My light bulb moment: Denim designer Donna Ida on why all women should discover the joy of a great pair of jeans - Daily Mail

Donna Ida Thornton, 43, is Britain’s jeans queen. A decade after launching her business, she has two London boutiques, an online store, her denim range IDA and an autumn collection with Jaeger. She lives in Berkshire with her restaurateur husband, Robert Walton.

I arrived in London aged 25 with no fashion experience and began working for a marketing company.

Even back then, I was a jeans addict and hankered after designer brands but, as I’m curvy, I struggled to find a pair that fit.

Donna Ida Thornton, 43, pictured above, is Britain’s jeans queen. A decade after launching her business, she has two London boutiques, an online store, her denim range IDA and an autumn collection with Jaeger

Department stores stocked designer denim but, if the jeans you’d set your heart on didn’t fit, the staff weren’t knowledgeable enough to offer a good alternative.

One day, I was moaning to a friend about this gap in the market when she said: ‘Why don’t you open a denim boutique?’

Somehow, the idea felt right. I was so obsessed with the thought that I researched designer denim brands that night and, within 14 months I’d opened a store in Chelsea.

It wasn’t easy. The summer that I opened was roasting hot, and I was terrified nobody would want to buy jeans. When stock started arriving, the boutique wasn’t ready so I had to cram it all into my flat.

My goal? That women of all sizes can discover the joy of a great pair of jeans

Women did keep coming back to me, though, because I guarantee that we’ll find jeans to work for your body shape. If you can’t come into a boutique, you can visit our denim clinic at donnaida.com.

When women shop for jeans, they often get hung up on the size of their hips or thighs, but actually, the reason their jeans don’t fit could be that their bodies are long or short-waisted (the distance between your shoulders and waist).

My fitters can show them which styles flatter those body types.

I’m always asked for tips on buying denim. One of the simplest is: if a pair of jeans goes on easily the first time, then they are probably too big. Drop a size.

My goal? That women of all sizes can discover the joy of a great pair of jeans. 

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