A Stylist's Guide to Modern Denim - What Kind of Jeans are in Style? Try On Jeans With Me!

Jeans, jeans, jeans, jeans. Everybody loves them, everybody hates them. Next to bathing suits, I think they're one of the most hated things for my clients and myself to try on in a dressing room. So here's the deal. I've been on a search for new jeans. I put it out my Facebook group. I got a lot of great recommendations in terms of brands, not necessarily styles. So I'm going to take you through and show you the jeans I've been wearing a lot from my own closet and then tell you about what I'm searching for. And then you and me, we're going to do a try on session together and figure out what works, what doesn't work. We can. Thumbs up, thumbs down. By the way, these are a new pair. They're kind of thumbs upping for me. Let me know what you think. Okay? So in my wardrobe right now, I would say this is my rotation. I think this is typical for most people. Most of us have like multiple double digits of jeans and wear a handful of them. It changes over time. But these are my current loves. Okay, one, super old citizens of humanity. Every time I put these on, you guys are like, who makes them? They really might be like 8 or 10 years old. Just as an aside, and I'm going to do a blog post about this. This is one of those pieces that I'm very happy wearing in my closet. I'm not really looking for jeans with holes these days. I feel like it sort of peaked. You can still wear it confidently, but I'm not sure I'd invest in it right now. I'm sort of like the ship's a little sail. Not totally. It's not out of the harbor, but it's left the dock. Okay. Two, gap was a suggestion you guys had. These two, also old, they used to be boyfriend after Covid. They're not boyfriend on me anymore, but that's okay. They're like just a good straight jean. And I like, they're a light wash and I wear those a lot ag. Just a nice lightweight, a little bit of distressing at the bottom. Again, no holes. Easy peasy. And then these are my beloved Neely Low tans. I love them, but they are a statement jean. So what I am looking for right now is a couple of things. One, a jean that's not a statement gene that you can sort of wear with a bunch of different things and becomes a blank canvas. Secondly, no distressing. Ideally maybe not even raw hem, although that I would be open to if it was looking really good in the butt. And Elsewhere, a mid to high rise, a medium wash, meaning it's light and you can see some color coming through. I don't want a super dark where it's harder to pair like a very, very solid dark denim with other things. It's the color and differentiation or diff difference that comes through in the denim that makes it easy to pair with other things. That's the effortlessness of it. So. And a little longer, yes, you can still wear shorter styles. I'm still doing crops and ankle, but I like the option of having it a little longer. So that's part of why I like these citizens. I am, for reference, 5, 4, 125. Today, I think I'm 127. Sometimes I go up to 130. But just to give you reference, I'm usually about a 26 in a Jean, sometimes 27, sometimes 28. But I think these are great. They're like a middle. My belly buttons here, so they're just at my belly button. They have a bit of stretch. Oh, that's another thing for me. I like stretch. Some people like rigid denim. I don't do discomfort anymore, so I like a little bit of stretch, but not too much stretch because then you get like a diaper butt. So these, these are from Ever Eve. They're considered a mid to high rise with a bit of. I think they're called a boot cut. I'm going to find the name of it and then we're going to move on to the rest of these puppies. Gene number two. Okay, so this is an A Goldie. I think it's called the Riley. It has a bit of stretch because like I said, there are some other A Goldies and also mother that sometimes come with a very stiff denim. It's great. I think of those as standing denim because they almost work like a girdle. And if you're only going to stand at a party, it's great. But as soon as you sit down or go to dinner, it is really not comfortable. So these, I think have just the right amount of stretch. It is definitely high waist. It's above my belly button. Straight leg with a little bit of a kick crop at the bottom. And this one hits at the ankle. So I think it looks really good with heels. I think it looks good with something tucked in. It would also look good with something. This can be like a tunic. I sort of tied it up so it's a slim enough leg that it works for that. And I like that this wash has a bit of a gray tone. To it. It's not. It's still denim. It's not like a gray or a wash black, but it has a different tonality than this guy. Can you tell the difference? This has more blue to it. This has gray undertones. It also would look good with sneakers. Want to see? I'll show you. Okay. So see? Can you see? See. See how it looks with the sneaker? I think it works well with a sneaker. This sort of retro look. Actually, I think these jeans would probably work with any sneaker because they're slim enough and they kick out. But sometimes the sneakers and jeans, you have to be careful. So this retro kind of looking, it's a little longer in the footbed. Longer and narrower. It's almost like a pointy toe sneaker. It's not really a pointy toe sneaker, but it's different than like a Jack Purcell or a very or a Converse, which has a very flat toe top. Sometimes those can look clunky and look better with a shorter, wider. So I'm babbling. Let me know if you need more information. Okay. Another pair. If you are a fan of dark wash jeans, I know that sometimes. Not saying this is right, but I'm saying this is what people feel. That if they carry their weight or they have muscular thighs, they are often hesitant to do a lighter wash denim. So this could be your answer. It's dark, but it still has, again, those undertones. Like a gray off white undertone. This is an ever Eve brand. Again, belly buttons here. So just at my belly button. I call this a slim straight ankle. And again, nice amount of stretch. Yeah. I don't think. Again, I don't think any of these are earth shattering. And, oh, and, and, and when it comes to jeans, there is a ton of trial and error. It is not like, oh, my gosh, I'm gonna pick this. And they fit right out of the box. Not at all. This is a kiss a lot of frogs until you find your prince. Maybe