I found a new denim favorite, PZI Jeans, and had an opportunity to speak with founder Claire Jason about her line. Here's what she had to say about the label, her vision, and fit.
Q: A lot of plus-size shoppers would love to know more about the PZI label. How did it get started?
A: My husband and the President of PZI Jeans, Daniel Jason, initially invested in a junior line. When I came on board as Vice President, we realized that all women with curve appeal were challenged when trying to find jeans to fit their hourglass shape.
PZI Jeans are specifically created to provide women who possess hourglass curves a denim product that fits her shape. PZI Jeans is the ultimate fit for the woman with curves and we are the only brand designed to give our customer a line of denim designed to compliment her unique shape and fit challenges.
Q: How does PZI stand out in the crowd?
A: PZI Jeans stands out from other brands because we truly focus on one body type – the hourglass shape. A lot of denim lines are offering a curvy fit, but we focus on one fit, just for the curvy woman. Believe it or not, it is a science. Our woman does not need to grade denim up in size, she needs the pattern to be adjusted to accentuate the beauty of her smaller waist and curvy bottom. PZI Jeans is the ultimate fit for the woman with curves. When our woman wears PZI Jeans, she feels better in our jeans, her self esteem is lifted and when she walks she truly struts her stuff! When most women over a size 10 go to a boutique they typically cannot fit the denim and often have to try on jean after jean to find one pair that fits.
Q:What's the secret to the PZI Jeans’ fit?
A: PZI Jeans are unique in that they are designed to fit a woman who is fuller in the hips and rear and smaller in the waist area. The woman with that hourglass shape, whether she is a size 4 or a size 16, needs jeans to compliment her smaller waist. PZI Jeans has these women covered. Our jeans are already tapered at the waist area so that the woman with the hourglass shape does not have to buy the traditional boy cut denim and then pay to taper the jeans to fit her waist. Plus, our front and back rise is higher to avoid over exposing discreet areas. Additionally, PZI Jeans also understands that our customers tend to have fuller calves, thighs and hips so the jeans are modified to cater to her body type.
Q:Is the sizing the same as average or plus-sized jeans, or does it differ? What's the largest size a customer can buy?
A: The PZI Sizing does differ from plus size, again because many of our customers state that the reason they love PZI Jeans is because we have a tapered waist and a contoured fit. Many plus size jeans are just large and not flattering to the woman who is plus size, but does have a smaller waist line. At present PZI Jeans are sized through a size 16, however, our customer needs to be on alert we will producing sizes through 20 or 24 in Fall 2009 or Spring 2010.
Q:What is PZI Jeans offering this season? Any top looks that you'd like to share?
A: For the Spring/Summer 2009 season PZI Jeans launched our Skinny Jean Collection for curvy women. We are offering our customer an array of skinny jeans in various colors, including, white, blue, grey, red, black and indigo. We are so excited to share our Skinny Jean Collection because our curvy customer has a hard time finding jeans to compliment her body type and PZI Jeans hit the mark.
Although fashion gurus advise hourglass shaped women not to wear skinny jeans, we at PZI Jeans dispel that myth. Our woman is proud of her curvy body, so if she is proud of her shape, why can’t she wear skinny jeans?
As for tops, we are primarily a denim company but we add tops to compliment our denim and our woman’s shape to give our customer a one stop shop. We have introduced vibrant ruffled fashion tops and fun graphic tees. If a woman wants to dress up or dress down, PZI Jeans meets her fashion needs.
Our jeans and tops are price and recession friendly, ranging from $29-$59 for tops and $39-$89 for denim capris, shorts, skirts and bottoms.