Twelve years ago, skinny jeans were a fringe trend. Many fashion gurus were adamant that the return of the slim ‘80s silhouette was a fad. At the time I thought there was little chance of anybody being flattered by tapered jeans and pants. We all couldn’t have been more wrong about a trend that took the world by storm, went mainstream fast (again!), and is still going strong. More than a decade later my guess is that skinny jeans are the most worn denim silhouette on the planet.
We’ve seen skinny jeans evolve. From full-length low rises with lots of hem scrunch, to cropped high rises without any hem scrunch. We’ve gone from crunchy and thick 100% cotton renditions, to thin, and super soft stretchy jegging versions. More recently, we’ve seen polyester-rich skinnies that retain their shape and don’t bag out. We’ve seen skinnies across every denim wash, colour, and level of distressing. And we’ve seen the fits and hem widths vary too. Some skinnies are tailored with a slightly wider leg opening, while others are as tight and body-con as can be.
Mid-rise skinny jeans in cropped or regular lengths were on-trend a while back, but have become a stylish Modern Classic as they made way for the next evolved fashion silhouette: high-rise skinny jeans. The idea is to showcase the length of the high rise with a tucked or shorter top to accentuate fashionably fresh outfit proportions. With mid-rise jeans, the idea was to semi-tuck with a belt, or wear tops untucked.
Mid-rise skinnies are current, not dated, and you can wear them any way you like. Modern Classics have staying power for good reason. They make us feel streamlined and elongated. They are comfortable and versatile, work with most footwear styles, are easy to style in outfits, and very practical. They work well with snow boots and other types of weatherproof footwear. They’re ideal on a shorter waist. They’re excellent under tunics and dresses, add structure to voluminous untucked tops, and complement other untucked classics like tailored blazers, Breton stripe tees, and simple fluid pullovers.
I have two pairs of blue Modern Classic mid-rise skinny jeans that are duplicates of the same style. They are not as tight on me as they are on the model, and more tailored than body-con. I keep them because they are easy and practical. Fab for bad weather that requires serious weatherproof footwear. Great for plane travel, good for tucking into riding boots for an equestrian look, comfy for lounging at home, and practical for walking on mountain trails with Greg and Sam.