I am in Ottawa ontario, but i go to a store called Reitman's, not sure if you have where you are, but they have these AMAZING "pull on" jeans, that have a higher rise and waist, they are slightly stretchy... awesome color of denim. They have the pockets and everything like a normal pair of jeans, just that they pull on. (no buttons to stick into you when sitting for a while etc). SO FRIGGGIN COMFY!!! I have a few of them. The brand of them is "Contrast". Great fit. no gaps in the waist which is a prob i have with jeans too

edit: I cant remember if its Kontrast with a K, or with a C...

When my old jeans got too baggy I did something I've never done before... I stopped at our local thrift store "Value Village". I got a beautiful pair of jeans. Now that I'm on this weight loss journey I'm hoping they will only be "interim" jeans for the next month or two and then I'll donate them back (and move on to the next size down)!

I have a curvy shape as well, but my biggest problem area is my thighs. With most jeans, if they fit my thighs I have a huge gap at the waist.

The brand/style I've had the most luck with are the Levi Perfectly Slimming jeans (you can find them at Sears, Macy's, probably any department store). They are high-waisted, though, and I'm not sure that's something you're interested in (they work for me, because I feel more confident/comfortable with something that holds my lower tummy in). Anyway, that's the brand/style of jeans I'm wearing (in the boot cut) in the photos linked in my signature.

Tonight I also bought a pair of the Levi 529 Curvy Boot Cut jeans, and I really like them, although they are still slightly big in the waist on me. They're a mid-rise and have less stretch to them, so if you're looking for a more traditional jean those might be a good choice.


And... if you're at all interested and wouldn't think it was too weird, I have a couple pairs of jeans in sizes 8, 10 and 12 that I only recent grew out of that I'd be happy to send to you, just in case the fit works for you (you'd probably need to have them shortened, as they are long on me and so I wear them with boots). We're really similar in height/weight, and having *just* been where you are, I want to tell you to NOT spend a bunch of money on more jeans, because you're seriously going to go down at least another size or two in the next 10 lbs! I've been losing extremely slowly the past several months, and somehow I still keep having to buy new jeans every 6 weeks.

Sorry if someone mentioned this already but have you tried looking at the Levi's website? They often have them on sale for about $30. I've tried some and really love them. I actually have a post on figuring out your size in them here. My review of them is here.

Also, PZI jeans are a great brand to try for a small waist-to-hip ratio. I have a code on my blog for 20% off on them (on the top left hand corner).
Another brand to look into is Not your Daughter's Jeans but I don't have much experience with them.

When I was thinner, I had this exact same problem. I had a tiny stomach and a huge butt, and had to wear belts. Try Fashion Bug "Right Fit" jeans. They have a color coding system for different body types.

I don't have anything very useful to add I'm afraid, just that I'm jealous you can get levi's so cheap in the US! They're around £100 a pair in the UK, which is about $160, you can sometimes find them in TK Maxx for about £40 ($65).

I know you have TJ Maxx over there, and I don't know how it compares to the UK stores but that's where I get all my jeans, even though it means spending ages hunting and often coming away empty handed I've found a few fantastic pairs there over the years.

I also have the big hips/small (relatively small...) waist problem. I either go for lower rise jeans because then they're at a wider point of my body or I go for high waisted, with a long zip and a bit of stretch in them in a size to fit my waist; the long zip means you can get them over your hips and the strech means they fit over your hips once they're up.