and the winner is

Meet my new favorite pants:

The skinny twill jeans by J Brand in black cherry.  

First off, let me just establish that I am a huge J Brand fan; I think that for the curvier ladies they are one of the best lines around.  The Bombshell cigarette jean (previously known as the Scarlett) is my favorite pair of jeans, hands down, no contest.  (Snap them up at Barneys now, they're on sale for only $99 as they phase them out!)  This summer J Brand did all the bright colors in jeans and corduroys, and now they're doing these deeper richer more subdued colors, and I'm madly in love.  I ordered the skinny twill, the Maria legging jean, and the pencil leg cords in black cherry, bright red, teal, aubergine and bright blue.  All in the name of science, to bring to you the most thorough report possible.  I'm such the humanitarian that way, don't you think?

Less curvey people may appreciate the Maria as a good skinny option, it does have a higher waist which I really liked, but it was just cut too narrow in the thighs for me.  The cords are gorgeous and fit beautifully, with a higher rise in the back than in the front which is super flattering.  The texture is so fine it's almost like velvet (see the red ones here), and they are ridiculously comfortable, but you can't pull them up from the waistband (it will rip, there's even a tag warning you of this) and you can't roll them up because the inside of corduroy is not a thing you want to show off.  The twill jeans are the clear winner; they're incredibly well cut, thick, tough and durable, but still brushed soft like lambs' ears, and there's enough elastic in there for them to mold perfectly to your body.  The rise is high enough to avoid any sign of the dreaded muffin-top, and they look great as they are or rolled up a wee bit to show off a little more ankle.  I'm sending everyone else home and keeping these guys.  I may even have to get them in other colors.  Just saying.

aubergine and bright blue, images from revolve