I'm not buying any more skinny jeans - YouLookFab Forum

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I'm not buying any more skinny jeans

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Speaking of jeans: I did a quick go-through of my clothes to update my wardrobe numbers (second thread upcoming) and realized something about my jeans: I've got too many skinnies. It took me years after they became trendy to come around to how they looked on me, and I still don't wear them as much as my other cuts. I wear them occasionally with longer tops, or layers, but they're not as versatile as my straight legs. And I don't think they're feeling very current as far as trends go. I'm not someone who has to do the skinnies + tall boots thing all winter because of snow, either.

The line between slim straights and skinnies is a fine one, I think, especially for those of us on the plus side of things. I feel like even straight leg jeans give the ice cream cone effect on me, because that's just how I'm shaped, but if they don't cling at the knee and below, the proportions are a bit easier to work with.

I'd be curious to hear what others are wearing, shapes-wise, with jeans right now, and what trends you see coming up the pike.

Shopping

27 replies

Latest reply was from Marilyn

Thistle

Veteran

With you! Although, I never did skinnies and my climate is very snowy. I just don't feel like skinnies are work appropriate. No women in professional positions wear them, nor does any woman over 25 wear them. So, that could be part of it.

Straight legs have acted as my skinnies for me.

I also like baby boot cuts but I wear them with low heeled booties which may not be as fashionable as higher heels. But, i don't wear heels over 1.5 inches.

And I like slim boyfriend jeans, but those are for weekends.

Susie

Veteran

Skinnies are actually my favorite shape, trendy or not. Because my waist is my largest part to fit, the legs are never super skinny on me and I like the taper of a slimmer leg. I've gotten rid of the BF's I had because the baggieness in the hips and thighs looked like clown pants. (Though I do like wearing some slouchy fit pants as long as they taper at the bottom.) I also have 1 pair of straight legs and 1 pair of bootcuts. Since I often wear heeled boots, I do really like the bootcuts as they are slim through the thighs.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Thistle: yes, there's the dressiness factor at work with skinnies too - I don't work in an office but often it's nice to have something a bit less casual on even when running errands, rather than skinnies and a tunic which feels very weekend-y and young.

Aida made the suggestion in one of my silhouette threads that bootcuts + boots looks more current than bootcuts + sneakers, which has been my weekend default, so I'm going to throttle back on the bootcuts too. I'll keep what I have, but what I have is plenty for now.

Susie: I think it's because I'm a pear shape that skinnies have always been more casual and form fitting. Makes sense that for a shape with a bigger waist that skinnies would be less clingy through the leg.

I haven't yet found boyfriend jeans that work for me.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Straight legs can be your "skinnies", Laura. I say that over and over again, so it makes complete sense to me. I wear straight legs MUCH more than tight skinnies. I do wear relaxed skinnies, which are basically slimmer BF jeans.

I can tuck my straight leg jeans into all my tall boots because of very narrow calves. I REALLY battle to find tall boots that fit because of my narrow calves - 13 inch circumference - but it does mean that tucking is no problem at all. And actually, skinnies are often straight legs on me because of my narrow calves and small ankles, if that makes sense. I can't fill them out on the bottom half of my leg that easily.

Tailored skinnies and relaxed skinnies are very on trend, actually. It's the extra tight body con skinny that's less fashionable these days.

I wear straight legs, relaxed skinnies and BF's. Nothing is TIGHT. All tailored, relaxed, or baggy.

crutcher

Veteran

Loveth skinnies...These are my favorite and what I wear the absolute most...

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I've come to realize that I'm never going to be a boyfriend jean person. I just don't love them on me all that much. I do like baggier cuts in my cut-off shorts for summer, but otherwise, my baggier BF jeans are mostly unworn in my closet except for the most casual of days. Even then, I mostly reach for straights.

So I'm going to stick with my skinnies (not skintight though), straights, and bootcuts. That's enough variety to keep me happy.

