I remember smiling. Looking at myself in the mirror and smiling.

That didn’t happen very often at the time.

Pants were a stressful dilemma in my life for many, many years.

For many years, I lived in sack-like Russell sweatpants, and spent a good year or two during my puberty years sporting equally oversized and unflattering tear-away pants.

It’s not that I didn’t try or didn’t care. I devoted a couple days every year to persistent jean shopping, and the result was always the same: An empty-handed and dejected me.

And then emerged Lululemon, and as the story goes for so many other muscular-legged females like myself, in an instant, the clothing line solved my ongoing childhood and adolescent pant dilemma.

That’s when I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled.

And so began a love affair that lasted for quite some time. But like most love affairs, after 12 years now of living in Lululemon, the shock of finding pants so compatible with my build - and the sheer novelty that goes along with finding love - has faded somewhat. I’ll always be thankful and supportive of Lululemon, but my love is less blind now, and I’m able to see its flaws.

My first concern is the sheerness that quickly develops from what I believe is a combination of my big legs and constant barbell action. This means I replace my pants more often than most, and my pants seem to have a shorter and shorter shelf life every year, so I’m concerned the quality has deteriorated from what it once was.

The other nuance is how I constantly find myself pulling up the waistband and tugging on the thighs to get my pants to sit in the right position.

I was willing to accept these minor flaws with the pants, as I do love the brand, and the pros outweigh the cons. But the main reason I was willing to settle was because I never considered the possibility that there might be an even better pant out there for me.

That is, until I met Dona Jo.

I’m not a flakey person. I’m loyal to the core, but some things are hard to deny, and Dona Jo is one of them.

I wasn’t looking for another brand. I didn’t set out to be a traitor. In fact, the pants were given to me Pro Bono, and when I ripped open the package that arrived at my doorstep, I was skeptical at best.

And then, I put them on.

They immediately sculpted to my skin in a way I had never before experienced. And they stayed perfectly in their place.

Since that moment, I’ve worn them any chance I get, and I never feel the urge to tug on the waistband or the thighs, as they simply never shift out of place, not even during an intense workout. Simply put, they’re soft, smooth, seamless – hands down the most comfortable pair of pants I’ve ever worn.

Now I just needed to know if they looked good. And the moment my boyfriend saw them, he reassured me of this. “Your ass went from here to…WHOOP…way up here,” he smiled, motioning with his hands that the pants propped my ass up by half a foot or so. “I can’t stop looking at your ass,” he continued.

Since that day, I’ve been wearing my Dona Jo’s every other day; I’ve washed them a couple times, and have banged many a barbell and kettlebell off my thighs. There is not a shred of sheerness, and they do not stretch out and lose their form; they look as good - and as bright - as they did the first night we met.

And on top of all this, they’re affordable, costing just $62 to $69.

I love Lululemon. I’ll always love Lululemon. But Dona Jo and I connect in a way I didn’t know was possible in a pant.

In case you’re curious: http://donajofitwear.com/