I wanna talk about some of the trends that are happening in denim right now so that you feel like. Okay, I know what’s going on, I know it’s cool, I know it’s now and hip and happening. I have done videos before talking about the different types of jeans. So if you’re really looking for more of a glossary of jeans like what the heck is girlfriend jeans versus a boyfriend jean, that kind of thing. It’s just really tackling the trends. I’m talking about what’s new, what’s current, what’s modern, what’s happening, and the beautiful thing right now is that jeans are all over the place, and I think that’s awesome.
So you really do have choices, and you really can pick the jeans that best fit and flatter your body. I found some great denim at JCPenney for curvy women. Saint John’s brand. I love a lot of their denim brands. I think Levis can be a great choice, but my go-to for curvy women is NYDJ for sure. My personal brands are Rag & Bone, J Brand, MOTHER. I think those are my top three. I have a lot under my umbrella, but those are definitely the top three. Those are the ones that I get most excited about, and I’m sure you have your top three as well, but I’m gonna talk about the trends, 10 denim trends that are happening right now in fashion so that you feel like a more informed denim shopper.
Exposed Button Fly
The first trend is probably the newest kid on the block, it’s the most modern, freshest detail if you will. So if you’re like I already have all of these jeans. I just want one pair that’s super cool and new and fresh. That would be a pair with a button fly with exposed buttons. So not the traditional button fly from like the 90s and the 80s where the buttons were covered up. We’re talking about exposed buttons. My favorite pair is the J Brand Natasha jeans. They’re so good, they’re so incredibly flattering. The buttons are on the hips, and in the middle on the inseam and what that does is create this beautiful hourglass shape and really whittles away at your waist.
Those jeans I have in both gray and black, and if the white come in cropped, I’m gonna get those in a second. Right now they have white regular lengths, and that’s too long for me, but if you’re tall, you need to get the white ones and they have a ton of just regular length ones. As for me, I’m a little bit shorter. I’m 5’4, so the cropped ones are perfect. So I’m just waiting for J Brand to come out with more cropped options for me because the length fits me perfectly, but you guys will put these jeans on and you’ll be like omg, they’re so good.
So if you’re gonna do one pair, that’s it, this is the pair. And you can wear something that covers up the buttons, no problem, but if you really wanna highlight that waist, I would tuck in the top and really expose the buttons.
Hemlines
The next trend I wanna talk about is hemlines. There’s a lot of stuff going on with jean hemlines, a lot. There’s the split hem, there’s the fringe hem, there’s the frayed hem, there’s the snap hem, there’s the zip hem, did I say step hem? That’s where it’s shorter in the front, longer in the back. There’s embellishments, adornments, all these things that you will find on the hemline of your jeans. They’ve thought of every possible way to make a hemline different on a pair of jeans, and the split seam could be in the front, it could be on the side.
It could belong, it could be short. There are so many options for your hemline. So basically any hemline detail is cool and on-trend. So when you’re looking for something a little bit different, it can be a regular pair of dark washed skinny jeans, but just get one with a cool hemline, that’s it. You’re updated. That’s the update.
Two-Toned
The next trend is a little bit of a wild card, and this is one that I do have a couple of pairs that have multi-tones in them, but I think they’re trickier to wear for sure, and it’s just a two-tone pair of jeans, and that’s when maybe you’ve got one panel of a lighter denim on one side, and one panel of a darker denim on the other side or maybe you have a dark denim in the front, and a light denim in the back. It’s more of color-blocked denim using different colored denim.
Animal Print
The next trend is animal print denim. I think last year when I was doing the trending video I talked about animal prints being really on-trend, and this year in my trend video for spring, which by the way, if you didn’t see I’ll put a link to it below just delineating all of the new trends. So I didn’t mention animal prints, and the reason being is because I’ve been talking about them for a few seasons. It wasn’t necessarily new, but it’s still very on-trend. So what you are now seeing in denim are jeans that have these wild, pun intended, prints like leopard print or zebra print of python print, lots of different options and I featured one pair of python jeans by MOTHER on the blog, and they are the coolest things.
I mean, they’re so cool. I’m not 100% sure where you’re gonna wear ’em, but I love ’em and then I featured another pair by Sofia Vergara for Walmart and they were also a python print but very subtle. So if you’re a little bit nervous about this trend, and you want something that’s much more subtle, her jeans that are white with a little bit of light gray as the pattern are really subtle.
Colored Denim
Colored denim is still very on-trend. Different colored jeans and for spring you’re seeing a lot of pastel colors again. These are really hard to wear too. I don’t really own a lot of different colored denim. I find them very tricky and difficult to style, but essentially what you’re gonna wanna do if you wanna style yours is style them the way you would with typical denim but think about using solids because I think prints are gonna be a little too tricky with a colored denim unless it’s a super neutral color.
