First off - i love these jeans... they are the exact look i have been searching for, and the bands around the hem are what really sold me on this specific pair. the only problem - which i found with a previous purchase - is that they hit me at the ankle, rather than what is pictured. since i liked everything about these jeans, i decided to so with plan b and had them altered to be about an inch shorter. this involved cutting the hem at the top of the bands and reattaching... the stitching blends