sarah
- Apr 29, 2019
- 3 min read

Denim Trends We Can Get Behind

Updated: May 15, 2019

No pun intended, but bonus points for jeans that make our butts look awesome.

I enjoyed the last decade of skinny jeans.

Sort of.

Yes, they made our legs look skinny-ish. But also, I always felt like the waistline cut into me so that my guts always spilled out over the top of the low slung jeans (gah--muffintop!). This issue ushered in a whole slew of breezy, flowy tops that essentially hid our whole midsection. For me, not a good look. Because the smallest part of my body is my waist, why on earth have I been camouflaging it for 10 years?

Enter a new generation of denim.

Thank the denim gods. A welcome backlash to the skinny jean, there are now all variations of straight leg, boyfriend, tapered, and wide leg jeans out there, with longer rises and actual waistlines that hit us in the right place. Yay!

We've all gotten real comfortable with our skinnies and how to style them (despite their disadvantages), and still have a whole drawer full of them. So, what now? It's fair to say we're ready for something different.

Since I'm a jeans and tee girl, once they started hitting the stores, I had to start finding some new styles that worked. I am thoroughly obsessed with all the variations of pant leg out there from a tapered to a true wide leg. And I can't wait for you to see how flattering the high rise styles are. They elongate the leg from the top and are perfect for longer torsos like mine. Definitely not your mom's jeans.

Give your closet an update with your favorite style.

Cropped Flare

Stretch denim mid-rise kick flare

Depending on where the flare starts, I was sort of on the fence about how flattering these are on me. So I decided to buy a used pair of mid-rise long bootcut jeans (your thrift store is flooded with them) and cut them to a crop. The ones I made have more flare with thinner fabric than your average kick crop but I'm kind of digging them for a summery look. Only in San Francisco do people consider black jeans a summer staple.

High Rise Cigarette Jean

Gradual taper with a high rise and button fly in a forgiving stretch denim

So clearly, I'm into this faded black wash--they have that lived-in look I love. This Everlane pair is so comfy. Out of all the pairs I tried on in-store, I liked them all but I needed these. Dress them up or down--they're always classic. Matte black hardware a major plus.

Shop the Everlane Authentic Stretch High Rise Cigarette Jean in washed black, $78

Boyfriend jeans

Longer rise, can be worn lower on the hips, straight through the leg, non-stretch denim.

Since the point is they're supposed to look like you grabbed them from your boyfriend's drawer, they're usually long in length and meant to be rolled up a few times to show some ankle. A great slouch or distressing is also characteristic of the boyfriend. I got these Roots jeans from a thrift store, though they were new with tags when I got them. They're almost as comfy as wearing my pj's.

Shop the Roots Aiden Jean, $106

High Rise straight leg

Non-stretch high rise straight leg button fly jeans with the perfect amount of distressing.

The best of all worlds. You can also feel really good about owning these ethically made jeans by Agolde.

Shop the Agolde Jamie Hi Rise, $168

High waisted wide leg

Non-stretch denim with some distressing.

Distressing had its moment, and it's refreshing to have some new denim without the holes. But sometimes it works, and in this case, it feels like the perfect amount for that vintage feeling. This denim is heavy but so soft. Incorporating these jeans into the rotation is a simple way to play around with a bit of volume. The wide legs are giving off some nostalgic college era vibes, but the high waist gives them an update. I found these Rania jeans by Habitual in-store at Nordstrom Rack in New York, but they seem to be sold out everywhere online.

Cheers to never having to wear our skinnies again (although let's be honest...we probably will).