 am
Uh, my waist is carrying a little holiday weight, but I’m totally trying this on my kid. Like, today.
8 Cheryl Manzo // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:09 am
I just did this! It works! I’m a size 10, so I didn’t think it would work for me. It does! Who knew!?
9 Karen T. // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:11 am
Are you kidding me? This is awesome! I have 2 kids that are 5 and 8. I can’t even imagine going shopping with 4 kids. But I never get to try on anything. My 8 year son will peak under the doors and my 5 year old daughter sits there complaining. Not fun for me. So I buy things to bring home to try on and then usually have to return. I am trying this trick today. Thanks for this tip!
10 Kristina // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:38 am
Never heard of this tip. Will have to try it. Thanks.
11 Jess // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I am loving the tips so far. Great idea for 2009!
I have never heard of the neck trick. I will have to try it. I am extremely petite and clothes are hard to fit. It also got me thinking, does this mean we carry a little extra weight in our necks?
12 Mary Telleridge // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I have never heard of this! I love this. I’m a huge GAP and Old Navy shopper for jeans. I usually just do the hold em’ up to my waist and see what I think. But I will be trying this now. Great tip! Thanks for finally thinking of us MOMS. You are someone I would absolutely take fashion advice from! You look good in a gray tee!
13 Tara @ Deal Seeking Mom // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Wow, what a fabulous tip! Off to give it a try . . .
14 A Cowboy's Wife // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:45 pm
OMG..that is the coolest tip EVER! You are a fashion guru woman!
Love the proof….that totally makes it fun!
15 CanCan (Mom Most Traveled) // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Hmm, does this apply to wearing “hip hugger” pants? Is there another part of my body I can wrap them around? Haha!
16 Kelly Tirman // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Great Tip!
17 Carol Schiller // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:47 pm
The comment thread is almost as golden as the tip. Here’s to the day when we can all go shopping solo again.
18 Musings of a Housewife // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:47 pm
You are just too stinkin’ adorable!
So here’s my question (and you better BET I’m going upstairs to try this trick as soon as I get off the ‘puter). The waistband of jeans don’t sit on your waist, and they vary as to where they sit. So how does this work for all different rises? I’m very curious about that.
Okay, off to give it a try…
19 Emily // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I love this! Thanks so much for letting us in on this little secret.
20 Dionna // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:49 pm
That is just fascinating to me. I have never heard that before! I’m gonna try it. In fact, I’m gonna try it in my own closet to see what pants maybe I shouldn’t still be trying to squish myself into.
21 Danielle // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Genius! I can not wait to try this out!
22 Diane V. // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I don’t know how this works. But I just tried it and it does! I actually did what you did Audrey. I pulled 3 pairs of pants out. One big, one small and one I knew would fit. Very cool. I have to say – I didn’t believe it when I first saw it. But that’s pretty darn cool.
23 holly // Jan 5, 2009 at 12:58 pm
this is definitely nothing new. women have been doing this for eons.
next!!
24 Ashley // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:04 pm
New to me, and I’ve been trying on jeans for eons. Thanks, Audrey!
25 Elisa // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:11 pm
This is a good trick, but do women really wear jeans that go up to their waist nowadays? I don’t.
26 Pamela // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Wow, I can’t wait to try that! I can’t believe you can shop at all with 4 little ones…just 1 can be crazy! Thanks!
27 Erika @ Chic Shopper Chick // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:18 pm
How awesome is this, and how did I not know about it?! I’m going shopping this week for some new stuff – and I’m totally trying this out! Makes it so much easier when I’m shopping with my daughter!
28 Fran Molten // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I remember hearing about this trick back in college. I’m in my late 30s now. I don’t recall why it works, just that it works! I’m a size 12. Across the board, pants that aren’t 12’s do not fit around my neck. It’s something to do with the ratios. Forget what. Great advice for Moms. This is something that will save us all lots of time.
29 Elisa // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Thanks for the clarification, Audrey! And for the lovely comment. Glad you de-lurked
30 Chrissy // Jan 5, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I agree with the others – this just might be the best fashion tip ever. I will be trying it out very soon!
31 Jen@OurDailyBigTop // Jan 5, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I can’t wait to try this. What a time saver. Thanks for the awesome tip!
32 Sarah Morgan // Jan 5, 2009 at 5:24 pm
What a great trick – thanks Audrey!
33 Lisa // Jan 5, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for the most awesome tip ever!!
34 Jillian // Jan 5, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Yes that does work! I can attest to that…I have been doing this for years
35 Lori Bonaparte - Unity Home Fitness // Jan 5, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I’m 43 and I can’t believe I haven’t known about this until now. I’ve spent 8 years of shopping with kids (and hardly buying jeans because of it). In addition to that my sizes have gone up and down like a yo-yo (due in part to the aforementioned kids and the stress thereof).
I’m so glad that I know this trick now. But I wish I would have known it before. It would have saved me from wearing the same jeans for 3 years because I didn’t have time to try on more.
Between this tip and all the clothes sales lately, my fashion life is blossoming!
36 Nadine // Jan 6, 2009 at 12:36 am
That’s amazing. Moms everywhere salute you.
37 Deanna // Jan 6, 2009 at 7:49 am
This is so awesome! I have an 8 and 2 y/o girls, and like everyone else, never get to shop for jeans!! Besides I don’t care for shopping much, so this will save me time, tantrums, frustration and returns!! Woo-hoo, I hope it works for me! I will try it today!!
38 Mama Zen // Jan 6, 2009 at 11:19 am
I’ve done this before. It absolutely works!
39 Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting // Jan 8, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Sweet! No more full nelsons and kid wrangling! Yahooo!!!!!!
40 Jen @ One Moms World // Jan 8, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Audrey… I think I am going to have to come up to RI and kiss you. This will be a HUGE lifesaver. I am definitely going to try it.
41 Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home // Jan 17, 2009 at 7:19 pm
That is crazy insane, but I’m definitely going to try it. Heck, I want to go find some too bit, too small, and just right pants in my closet right now for a practice run!
42 Toni-Lynn @ Grocery Price Blog // Jan 28, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I have to say my husband and I were cracking up at this video. We were looking at each other like NO WAY lol Well he tried it and it fit around his neck! So it works for this guy at least! Thanks for this tip!!
Toni-Lynn
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