I am super excited that loose fit, straight leg jeans are so much easier to find since they are on trend at the moment. They are my favorite style of jeans and in my opinion seem to be the most universally flattering.
For many years while I worked in a business professional environment I never really wore jeans at all and had maybe two pairs. About ten years ago two of my friends had what I guess was an intervention (LOL) to get me to be “more casual” in my attire. It was hilarious to say the least.
My denim collection has grown quite a bit, but only in the past five years as my personal style has continued to evolve to include a more casual component. I also think that the world has moved into a more casual direction than ever before. The other major contributing factor for me is the ability to find jeans that fit my curves off the rack. Historically I’d have to get almost everything tailored so cost per wear was a big deal and it just didn’t make sense for my life at the time.
Even though I wear them more often these days, I rarely spend a lot of money on jeans. I can usually find more affordable jeans at places like GAP, Banana Republic, Nordstrom and J. Crew just to name a few.
The things I look for in straight jeans are the fit, rise, stretch, wash, and length. I do like distressed jeans as long as it’s not completely shredded and I think it’s important to have some that are not distressed at all.
I prefer mid or high rise at the waist and 1-2% elastane or no stretch at all. The overall fit, however, will determine whether the stretch content matters or not.
As far as the color is concerned I usually go for more classic medium wash blue jeans
Cropped jeans have been the most popular straight jeans over the past few years but I actually prefer full length. I am very happy to see more options for longer straight leg jeans popping up recently. If I’m being honest some of the cropped jeans are pretty much full length on me since I’m 5’4". Since that’s not everyone’s reality let’s move on.
I have discovered that I am definitely a jeans and nice top kind of person year round and in most cases I keep it simple which works best for my personal style. On the occasions when I want to be less subtle I use accessories that make a bolder statement. When all is said and done, if I put it on and feel confident then thats the only accessory that matters.
The jeans featured in these photos in order of appearance are Topshop, Banana Republic and GAP.