Have to disagree with you on the apple-vs-pear thing! I'm very very much an apple shape (no butt to speak of, belly-button measurement is much larger than hip measurement), and it is SO hard to find jeans because if they fit my waist, they're like a parachute everywhere else, and if they fit my hips/butt, I can't even button them because they're so tight around the waist. I guess the grass is always greener, right?
Anyway, I hate to buy new pants when I'm losing, too. I've been in the same pair of 16s since I started, and I really need to have more than one pair of pants, but I hate to spend the money and frustration to get something I'm just going to shrink out of. My usual option is to go to the thrift store, where they'll have a much bigger selection of brands as well as being cheap, but it just takes so long to find something that fits even halfway acceptably.