Everything worth knowing about Mother Brand Jeans is below, starting with the part that changes what you buy. Rigid denim gives about half a size after a week. Stretch denim gives it back after a wash. Anything over about 2 per cent elastane will bag at the knee by the afternoon. Check the leg opening, not the name; two brands can call the same measurement straight and wide. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is rise, leg opening and stretch content. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: wildoakboutique.com's Rowley Mica Jeans at $72, and us.princesspolly.com's Buenos No Waist Low Rise Straight Leg Jeans Raw Denim Petite at $119. The first is the easy entry point; the second is where the money goes. Rigid denim gives about half a size after a week. Stretch denim gives it back after a wash. Anything over about 2 per cent elastane will bag at the knee by the afternoon. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Hem to the shoe you actually wear with them. Rise decides everything above the waist, so pick the top second. From the second group, amandauprichard.com's Thalia Wide-Leg Jeans ($207) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, jeans, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 jeans here from 13 brands, $59.99 to $590, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. eddiebauer.com's Women's Authentic Everyday High-Rise Cropped Jeans at $59.99 is the low-risk way in, and anndemeulemeester.com's Vive 5 Pocket Jeans at $590 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On mother brand jeans specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: buy the one you can picture using this week, not the one you are saving for later.