American Eagle womens Embellished Denim Micro Shorts w25 UK6 mcbling jeans

American Eagle Outfitters opened its first shop in 1977 and grew into a mall chain built on denim, several hundred US stores by the early 2000s. That scale is why its Y2K denim is still good value: low rise, embellished, studded, made in numbers big enough that you can still find your size. What reaches us is all from that decade: micro shorts and low rise bootcut jeans.

How the sizes run

The waist number on the label runs close to true.

Our two pairs of W25 micro shorts, one of them tagged 00, both measure 12.5" across the waist flat, 25" round, with an 8.5" front rise and a 2.5" inseam, and both sit best on a UK 6. We photographed the studded pair on a UK 8 who squeezed in, so read those pictures as a squeeze. The W31 bootcut jeans measure 15.5" flat, 31" round, with a 7" front rise, a 32" inseam and a 9" hem, labelled UK 10.

Two pairs already gone tell the same story. A W29 bootcut, a Tall with a 34" inseam, measured 14.5" flat and 29" round, listed as a UK 8. A W26 pair of hotpants measured 13.5" flat and 27" round, an inch past its tag, and we listed it as a UK 6 to 8. Both are sold; the numbers stand if you are between sizes.

Every pair has a little give.

How does American Eagle sizing work? US sizes, so the label reads a number such as 00 or a waist such as W25, and neither maps neatly onto a UK size. Our listings show the measured waist in inches so you can skip the conversion, and our size guide is there if you want it.

Are your American Eagle pieces vintage? They are 2000s pieces, so between fifteen and twenty-five years old; we date them from the label and say so in the listing.

What to check on a second-hand pair

Start inside. On the pairs we have handled the waist number sits on a tab at the back of the waistband, so measure the garment flat and see whether that number still agrees. Then the hardware: every stud should be there and sit flat, and the embellished pockets should have no bare patches where decoration has come away.

Stretch denim ages in its own way. Pull the waistband, and if it does not spring back the piece will sit lower than the measurement suggests. On the shorts the raw hems should fray evenly, with no split running up from them. On the jeans look at the back of the hem for drag wear and the inner thighs for thinning.

What if an American Eagle piece does not fit? Fourteen days to change your mind and another fourteen to post it back; UK delivery is £3.95, free on orders of £40 or more, and the rest is on our delivery and returns page.

If you know your waist and hip, Will it fit? checks them against every pair on the rail.

Labels and tags from American Eagle pieces that have passed through this table.