Review: The viral Madewell darted barrel-leg jeans
Do they live up to the hype??
For a week or two, it seemed every fashion publication I followed was linking to the Madewell jeans as the new hotness: “An approachable take on the trendy barrel shape” “Obsessed” “The fit is so perfect” And especially, “I was skeptical of the idea of barrel jeans…but was very pleasantly surprised at the outcome of these” That last review is me in a nutshell so with praise like that, how could I NOT add to cart?? Along with everyone else on the internet apparently, because these are now backordered until the end of November (for the Dobbins wash anyways, which is the only one I have eyes for)!
Fit/Sizing: These are the 24 petite on me; ~1-2 sizes down from my Madewell usual since they were the only size left in stock. My hip size is 35” and inseam is 29”. I fluctuate between petite or regular depending on how I want the pants to fit (as an elder millennial, I’ve stuck exclusively with ankle length pants ever since I entered the skinny jeans-era many years ago).
And wow, I loved them! Sizing down was definitely the way to go and they fit perfectly/stretched out to be a smidge big? They sat lower on my hips- I have a long torso- than I’m used to (although the slouchy look is all the rage) because the petite size has a 1” lower rise than the standard.
The reviews weren’t wrong about it being an approachable take on the trend and the darts add something special. I felt like I could wear it to school drop off and be considered fashionable without feeling self conscious about it being too trendy (the bay area is not a haven for high fashion).
But…I actually ended up returning them. I wasn’t sure if the hems were a little *too* short and I wanted a little higher of a rise. Of course now looking at the pictures below, I’m totally regretting my decision! They were so close to perfection but I wasn’t totally convinced, so… *plot twist* I’ve actually re-ordered them (face palm emoji) and have concurrently ordered the 23 and 24 regular to compare. The backorder date has been fluctuating between mid-September and late-November (yes, I’ve been obsessively checking) and I managed to sneak in an order during the supposed mid-September ship period, so we shall see.
See some styling options below!
