AFTER an unfortunate media furore about some extra weight she has packed on recently, American singer/actress Jessica Simpson revealed plans to launch her own fashion line ... for curvy women.

“I want to create clothes that flatter every figure. I know how a dress can make you feel so frumpy. I promise mine won’t. I know what flatters a woman and trust me, I’ve been judged a lot in my life. By now I know what works if you’re curvy,” she was reported as saying in dailymail.co.uk.

Simpson became tabloid fodder when several concert photos of her showed considerable weight gain. Speculation was rife whether the curves were merely because of a wardrobe malfunction: after all high-waisted jeans (such as the one she was photographed in) are notorious for being kind only to the supermodels of the world.

Tight rear: Curves, the latest addition to the Levi’s Red Tab collection, is a new formflattering feminine line that’s said to be specially designed for shapely women.

As essential as they may be to any wardrobe, finding the perfect pair of jeans can be a challenge – how do you wear low-rise jeans and not expose your muffin top (that’s putting it mildly)? And, for women with curves (we’re not talking overweight women but regular-sized women with a little extra at the rear), it’s even harder: if they slide past the hips, the waist will usually gape open, if they fit in the hips and waist, they usually either fall ridiculously short or are completely unflattering to your legs.

Or, you could end up being the butt of everyone’s jokes, like Simpson.

It was therefore fantastic news that manufacturers decided it was high time that curvaceous women were given more attention; even better when it’s by Levi Strauss & Co, the inventor of the ubiquitous blue jeans.

Curves, the latest addition to the Levi’s Red Tab collection, is a new form-flattering feminine line that’s said to be “specially designed” for shapely women.

“The jeans follows the shape of the body and delivers understated sexiness, while living up to the brand’s leadership in fit and comfort,” explains Levi’s brand leader Anitha Narayanan.

While fit is essential, let’s face facts: we don’t want just jeans that fit well but look like they’re rejects from the 1970s. We want it all: jeans that are contemporary, and it helps too if it makes your legs look longer and your rear tighter!

Levi’s Curves, like most of the other Levi’s collections, offers women classic jeans that will never really go out of style.

Skinny jeans are already halfway out the door and the boyfriend jeans may soon follow but a classic pair of Levi’s will surely outlast seasonal trends.

Curves offers women low-rise jeans with a new “round-top block” that ensures a snug fit around the hips and rear. They come in stretch as well as non-stretch versions in slim, straight and boot-cut fashion.

The women-friendly jeans are available in a variety of washes regardless of whether you like a well-worn look or a more staid dark finish.