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What Not to Wear: The New Jean Fad
By Mary Dance '07
STAFF WRITER

Though each year brings a slight change in everyday fashions, this season’s new trend affects most significant modifications in a college-student-staple: denim. After a relatively long-lived fad, the flared jean has begun to reclaim its status as a wardrobe memory (though a few retailers have yet to give it up). While the very flattering boot-cut still remains widely acceptable and perhaps the most commonly worn cut, this year has led in both the straight leg and the skinny leg jean. These are neither the jeans of the 1980s, nor the extremely tapered “mommy-jean”; instead, today’s most popular skinny leg jeans utilize an extremely dark wash, low rise, and added length for either scrunching or cuffing at the hem.

Already rampant among the fashion world and more urbane areas, straight and skinny jeans seem to be taking hold very slowly elsewhere, allowing the boot-cut to retain its popularity for at least the time being. This may be due, in part, to the fact that skinny jeans are very unflattering on anybody who does not have a narrow build and proportionately long legs. Shorter girls are already being advised by Vogue and its ilk to skip the skinny jean, which does taper at the bottom, and stick with the straight-leg jean. That said, finding jeans that fit adequately seems a trying task for many, regardless of the cut. For this reason, I address the issue in terms of price, care, and fit.

$28.00-$60.00: The most common denim retailers in this price range include Old Navy, American Eagle, and Gap. Though these stores have, jumped on the skinny/straight-leg bandwagon, they have yet to give up the flare cut. If you are also still holding on, these stores are your best bets. Jeans in this price range have significant perks: 1) They require very conventional care: wear, wash, dry, wear again. 2) Items from these stores will not last forever but will likely last as long as the items remain popular. 3) These retailers carry a variety of different cuts and washes at once, most of which fit mainstream body types. The very tall and very small may have more of an issue, however.

$60.00-$110.00: Lucky Brand Jeans is one of the few lines that I have found offering jeans in this price range. For the most part, they are fabulous. Lucky stores carry a plethora of washes, cuts, and sizes, coupled with employees who can often look at you and hand you a pair that fits right. However, with a more expensive pant, regardless of its maker, comes slightly more maintenance. Follow the care tag – this means wash the jeans in cold water to retain their original wash, and, if you choose to dry them, dry them inside out as to not further distress the fabric. Despite their semi-obnoxious upkeep, Lucky offers an exchange for any pair of jeans that develops a hole without fault to the owner.

$110.00+: Citizens; 7s; Diesel; Blue Cult; James; Chloe; Paige; Paper, Denim, and Cloth. Expensive jeans are an addiction. Though they may lack the plethora of cuts and washes in one location and can require a more taxing laundry regimen, their wonderful fit tends to make up for any downfalls. But find a tailor: pricier jeans are cut long, leaving room for the enviablely tall and skinny. Stores that carry these jeans often have an in-house tailoring department that provides alteration services). If you let yourself get attached to expensive jeans, it is important to remember that they should be washed infrequently (to allow the fabric to retain its original shape and make-up as long as possible) in cold water and never dried.

Happy shopping!