J brand jeans sizing, big or small?

[Hopefully]

A friend is in the States and has found some cheap j brands on hugely cheap sale and has offered to grab me a couple of pairs. I'm a big 12 atm, but shrinking and will prob be a small 12 in a month or so. The sizes are in inches but i'm perplexed. Are the waist measurements for your actual waist, or the waistband of the jeans? Are they generous? Help! I'm in the throes of some major bargain designer jeans hunting!

I would say they are true to size.
In general 26 equals UK dress size 8, 28 is 10, 30 is 12, and so on.
I am between a size 6 and 8. So I should be a 25 in j brands, but I don't like to feel like I am squeezing into them, so I wear 26.
So maybe you should go for 30....
Hope that helps.

It depends on which ones you are buying ti be completely honest. I have 6 pairs that fit, in 26, 27 and 28 - I'm a 10. Any chance you could pop to your nearest retailer and try some on? I'd think a 30 would be too big for you, I'd put that as more of a 14...

Thanks for the info. No chance of trying any on, but thy are so cheap that I can always eBay them for a prior if they're not right! She has measured rise and waistband so I am contorting myself trying to measure myself!

Which ones are they?

If you get the style number you can look up what they comprise off.

I found that J brands that have 1-2% spandex run true to size or even slightly big, where as those with just cotton and lycra are slightly small. Often their indigo jeans have no spandex in them so I do size up in them.

Houlihans and Agnes (not strictly jeans) tend to run tue to size but go big easier so size down in them.