I love, love love jeans... If i didn't constantly give to op-shops I would probably have about 100 pairs
, but that being said, I buy a lot of my clothes vintage.
Jeans are so personal, and levis (among others) never seem to look good on me... At the urging of a friend, being aussie, I gave Sass and Bide a go. I don't know how much they cost overseas but I managed to get a pair for $35AU on sale - TOTAL STEAL - and they are amazing (here they retail at around AU200), when they go I would be happy to pay full price if I couldn't get them on sale.
They have a lot of styles but I reckon a little stretch is always a good thing - let's face it, in snug jeans you can go up or down half a size just from having a glass of water
S&B are amazing in that their hipsters never end up, er, too low... Must be the cut!
I reckon you should go to a big department store that stocks all the designers and spend a day trying a range of stuff on. Hopefully you will find two or three brands that suit you! And for those who say that buying expensive denim is a waste of money, it lasts two or three times as long... And it looks great right up until the point it's ready for the trash heap (shape stays good and colours last better), not gradually looking tattier and tattier from week one... If it's on sale, you can usually buy it for only a little more than what you would pay for an average pair anyway.
Good luck