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When Khloe Kardashian announced a denim line for every body, I pulled out my credit card and waited patiently to give her all my money.
I set various alarms on my phone to make sure I wouldn't miss the October 18 launch of Good American. (As someone who's bought a Kylie Lip Kit, I know how quickly Kardashian-Jenner merch sells out.)
All told, I ordered $1,868 worth of Good American denim. Since the sizes run the gamut, I asked a few friends to help me with a straight- and plus-size review. It was a bumpy ride…
Good American is a premium denim line that goes from a size 0 to 24 and ranges from $149 to $215 per pair. It's sold exclusively at Nordstrom.
The collection offers three fits:
GOOD CUTS: Available in four styles, these have a skinny, boyfriend fit with a slimming hip and classic straight leg.
GOOD WAIST: This cut only comes only in one style. The claims: butt-lifting, high-rise, and corset-like slimming with ample elasticity.
GOOD LEGS: There are 15 styles to choose from here, all of which have hip and leg sculpting technology and a slim fit.
GOOD CUTS: I ordered these in 18 and 20. For reference, I'm 5'4" and I normally wear a size 18. I DEFINITELY needed the 20 for these jeans, which cost $215.
When I first put them on, the jeans felt extremely soft and stretchy. I was able to bend down, squat, and not feel restricted at all.
But the sizing for Good Cuts runs small if you're plus. I had a hard time zipping up the size 20.
Another gripe: The holes hit at the most awkward places on my body. The one on my upper thigh is so high that you can see my panties — thank God I wore Sonsee anti-chaffing undies or my stomach (and probably vagina) would have been out for everyone to see.
The length of the jeans seemed awkward on me. I tried rolling them slightly but they turned into capris.
These jeans were designed for a straight-size body and sized up for a plus-size body. You can't put a hole on the belly area of a jean for a plus-size girl. Not cool, Khloe.
Here's my coworker Alle in the same Good Cut jeans — color Blue015, still $215. She's 5'10" and is wearing the jeans in her usual size, which is a 2.
From Alle: On first glance, I was NOT into these — they're light wash, loose-legged denim with a bunch of holes in the front and a high waist.
That's just SCREAMING to look bad on me. But they surprised me, in that once I rolled up the hem a couple times (they're meant to be cropped, but they're an awkward length anyway), I actually thought they were cute! My butt looked great, which is clearly very important to me.
The denim itself is thin, soft, and very stretchy, which makes them comfy. They'd be great weekend lazing jeans if they didn't cost $215.
That said, the holes in the front look like a cheap DIY. The sizing is also weird. They fit me through the thigh, but the waist is absolutely massive; they gap at the back when I bend over and I can slip these on and off without unbuttoning them. I never ever would have thought to order a size zero for myself, but I guess that's my Good American size. Vanity sizing, man. Out of control.
GOOD LEGS: We bought the Good Legs in the White0022 color for $179 per pair. Here I am wearing (well, trying to wear) a size 18.
First I'll be positive: They hit perfectly at my ankles and the stretch in the thighs was really nice. I also thought the distressing and holes were more wearable for the colder months and for bigger bodies (read: my vagina wasn't out).
The bad: These are not an 18, they feel more like a 16 and they push into my stomach to the point of pain. I might have to go up to a 22 if I want to actually wear these and be able to breathe.
Here's what Alle said about the exact same jeans in a size 2.
When Jess held these up, I was like, "That is the smallest size 2 I have ever seen in my life."
The jeans looked like doll clothes lying on the table, and I did not think there was any way I'd be able to cram my ass into them. I was wrong; these jeans have a LOT of stretch. They're basically leggings, they're so stretchy.
But in the white color, they're stretchy to the point that you can see EVERYTHING. I didn't know that we were doing this shoot today, so I wore my standard black undies, which you can see! Clearly! You can even see the lace around the edge!
These jeans manage to be both very tight AND ALSO quite large around the waist. They felt cheap to me. If I were going to wear these — which I'm not — I'd definitely need them taken in at least two inches at the waist.
GOOD WAIST: We tried these $169 jeans on in the shade Blue013. Once again, the size 18 failed me.
The major problem is that they wouldn't zip, but they were also really tight around my calves and slightly looser in my thighs. Weird.
To me, these are basically jeggings. TBH, the quality is no better than Forever 21.
Seriously confused by the sizing, we called in our coworker Maria to try the Good Waists on in a size 4.
Maria is 5'7" and usually wears a size 6.
Here's what she had to say:
When Jessica asked me — a size 6 — to try the size 4 on, I was nervous. When I purchase anything online – especially “tight” denim — I typically order a size up.
However, I slid on the Good Waist jeans in a size 4 and was shocked that they fit perfectly. The length, too, was perfect and I liked the super stretchy, comfortable feel of the material. The price is steep, but I genuinely think I’d buy these.
I just would've never thought to order a size 4.
The Good Waist was also Alle's favorite fit.
At first glance, once again, I was like, "There is no way these are gonna fit me." The size 2 looked cartoonishly small. But, as with the other Good American jeans, they fit.
The silhouette is really tight but also stretchy and soft — like jeggings. The drawback is that they're a little shorter in the leg than the other styles I tried on.
I liked the medium blue wash, but I'm not 100% sold on the distressed wear lines around the hips — I always feel like those create a weird vagina-bullseye effect.
Unlike the other jeans in this line, these flattened my ass to a ridiculous degree. They gave me pancake butt, which is, like, the opposite of the Kardashian brand.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOOD AMERICAN DENIM:
PLUS SIZE:
– You should definitely size up. If you're fuller in the stomach area, stay away from the Good Cuts with all the holes.
– For the Good Legs and Good Waist fits, I recommend going up two sizes.
STRAIGHT SIZES
– Ironically, based on our experience, we recommend that straight size customers order a size down, except maybe in the case of the Good Legs, which is a toss-up for being true to size or a size smaller than your usual.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It's amazing that Khloe chose to be size inclusive with this line (although, plus doesn't stop at a size 24…) and all of the jeans are very soft and stretchy. But next season she needs to fix the sizing and adapt the distressed and cut-up denim for rounder tummies. We don't want mom jeans, but we also don't want a huge hole right next to our cha-cha and our belly roll.
We also have serious questions about how well the EXTREMELY thin denim will hold up in the washer/dryer. And similarly, how fast is the inseam of this thin denim going to disintegrate for girls who don't have a thigh gap?
Plus-size fashion desperately needs better options when it comes to higher end clothing — but, for the price tag, Good American needs some work.
Watch our Khloe K. denim livestream below!
