Jeans: Svoboda Style
Top: n/a
Shoes: Wittner
Sigh. The Sophisticate was supposed to be home this morning, but instead he’s still stranded in the USA. He was flying home via Chicago O’Hare, and anytime we mentioned that to a US native they would suck their breath in through their teeth and ask “can you change that?”. I figured how bad could it be? Quite bad, apparently. Weather caused a four hour delay which meant The Sophisticate missed his flight. Which means I’m cranky, and missing him.
I figured since I was cranky anyway, I’d blog my latest internet shopping experience:
So, on the 19th of August this year, I looked at the sorry state of my jeans collection (basically nil) and decided to bite the bullet and invest in a pair of jeans from long-time favourite Svoboda Denim.
Over the years I’d had numerous pairs of Svoboda jeans – they were really the first “premium” denim range that I’d had any experience with – and I liked their styles, their washes, and the fact they were baby-soft and madly comfortable to wear. I hadn’t bought any for some time – a combination of trying to save my money, not liking a season’s worth of styles and hearing iffy things about the new Mauritius-produced line – but I’d read nothing but praise of the new season and the two new US produced denim lines “360Stretch”, and “TLC”.
The jeans I had my eye on were called Moody Blues and they were part of the TLC range, which meant that they had a slimming tummy panel (a la Not Your Daughter’s Jeans) and were made with Svoboda’s trademarked new “architectural Denim” which, to quote the website, is
One of the most techincally advanced fabrics in the market. A heavier weight denim with multi-directional stretch, and one of the highest recoveries available today. In other words these jeans will smooth out “lumps” and “bumps”, but won’t “sag” or “bag” with wear.
Architectural Denim is made of 72% cotton, and 28% of something called T-400, which kind of sounds like a new model of Terminator, but is apparently a fabric with much better recovery rates (i.e. bounces back after having been stretched) than spandex.
So far, so good.
In addition to having better fitting, better wearing jeans, styled specifically for curvier figures, the TLC jeans promise to
instantly trim your waist, lift your derriere, and contour your hips, thighs, and legs.
So TLC™ jeans, made with Architectural Denim™ (consisting of 28% T-400™) and including a SVELTE™ Tummy Control Panel.
Sign me up!(™)
I put my order through. And waited. And waited. And waited.
When two weeks had passed and the order was still sitting in the system as pending I sent Svoboda an email, and got the reply that the suppliers would have the stock to them in a few days.
Another week passed. Still pending. I emailled a second time and got the same reply.
I waited for a bit longer. September passed into October, the deadline for my trip to the US started knocking. I’d particularly wanted the jeans in time for the trip, so this time I emailed Jessica Svoboda directly.
She was very apologetic and explained that their manufacturers had been bumping them for bigger projects (which is terrible), but that she’d been chasing them and expected the jeans by Wednesday 6th October.
No worries, departure date was the 30th, so it still gave me a while to play with in case of slow shipping.
Except the jeans didn’t ship until the 27th. Ten weeks since I’d first placed the order, and too late for me to take them to the US.
Now, I’m of the opinion that there’s are few unwritten rules of internet shopping. They are:
1) If an item is out of stock, then the website should reflect this
2) If an order is placed and the item is out of stock then the customer should be informed
3) If an item is on backorder, you shouldn’t charge the customer until it’s ready to be shipped. Because I was a repeat customer I didn’t panic, but a first-time shopper would have been wondering whether they’d been ripped off
4) Don’t promise something will be back in stock by a date unless you’re reasonably sure it will be.
Well, fortunately my housemate Joss was here to sign for my package when it finally arrived, and when I came back from the States I finally got to try the jeans on.
Verdict? They’re great. I wish they’d arrived in time for me to take overseas.
This photo was taken after four days on continual wear (I wasn’t able to take them to the US, but they were the only thing I wore in Canberra) and apart from the usual fold-over waistband issue that I always seem to have with jeans, they fit as well on day four as they did on day one. The T-400 blend has resulted in a denim that doesn’t loosen and lose shape as quickly as I’ve found with Svoboda’s previous lines. You’ve sacrificed a modicum of softness for this, but not so much it’s noticeable.
The TLC “slimming panel” that swears to suck you in six ways from Sunday does actually make a noticeable difference. Much more than Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, I thought.
The jeans still have Svoboda’s signature butt-minimizing large-size pockets:
And also her scooped waistband (low in the front, high in the waist) which – as someone who spends a lot of time bending over in public places – is one of my favourite features of Svoboda jeans:
So it’s not an unreservedly positive review. I can confidently say that I was FANTASTICALLY disappointed in the customer service, but the product was worth the wait. Maybe just email them to check that stock’s on hand before handing over your money.
Yeah that is sucky customer service. I think with things like that, a business would want to stay on top of orders and be at least sending out info to customers before they have to follow things up. They are a great looking pair of jeans though.
