7FAM and COH make great jeans. For a cheaper option, sometimes A&F makes really soft denim. I have a pair that was only $40 and it's so comfy..I could wear it to bed. LOL
Hey cmb, why not hem? I am 5'3 and I kid you not 99% of my jeans are hemmed. It's just a minor hassle for fab jeans. Many of my R&Rs are very soft, when I first got one my friend and I were just admiring how soft it was ... lol!
Some 7FAM washes are a lot softer than others, though. My softest pair are Avalon wash and my stiffest pair are New York Dark-- everything else is sort of in between.
The Paige and Chip & Pepper jeans I've tried have been extremely soft!