Anonymous

Skinnies for me , BF's coming in second place. I don't even consider skinny jeans to be the body-con super tight things - those are jeggings or just some other foreign object i don't even look at I just happen to prefer a streamlined look with jeans, and can't get comfortable with denim flapping around my ankles . I feel messy and unkempt that way, oddly. I'm with Angie in that because I've managed to maintain slim legs from the knee down, skinnies fit quite loosely, and I hope flatter me. It's the thighs I struggle with - as jeans just highlight that area - so a long sweater over skinnies is it for me.

Marilyn

Veteran

First and foremost I think the best jeans for anyone are the ones that YOU feel the best in. You can't force yourself to feel good in something if it really isn't your thing.

Up until one year ago I was a die hard bootcut girl. I'm a curvy petite and I think the balance a bootcut provides is very flattering. I had tried on skinnies several times and felt they made me look too hippie and out of proportion. But, due to winter and my always wet pant leg bottoms I took the plunge and bought a pair of Gap Always Skinnies.

Flash forward a year and I have amassed quite a collection of skinny jeans. It's funny how your eye changes and what once looked bad now looks pretty darned good. I throw on my bootcuts occasionally but the skinnies get the majority of my love. I even bought two pairs of legging jeans recently....one black and one dark blue.....to wear with longer, more fluid sweaters and tops. I like the juxtaposition of volume with slim.

So, I've learned that what I like and what I feel good in is always in flux and I should keep trying new things because my new favourite thing could be out there just waiting for me to find it.

amiable

Veteran

I'm off skinnies too right now - I haven't tossed every pair just yet, but I'm only consistently wearing one pair. I feel like they make me look off-balance (like the ice cream cone effect you describe). I feel lots better in baby-bootcuts. Your post has me wishing that I had some straight-legs. I'll have to watch for some

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I don't think I have ever had super skinny skinnies. My calves are about 13" like Angie's but my thighs are a bit pudgy at the top and I don't like to emphasize that with tight legged pants. My favorites seem to be in between a skinny and straight.

Dimity

Ice cream cone effect - yes! I think that for me too.
I don't own any skinnies. I much prefer straight and boot cuts. They're more flattering and suit my classic tastes more.

miaolegemimi

I still love high-rise skinnies though. Low-rise skinnies, no.

K.M.

Veteran

I'm also not a big skinny fan. I only have one pair of skinny jeans. I do have a few skinny cords, but that's because I only wear them tucked into boots. While I do like the look of skinnies with booties or slippers on others, I just don't like it on me. In my case it's because I have short legs and I think it makes me look even shorter and stumpier. Bootcuts are so much more elongating, even if I don't wear very high heels.

I love slim straights but I find it hard to find them. I used to have two pairs of Diesel very slim straights--the model had a woman's name, but I can't remember it. They were just PERFECT. But after pregnancy they didn't fit me anymore, even though I returned to my original weight--my hips are wider. And I don't think they make that model anymore... Other slim straights I've found end up looking too wide on me.

Dee

Veteran

I've actually added a couple of pairs of skinnies over the past few months. I've been wearing them tucked into boots, now that the weather has changed, or cuffed above booties. I'd like to think mine are tailored but at least one recent purchase are pretty fitted. We'll see how much mileage I get out of them after the winter. I am still seeing skinnies everywhere in my area, with all sorts of shoes/boots.

Before the recent addition of skinnies, I had been wearing straight legs 90% of the time, with an occasional boyfriend or bootcut thrown in the mix.

Helena

Veteran

I must admit, I prefer skinnies but I do love a boot cut with a heel, and straight legs are always very classic; I don't think you can go wrong with those.

Beth Ann

Veteran

I'm liking denim variety! I find straight legs quite flattering, but I did just today buy a pair of skinnies from ON in a dark wash. They're not skintight, although they are fitted through the knee and calf, for easier boot tucking (my calves are the opposite of Angie's). Of course, these would be my only true skinnies.

I've loved my Levi mid-rise skinnies. The leg is looser and the denim more substantial (see pic). My bf jeans get lots of wear during warmer months.

My ideal denim wardrobe has light and dark washes, and at least 3 silhouettes.

