The jeans blues (or.... does my butt look big in these?)

A great pair of jeans can elevate an outfit from drab to fab; and a person from woe to wow. Why, then, is it such a challenge for people, especially women, to find flattering jeans?

Forty-five percent of all respondents agreed with the statement 'I find it very difficult to find a pair of jeans that fits perfectly'. People who have the hardest time are Serbians (59%), Americans (57%) and Canadians (53%).

Hans Raemdonck, Global Head of Decision Systems for Synovate and a specialist in retail research said: "Manufacturers may have challenges even getting people into the fitting rooms as many are discouraged before they even start their jeans search.

"Not surprisingly, more women (55%) than men (37%) reported difficulties in getting a perfect fit. This may be because women have higher expectations of how jeans should make them look and, potentially, lower self-esteem."

Synovate also asked female respondents to rank the jeans search against the similarly challenging quest for a swimsuit. Expecting the swimsuit search to inspire far greater despondency, we were surprised to find that 16% of women across the 10 markets find this easier than buying jeans.

Raemdonck said: "Jeans brands already put a great deal of time and effort into making the fitting process as easy as possible for their customers. Clearly there are further opportunities to stand out in consumers' minds. It must be said, though, that people come in a vast array of shapes and sizes, so this is no mean feat."

The Synovate jeans survey showed that 63% of women said buying jeans was easier than a swimsuit - and 10% said neither was! Canadian and American women faced the greatest difficulties with 30% and 28% respectively saying neither purchase was an easy one.

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> Brands making the cut

> I'll take them in blue, black and bootleg

> Picking the perfect pair

> What price perfection?

> The skinny on style