Shopping for jeans can be so intimidating and frustrating because the sizing is so inconsistent. I’ll never understand how jeans in the same style, from the same brand, fit differently because the rinse is lighter or darker. There are 3 different sized jeans sitting in my closet right now.

I don’t have a hack for cracking that code, but I do have a simple trick to make shopping for them a little less stressful. Want to hear it? Full disclosure, there’s a little math involved.

Know what rise and inseam you like best!

So in order to be sure, you definitely have to measure. Not sure how? I’ll show ya!

1. Grab your favorite pair of jeans, ya know the ones you reach for over and over again that hit just right at all the sweet spots.
2. For your rise: measure crotch to button. Low or hight, whatever that number is, that’s the rise you want.
3. Now the inseam: measure crotch to hem. Long or short, that’s your number.
4. Save those two numbers in a safe place that you can easily refer back to as you shop.

I’ve been buying and wearing jeans for how long? Why has it taken me so long to figure this out, and how valuable these numbers are? You’ll always be able to find this info in either the item’s description, or the measurements section. Sometimes it takes a little more effort.

Here’s why it’s important:

Sometimes high rise doesn’t always mean as high rise as you like. I know for sure that anything lower than a 10″ isn’t going to do me any favors, especially after having twins (some things just never go away, ya know?). There are a lot of stores that advertise a “high rise” jean, but after looking at the measurements, it’s not truly high enough for me.

The universally flattering length hits right at or above the ankle bone. But, my legs are pretty short. And your legs may be long. So that’s where knowing your inseam is a really helpful. Ideally, I need about a 26″ inseam. Unless they’re truly cropped (have a few from Madewell that are) or I can order in a short (I order all my Gap jeans in a short), I’m most likely cutting them. Thankfully I don’t mind a raw hem.

These little nuggets of gold come in handy especially if you’re buying jeans secondhand–from another person or through Poshmark, ThredUp, etc–or on final sale items (which I tend to purchase a lot because you can’t beat that price, am I right?). If the measurements aren’t listed, ask! Or, google the style number to see if you can find them listed on a different website.

Like I said, I just recently realized how beneficial these numbers were. So if you are today years old when you’re hearing this information, you’re not alone. But once ya know, you’ll find that the process of shopping for jeans is so much smoother.

Happy shopping!