So if you got pale pink pants I would wear a beautiful white sweater, a white blouse, a white t-shirt, maybe a really yummy brown belt, and some brown wedges, something like that, but thinking about pairing it with neutrals and solids versus prints.
Cargo Denim
Cargo and military-style jeans and pants are really on-trend. This would be another newish denim trend on the block. It just means big, giant oversized pockets and more of that military-inspired details. Think cargo pants or cargo jeans.
Wide Leg Cropped
shop.goop.comThe next denim trend is wide-legged cropped jeans. It just is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a wide-legged jean that’s cropped. These are wonderful at framing a beautiful shoe. So if you’ve got a booty or a lace-up sandal or a lace-up heel that’s really cool and sexy and you’re like I wanna show these off, the outfit is all about these shoes. Those are a great pair of jeans to pair with it or a cropped pair. The cropped jean is still going very strong, and if you wanna talk about nuance or what’s new about the crop jean, you would have this more of like a wide-leg silhouette with the cropped jeans.
Mom Jeans
The next denim trend I wanna talk about is very polarizing. Some of you love ’em, some of you hate ’em. They’re mom jeans. I have embraced the mom jeans, it’s taken me a while. With new trends sometimes you have this period where you have to adjust to the trend
before you can actually wear it, and wear it like happily wear it. There’s this period of feeling uncomfortable, of being like I don’t know if I could leave the house in this. The mom jeans are a classic example of that. It happened to me.
I’ve ordered a bunch of pairs that I have tried on and I’m like no, no. They’re going back. And then eventually I just found one and I’m like, oh, yeah I kind of like these and then I wore ’em more and then they grew on me, and now the next thing I know I have five pairs of mom jeans. I’m telling you this because maybe you’re thinking in your mind right now there’s no way I’m wearing mom jeans. Let’s wait and see what happens in six months to a year and whether or not you decide to try the mom jeans.
If the chances are good you will. It’s the stiff denim, it’s that old school stiff denim. Higher rise, a little bit looser fit around the hips usually and then either a straight leg or a slightly tapered leg, those are your mom jeans. I think they can look really flattering and really great. I think the newer version of the mom jean really is cool and really is flattering. It’s just an adjustment in your mind because for so long we’ve been on the skinny jean train. Do you know what I mean? I still love ’em, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a big shift.
Trouser Style
The next denim trend I’m seeing is trouser-style jeans. So those are jeans that look more like pants. These jeans can look very professional. So for those of you who are in an office, who do have casual Friday. Maybe you don’t wanna wear traditional jeans. This is an option for you that really is more of like elevated denim. It does feel dressier, it does feel more like a trouser. So that’s a really great office casual Friday option for you guys.
Distressed Denim
The last denim trend I wanna talk about is distressed denim. I know this is another one
that’s very polarizing. There’s some of you that are like I’m not wearing holes in my jeans ever. And that’s fine, you don’t have to do that. If you wanna dip your toe in the trend. Maybe do a little bit of distressing, and maybe it’s like a tiny bit at the ankle or something or it’s a little bit toward the thigh but not at the knee. You can just sort of play around with it, but distressed jeans are really still very on-trend and very modern current.
So again, if you wanna be investing in something that is cool at the moment, you wanna freshen up your wardrobe a little bit, then this is a great option, the distressed jeans. And you can get them so inexpensively. You could look at Abercrombie and Fitch, you could look at JCPenney. Look at Express, look at Loft, look at American Eagle has great jeans. So you can get them very inexpensively, so if you just wanna try them out and you’re not really sure. I might go the American Eagle route so you’re not breaking the bank.
Bonus Trend
The one bonus trend I wanna talk about rises. The high rise is definitely having a moment, and I, for one, am rejoicing because it does make me feel like that loose baby skin is secure. It also makes it feel more secure if you have any kind of weight in your tummy. You have a little bit of a spare tire, you’ve got the menopause tire, whatever’s going on. It’s really going to make that feel smoother and more secure and it definitely is very flattering. It will suck all of that in. If you don’t like the look of the high rise jeans, but you like the feel of it, you could always wear a shirt untucked and covering up the waistband, that’s an option. But the high rise is still very in, and I just seem them getting higher and higher.
So, my original high rise was eight and a half inch inseam and now I have a power that’s 11 and a half inch inseam. That is Clint Eastwood’s high rise, my friends. That is a high rise. Way up to your chest high rise. So a mid-rise would be more like eight inches, and then the lower rise is also actually making a bit of a comeback. So, those are my least favorite, but if you are one of those people that have long, long legs and a short torso, you may wanna do a lower rise jean ’cause it’ll create more proportion for you. Just be careful with those low riders because you drop something on the floor and you bend over and then the whole world sees your butt crack.
