This might be why, plus my five favourite jean styles this season.
Jeans are one of the hardest working items in your wardrobe. They are especially useful in this period in between seasons as well as being one of the key pieces in a smart casual wardrobe.
Everybody needs at least one pair of jeans that they absolutely love to wear every day. I’m not talking about the ‘posh’ jeans you save for social occasions either. I’m talking about the ‘go-to’ pair that ticks all your boxes, you feel fabulous in them, they go with everything and they are comfortable to wear all day long.
Why is it that the jeans that used to tick all these boxes no longer work their magic? You try them on, they fit ok, have no visible stains and are not worn through in the wrong places but you feel disappointed when you look in the mirror.
The most common and surprising reason for this is that the style is out of date. Not the ‘you’re still wearing 70’s bell bottoms in the 90’s’ obvious out of date style. It’s a subtle shift in the detail like where the waistband sits, the shape of the leg and even the colour and wash of the fabric.
The reason for this is that jean shapes evolve all the time and even if you’re not that interested in trends you will pick up on what everyone around you is wearing. You wake up one day and your ‘feel good’ jeans no longer, well, feel good and you can’t quite put your finger on why.
If this sounds like you, you need some new jeans to revive your wardrobe. There are plenty of lovely new styles around to choose from now. Here are a few of my favourites based on style and wearability. I left out the patchwork and heavily ripped styles for now:-
1. High-rise straight leg

This jean style is now a mainstay of denim ranges and one of my favourites. It took me a while to get used to the high waist but once I did I realised how much more flattering it is to hide your muffin top!
Levi Ribcage jeans – £100
2. Seam details

There is a lot of seam detailing coming through on denims this season and I love the subtlety of the detail on this pair. The tapered leg looks great with flats and heels alike so you would get plenty of wear out of them. That’s good news given the price!
Iro jeans from Net a Porter – £300
3. Upcycled jeans

RE/DONE take vintage Levi jeans and transform them into modern fits. If you want to be stylish and champion sustainability these ones are for you. The Stove pipe jeans here are one of the most popular styles but there are plenty of others styles to choose from. I wish I’d kept hold of my old 501’s now!
RE/DONE Stove pipe jeans – £190
4. Wide leg

I’m giving you the heads-up on this pair as they haven’t yet hit the stores. Wide legs are great as they suit all body shapes and team well with a variety of tops. Turn-ups can make legs look shorter so reduce or remove them if you are petite. The no wash dark denim is very flattering though especially of you are a pear shape.
Zara wide jeans – £29.99
5. High waist boot-cuts

Before you kick yourself for getting rid of your old boot legs jeans, wait a minute! These new bootcuts are different because they have a high waist and the ones we wore in the early Noughties were low wasted – inspired by Alexander McQueen’s ‘bumsters’ no less! They are a favourite of the young crowd and all over Instagram. I’m not sure I’m ready for jeans that look best with heels (or worse, make me look like a member of the Happy Mondays in trainers!) but you can never say never when it comes to fashion.
Frame jeans from Harvey Nichols – £230
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