Daily Times

Finding the perfect pair of jeans is tricky enough at the best of times, but while shops have now reopened following coronavirus lockdown, many fitting rooms remain closed, which means were not able to check the fit of jeans before we buy them.

But one TikTok user has come up with a clever hack that promises to help you pick out the perfect pair of jeans, without the need to try them on.

Billie Newland revealed that she stumbled across the trick by accident while doing the washing and catching her arm in the waistband of her jeans.

I was folding my jeans when my elbow actually got caught in the waistband, and then I realised my elbow to wrist fit in the band, so I thought it could either be a coincidence or might actually mean something, the 25-yea-old from Iowa, US, tells Insider.

I tried the elbow to wrist trick on a bigger pair I had just washed and there was more of a gap, so I thought maybe I could be onto something.

In her TikTok clip Newland suggests measuring the waistband of the jeans using your forearm, from the wrist to the elbow.

If the arm fits snugly inside, then the pair will fit well.

If theres a large gap between your elbow, your hand and the end of the jeans, they are simply too big, she explains in the short clip. ˜

On the flip side, if you pick up a pair of jeans and you cant fit your arm into the waistband, theyre too small.

But if you find a pair of jeans and your elbow and your arm fit completely snug, thats your perfect pair.

Since Newland shared her simple hack it has clocked up over 227K likes and received hundreds of comments from impressed jean shoppers.

But what do the experts think?

According to stylist and author Chelle Shohet though the hack works typically well for high-waisted jeans, it may not necessarily work as well for low-rise jeans that will sit at your wider hip level.

Another aspect to keep in mind is your body shape and proportions, she adds.

For instance an apple shape may struggle with this hack due to having a much rounder upper tummy that could could require a different fit.

Shohet adds that depending on your shape and proportions you will also need to think about the stretch of the denim, as this will determine the shaping and the support, as well as how the denim sits and hugs your body.

Again with your shape and proportions, if you are an inverted triangle also known as a strawberry shape you will need to think about the cut of the leg in order to balance out your shape.

Stylist Susie Hasler, who runs Styled By Susie has some further tips for helping to track down the perfect pair of jeans, when you cant try them on.

Its always worth ordering a pair in your size and the next size up, as jeans come up differently in different shops, she suggests.

With a skinny jean, theyre going to be more stretchy, so theyre more likely to be true to your size.

With Mom jeans, or the straight-leg jeans that are in fashion at the moment, youre likely to have to go up a size, because theres less stretch, and its more of the old-fashion style denim, which is less forgiving.

Hasler adds that we shouldnt be afraid to go up a size in jeans, as the most important thing is that they fit well.

If you are wanting to slim your bottom half, look for dark coloured jeans or ones with ripped knees, she adds.

If you want to bulk out your bottom half, go for a lighter coloured denim.