Thanks Kathryn – I was so disappointed in the customer service, because like I said I’ve been a big fan for years. Oh well.
I had a very similar experience with Svoboda except I ended up canceling the order after weeks of utter frustration. I agree with every point you made and sent an email to Jessica at the time saying such. She was less than stellar in handling it. I would love to try their jeans, as I’ve heard such great things about them but I will never attempt to purchase from her again due to her and her staff’s incredibly unprofessional service. Customer service is essential, especially when you’re paying $150 for denim!
The jeans do look fantastic on you, though!
That’s so annoying, J marie! It doesn’t do much for their reputation, does it?
The jeans look great on you! Do they fit true to size?? I want to order a pair, but I’m not sure what size to order.
Thanks!
Hi Lauren, I found the size chart to be pretty true to size, actually.
Hope this helps!
You look amazing! Wish I could get a pair of jeans to look that good! I am having a similar issue with not one but TWO buyers on etsy. Both are Hong Kong based and both are for similar pieces…the joys of online shopping hey!
Oh no! That’s always so frustrating – what’d you order?
An owl pendant – this one: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/36206985. One seller is sending it again and the other is chasing from their end…gerr!
Those jeans look great on you! That CS experience SUCKS but you have piqued my interest regarding this brand. Will have to investigate…
Hi Allie,
do – they’re usually pretty good.
Welcome back to Australia! I’m sorry to hear about your Dad but am happy to hear he is doing well (I went through the same thing with my Dad a few years ago).
Hope the Sophisticate gets home soon…I once spent 3 days in Chicago waiting for my cancelled flight to be rescheduled (it was the worst winter for many, many years so don’t be too alarmed!).
The jeans look fab! Would you recommend Svoboda over Embody (aside from the shocking customer service!)?
Hi Jo,
thanks for commenting.
Embody and Svoboda are pretty different – it really depends on what you want out of your jeans. I’ve found the Embodies to be better quality – they’ve got much better longevity, but they’re pretty low rise, so they’re great for dressier jean occasions and parties. I prefer the Svobodas for every day wear because they aren’t as low at the back.
Hey, thanks for the review! I’m not much of a jeans wearer, but I’m kinda intrigued.
I hope your Dad has a super swift recovery and the boy gets home soon.
Best, Veronica
Thanks Veronica 🙂
Dad’s home already – in record time! And The Sophisticate finally made it home yesterday, too. Yays!
That’s a nightmare! But the jeans look fantastic. I have just looked at
the website and was wondering if you could say something about the
size chart. It says that they run small. Is that your experience? Did
you have to get a different size from what you would normally get?
Although I guess there is no such thing as ‘normal’ when one goes
jeans shopping…
Hi Anna,
I used to wear the size 14’s in Svoboda, but I found that they got too big with wear about five minutes after I put them on. I bought these in a 12, and they fit well. I think the size chart’s pretty close to being true, so maybe go by that.
Worth the wait I have to say. Those jeans look awesome.
Thanks, Kim 🙂
These look great – I love the wash and the back pockets. Very flattering. That sucks about the customer service though… I noticed that they also sell jeans in tall which is awesome, so I may have to check them out.
I’ve been really happy with them, Allison. Everything but the customer service of course, lol!
Oh, so sorry to hear about your dad. Sending lots of get-better vibes your way.
What an infuriating debarkle your jeans experience has been – thank goodness they look so beautiful on you! You have a lovely figure 🙂
xxx
Thanks, Brooke! Dad’s doing a lot better – he’s back at home (in record time!) which is encouraging.
You look elegant/comfortable in this outfit, which is a fairly awesome combination:) Thanks for the review!
Thanks, Veronica! They’re pretty comfy
What a shame on their part. I’ve had the same issue with Luvees. I read about them on your blog. I placed my order in August, emailed them in September when they still hadn’t arrived and it’s now been 3 months with no response from the company! It’s so disappointing.
Oh no! I’m so sorry, M – I’ve never dealt with Luvees direct, I’ve always bought online.
Hi Lilli. Those jeans are fabulous! I’ve never really felt comfy in jeans but you are almost making me reconsider! Though it’s still scary! I’ve always opted for the wide leg option as I don’t want to show off my butt and thighs 😛 Also, I noticed you posted a link for Torrid for another reader of your blog and was wondering if you’ve ever purchased anything from them? If so, what size did you opt for? I think I’m pretty similar to you and just thought I’d check 🙂
Black heels – yeah!
Following your tweets – cannelles are AWESOME! vanilla-y goodness. I discovered them in Bordeaux, good use for the egg yolk, the white goes into the wine. There’s some useless trivia for you.
The jeans look comfy and you look sophisticated.
I understand re: crabbiness at deprivation of your lover. 🙂
oh, and I went to Anthropologie in London, there are 2 stores, and I picked up some pretties that were on sale (but not terribly cheap)