a friend of the family used to own a store that sold jeans in the 70s, it was called seargent peppers and was iconic in the northeast.
they sold jeans that you had to put on and then sit in a cold bath so they would shrink to fit you. my mother still has some but cant get in them any more. she said when you tried on tight jeans you would lie on the floor of the stoor and one of the assistants would pull up the zipper using a coat hanger and if you could get them fastened you would wear them home.
I always thought that was a myth! lol. the things we do in the name of fashion