A wardrobe can’t function without at least one pair of fab jeans. If you don’t have a pair, make it your next mission. A smart casual look is flop-proof and well worth the investment.

So there’s a minimum, but how about a maximum? I see wardrobes full of jeans where many are either ill-fitting or seldom worn. So answer these questions: how many pairs of jeans do you own and how many do you actually wear on a regular basis?

I’ll go first. I have 10 pairs of jeans:

  • 2 pairs of duplicated Diesel straight-legs (very dark blue) that are almost skinny. They are my favourites. I can wear everything with these jeans. They work with every tunic, top, blouse, jacket, trench and heel height. I can wear them with flats and pumps in Summer and tucked into boots in Winter. Absolutely brilliant.
  • 1 pair of 7 for all Mankind skinnies (mid blue wash) for any heel height.
  • 1 pair of AG bootcuts (dark wash) for heels.
  • 1 pair of Arden B bootcuts (dark wash) for heels.
  • 1 pair Abercrombie & Fitch bootcuts (lighter wash) for flats. I travel in these jeans. They’re a little tatty at the hems and super soft. They come out during my less refined moments.
  • 1 pair of skin tight, tapered denim jodhpurs that I wear tucked into boots for a pukka Equestrian look. That’s all. These jeans are like denim leggings.
  • 1 pair of David Kahn bootcuts (white) for heels.
  • 1 pair of Esprit skinnies (white) for any heel height.
  • 1 pair of Club Monaco wide legs (cream) for heels.

This sounds like a lot, but I live in Seattle where we wear jeans all year round. It’s just too cold to wear pretty frocks with flats for more than a few months of the year. I’m also smart casual most days and evenings, so I need more jeans than someone who is business casual during the day.

How many do I wear regularly? Well, I only wear the two white pairs in summer. The one cream pair is very dramatic and therefore only worn from time to time. The jodpurs are reserved for winter when I am wearing boots. The remaining six pairs are in constant rotation. I did have a pair of wide-legged orphans, but they have been passed on.

Now it’s your turn to confess.