Fatshionista!

I have an 18" difference between my waist and my hips, and have had a hard time finding pants that fit decently. With many brands, including Lane Bryant (back when I was still a 28) and Avenue, if the hips fit, the waist is hugely gappy.

What has worked so far:

Silhouettes drawstring pants in linen and twill. Nice loose comfortable fit, and the linen ones drape beautifully. They have them in several other fabrics but I haven't tried those yet. Silhouettes non-drawstring pants styles don't fit me well, though. Beware: with washing and wear, the crotch seams on the linen pants tend to come undone. I have reinforced them with twill tape on my sewing machine.

Ulla Popken jeans. I take a 30 or 32 in other brands of pants, but a 28 in these jeans. They are generous in the hips with very little gapping at the waist. I don't know about Ulla Popken career pants; haven't tried them yet.

Just My Size career pants. Got several pairs on eBay, slightly different styles, and they were only a little tight in the hips while maintaining a good fit at the waist. Sorry, I'm not sure of the exact name of the style.

Bagatelle linen pants. I have no idea where to find these in retail; I got a couple of pairs on eBay, and ended up removing the satin linings as they were drooping below the cuffs. Definitely cut for the hourglass figure; if you're built like me and you see some on eBay, go for it.

I'm soliciting first hand experience with the new Old Navy plus jeans (do you hearlovelikeyeast ?).  I'm built in the ever popular bootylicious in the back and waaaaaaay smaller in the waist with the added bonuses of long legs (I can finesse a regular but tall is likely better) and a really short rise (petite pants fit in the rise).  How do the ON jeans fit?  Are they low enough in front?  Plumber crack free in the back?  Large enough pockets on the butt so it doesn't look wierd?  I would love a pair of jeans that I could actually wear and feel comfortable in.

Fatshionistas, have you seen or tried on Lane Bryant's new line of jeans? Any reports? Is it true that there is no longer a gap with this low-rise deal they purport to have going on?

What's disturbing to me is that I bet the marketing of this label has something to do with the age range of the target demographic. If the "Seven 7" has something to do with the median age of the demographic having been born in 1977, I would like to report that I am officially no longer a youngster.

My impending thirtieth birthday certainly has something to do with this level of awareness, no doubt.