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Staysfit

Veteran

I still wear mine and love them, but I have a good build for them. However, I will be 50 in two weeks, I'm trying to sort out if there is an age cut off for them?

Jenny H

An aha moment from Angie's comment-- I think my skinnies fit like straight legs on me too. My calves are 13.25, so not much bigger than Angie's. I was wearing my Gap skinnies recently and someone here commented that they liked my straight legs. I was confused. I think I'm also wearing mine a little baggier than what is typical. I'm wondering if this contributes to the fact that I feel ok wearing mine to work on Fridays. I hope I'm not being completely unprofessional!

Oh, and I got my first skinnies this summer. I never wore them before that. Talk about late adapters! I'm not ready to give them up yet...

Tania

Veteran

I have 3 pairs of jeans in rotation: relaxed skinnies, white straight legs, and skinny. The relaxed skinnies get the most wear, but when they are in the wash or I want to wear my tall riding boots, I wear the other skinnies. My baggy BF's are put away until the spring/summer.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Staysfit, I sure don't plan on quitting mine next August when I turn 50! IMHO, there is no age cutoff. I'm not big on the whole concept of "too old to wear" something, unless it's obviously juniors or juvenile. Wear what looks great and feels great to you.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

He-he Angie, we are complete opposites here: skinnies are your straight legs and straight legs are my skinnies!
I don't own any true skinnies becuase I cannot get my calves into them at all. Straight leg jeans work like tailored skinnies on me. I have 3 pairs now - white, plaid and blue - and do not plan to add any new at this point. They are very practical in our winters and work just fine in my casual work environment so I wear them mostly in winter time. By the time spring comes I will be so sick of them I won't want to wear them for a couple of months I think

Aziraphale

Veteran

So much of this depends on your shape. Certain silhouettes work better for straight figures, and others work better for curvy ones. And where the curves are matters too!

I personally will probably never stop buying skinnies, because they work really well for my shape. I have a little more trouble with wide leg silhouettes because I can easily drown in all that volume. But I agree with many others: the super-tight, calf-sucking skinnies feel passé. I still own one pair that are comfortable and useful because they can go into my tall white boots with zero bunching, but that's really the only way I wear them now.

At the moment, my favourite skinnies have a little more 'ease' in them. And my boyfriend jeans are actually just slouchy skinnies -- they are loose, but not wildly baggy. They are actually labelled 'boyfriend skinnies'.

ETA: Also, I agree with Janet: there is not age cutoff for skinny jeans. They don't necessarily look juvenile, and they are so mainstream that I've seen plenty of mature women wear them well!

Niki Lea

Veteran

I'm wearing a variety of shapes these days. But I'm wearing my straight leg skinnies the most. Like Angie and Jenny, I have pretty small calves (just under 14 inches) so I can tuck them into my boots without any issues. I do have one pair of skinny-skinnies in rotation and I mostly wear them with tall boots or fancy athletic shoes.

Anonymous

I guess we all get tired of certain things. Right now, I'm sick and tired of my bootcut jeans. I used to love them, but now I can't stand them.

Susie

Veteran

I don't think age is relevant when determining appropriate denim shapes; I think it is much more dependent on your shape and what's most flattering. I do feel I am a bit old (at 52) for really distressed denim but I don't think that skinnies are too young for me.

No denim rises to the level of professional dress. Darker colors look a bit dressier of course and I've seen some dress codes that ban ripped or torn jeans. But if your dress code allows jeans, then I say feel free to wear your favorite style.

Lyn D.

Veteran

Interesting reading about how jean shapes can be so different on different body-shapes!
The key here is that the majority are wearing not-too-tight- on- them- fits-
me too

Marilyn

Veteran

Staysfit......I'm 51 and I'm feeling great in my skinnies. I don't feel like I'll be giving them up any time soon. I'm guessing by your "name" that you've embraced fitness. I have as well and I actually feel like I'm still improving despite what the aging process is trying to do to me. So, I feel like if you still feel fab in them then who cares how old you are. My plan is to be a fit old lady.....or at least attempt to be.