you get two princes even, because it's nice to get two jeans. That's how it works. So do not set your expectations realistically, please. I feel like I'm, like, pointing at you, but it's important because I think sometimes people think they're gonna put the jeans on and like, oh, it's magic. And then when it doesn't work, we get down on ourselves. Try them all. Got to try a bunch. So here's another pair to try. This pair is by Cut from the Cloth, which was a fan favorite from the real women reader. Roundup. This is a newer style for them. So it is. You can see my tag. It's again, mid to high waist. This is my belly button button fly, which I actually am a fan of. A button fly like this because I think it's very elongating and narrowing. That was not a good angle for my chin, but it's nice. So they're cut from the cloth. They tend to have a fair amount of stretch in them and run a little on the bigger side. So for me, I am wearing these in a zero. I haven't been a zero in, like, a decade, so it's very good for my ego as well. But they're nice. I actually think they look a little good in the tush. Let's see. What do we think? It's nice that the distressing is only sort of, like, right around there and there isn't a ton of distressing elsewhere. And it is a wider leg but hits at the ankle, so I like it with a boot that goes underneath. I like it with the sandal. It would look cute with a Birkenstock. You can roll it up if you want. And I think the wash is quite lovely, in fact. One other styling tip, when it has the buttons all the way, it tends to look better when something is tucked in than when it's out. Right. Or you have to totally cover the buttons. But, like, that doesn't always look the best. You can get away with it, but it's not like. It's like an A minus, not an A plus. Okay. One other tip. These jeans, when I put them on, I was, like, making noise like, oh, my God, they're so tight. I can't handle it. I can't button it. But when pants have stretch and they're a higher waist, I go through this with clients all the time, and I'm guilty of it myself. You need to size down. They need to be almost, like, uncomfortably tight here so that they don't. As they warm up to your body, they will stay in place because. Because if I sized up in them 10 minutes later, I'd have, like, a low crotch. And that don't look good on nobody. Okay. These are a pair that actually I fell prey to an ad on Instagram. I thought they looked. Is this the right side? They're called the LA Slouch, and I thought they had really good pocket placement. Same thing, though. They're awesome. They're very comfortable. They have that slouch. But I need to order down, like, a size down, because I have enough room here and even having them on a couple minutes, they're already giving a weird thing here. But I think if I went down a size, they might be my prints there. I don't know. There's the ticket, the name. I don't know. I'm not feeling it from the girls in the room. They're not. I like them more than they like them, so I don't know. I think it's hard to tell when they're, like, a little right. They're not the right size, so we'll see. But these, I think, are like their new style. And I think this is where denim is going. Just saying. So these are from madewell. Madewell is traditionally one of my favorite places to shop for denim, but again, you need to find the right one for you. I took a client the other day who needed to update her denim. I think we ended up with, like, four or five pairs. It fit her perfectly. All different styles. This was not a style that fit her. This is the perfect vintage wide leg. I think so. It is a wider leg. I think it's a very current body. And cut. It tends to look a little better on me with a heel. You could have it shortened, and then it would have a little more flexibility. The one other thing that, for me, I'm not loving on me, just my own personal body, I think they certainly flatten my ass, So I like them. I highly encourage you to try them. But for me, for these reasons, I don't think these are gonna stay home with me. But I'll link them so you can try. This is the J. Crew Slouchy Boyfriend. I like it because it's a little slouchy. It's not uber slouchy. I love that it has a totally light wash. I think it comes in a few different washes, some of which do have big holes in the knee. So if that's your thing, God bless you. Do you? I prefer this. And then I really like how it looks with this little block heel sandal. I got it in black. They're crazy comfortable. They go with dresses, pants, whatever. I might get them in, like, a tan color too. Our secret. But anyway, it's belly button rise. I did true to size because I wanted it to be a little slouchy. So These are a 26, and you can also wear them. Can I do it? Can I do it while I'm standing here? Let's see. I like this because you can roll it or unroll it, and it sort of changes the look. Both equally cool. These are the mother Jeans. This is the Hustler ankle fray. I own them already. Shows you what I know in the step frame, meaning it's shorter in the front, longer in the back. They're a great jean. I wear them all winter. Again, nice rise right at the belly button. A good amount of stretch. I think they have really nice pockets on Mother jeans. They make a mother's plushie look good. And because it doesn't have the step fray, I think it looks nice with a heel and then you can easily roll it up for a sneaker. Again, on me, they're a little longer. Yeah. Mother. This is another pair by Mother. It's the Mid rise Dazzler. So if you're not a high rise fan, these still have enough of a high rise that it is slimming in the waist. And if you are a die hard skinny jean girl, this might be your answer. Because they're slim, they're almost a skinny jean. They don't call it a skinny, but they have a little kick at the bottom and I think it's a good. It's like a gateway drug to get into the wider jean, you know, to go from a skinny into something that's like not quite as skinny. So. And I really like this wash. And again, I like the tush and the mothers. Okay, this is a loft pair. So it's very similar to the Mother jeans that I tried on, but a fraction of the cost. So again, it's a mid rise, mid to high rise, straight leg with a little bit of a kick crop. Pretty good pockets, a bit of stretch. I believe these also come in petite, which some of those other brands do not, and it really is a fraction of the cost, so.