I love this flared denim look - YouLookFab Forum

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I love this flared denim look

catgirl

Veteran

The tee and blazer with these jeans - so cool! I think the key between this and a bootcut for me is the skinny leg up to the flare, which is less stumpifying to my eye. But again, how can a petite person pull off this look? By chopping a foot off these inseams, will I lose the drama?

All you tall ladies should rejoice in this look - all inseams are 35" or more that I've found, other than the Paige Fionas.

http://www.shopbop.com/lennox-.....2534374302

25 replies

Latest reply was from catgirl

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

There was a conversation here recently about widths of boot cuts and so I went and measured some of my jeans to see what the width at the hem is. Mine were all in the 20" range. Assuming that the measurements they cite are the same for all sizes, these jeans would look like an average bootcut on me, not the dramatic flare that it is on the model (assuming I could fit my thighs in, even in the proper size). It's interesting how proportions of an outfit are affected by that stuff.

I would suspect that to get the full effect you would need the slimness through the thigh which would probably require a size designed for shorter women. Otherwise the break of the knee and the cut though the thigh will be all off.

Vildy

Veteran

all right, here's a weird answer. Can depend on where the length on your leg is. Some people with short legs (being short altogether) have short thighs and some have short calves. If you have short calves, then you may lose the look of the style because of how much you have to take off, as you mention. Occasionally you can find flared pants where the knee is higher and seems made for someone with shorter thighs. These can work, I think, and keep some drama and the pre-made fading would add to the cheat (illusion).
If you love the pants, try them on and pin up the length and check it out. And how it feels walking with the excess denim swishing up against itself on the length you would be keeping. Visually, the main thing is to avoid the knee looking placed too low on you.

Gigi

Veteran

I was wondering along the lines of what Vildy said. Will the fading stop at an awkward spot on your leg?

I'm short too, so I feel your pain. Being short can be a pain in the you-know-what sometimes.

Diana

Veteran

To me the big thing with boot cuts and flares is that the knee break has to be high. At your knee or maybe even higher. I am lucky in that regard bc my thighs are REALLY long for my height so the knee break is usually high enough for me even if I'm chopping 2-3 inches off the bottom. (I chop to 32 or 33 depending on shoes.)

This is actually why I don't like baby bootcuts, actually. They tend to have low knee breaks and I don't find that flattering. Breaks the long line in an awkward place. I prefer a straight leg that, again, falls straight from the natural knee.

Neel

Veteran

I think only trial can possibly answer your question AG. I am petite too (bordering 5'4) but I am short waisted and have a longer leg line. I did find my bootcuts that didn't require any alteration and they are very flaterring too. Its not premium denim though and it's a very dark wask without any fading. High street UK brand called Next.

Personally I wouldn't go the chopping route in bootcuts. I think it just spoils the silhouette. Have you tried the petites section yet?

fuzzylogic

Veteran

Look the look! But If I tried to get these proportions I would be tripping over hem......

leopardluxe

Veteran

I'm not a fan of this style on me. I find that it accentuates how thick my thighs are and also makes me look shorter because the flare comes out from the knee. I love how this looks on leggy, tall gals, but have found this particular style to be especially unflattering for my petite proportions. When this style was popular last time round (I think about 6-7 yrs ago) I tried a pair and then attempted to have them altered to shorten them, it made the unflattering effect even worse.

I'm much more a fan of the wide legged pants that slope/flare out gently from the hip/thigh (so it creates more of an a-line effect). That cut makes one's waist look smaller and creates a nice balanced proportion ... and when worn with a longer inseam and platform heels actually has the effect of making me look taller overall.

VernieJane

Yes, these jeans are much more flared than boot cut, and look good only on tall, thin girls with long legs. If you hem them, you'll lose some of the dramatic flare as you said, and it will look wierd. I'm afraid you'll have to look for flared jeans in a petite cut.

I am tall and thin, and I do love this look, though it went out a long time ago...is it really back? That's good news for me!

April

Veteran

I think any jeans with a wider hem actually make my legs look longer, since they cover the shoe and therefore lengthen the leg line.

But that's not what you're concerned about, Una, is it? Sounds like you're worried about losing the correct proportions of the shape if you hem too much.

It seems like rather than looking for petite sizing, what you need is a flare that comes in a regular size, short length.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

OK, I'm getting so confused. I wore something really similar a couple of years ago (when I was a size bigger too) and it was voted unanimously flattering. I am not tall and skinny, and if leopardluxe has "thick" thighs, mine qualify as double-wides. I don't think this is such a difficult style to wear, or is that just long legged privilege talking? I need to pull my old flares out when I get home and play with them again.

I think the presence of fading in the wash on the thigh makes it harder to get a flattering proportion. My old flares are a solid dark wash. I hope that doesn't make them passé.

April

Veteran

I agree with you Janet. I have short legs and I love jeans with wider hems, whether flares or wide legs. Of course, I don't care that much if I look long-legged, but I have found wider hems to be flattering in spite of my height (5'2").

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Janet, like you, I wonder about the wash.

Also, I DO think that long legs make flares easier to wear. So to some extent this is a long-legs privilege thing.

I think the other thing that might make this work look so well for you is that you are long in the leg and curvy in the hip.

The curve in your hip makes structure. The long leg line allows us to see that you are not "that wide." The flare then balances the curve. So all in all, the proportions work.

I think (perhaps) LL has a figure that's more similar to mine. (Except she actually has curves up top whereas I do not.) What I mean is, her hips are relatively slim. But her thighs are curvy (for her, proportionately). And, she is overall very short. So there is not much room on the bottom part for the proportion play. It's not impossible to get it right -- just perhaps a bit trickier than for you, since you are close to the height of the models showing it. (It will look different on you to the models since you are not stick thin, but equally pleasing on you.)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

And, to April's point...it may be simply a personal preference or "eye adjustment" thing. I often like the look of flares on a shorter woman, too.

leopardluxe

Veteran

Janet, Suz is correct in her statement regarding my reference to having thick thighs. I have thinner hips but full thighs for my height/weight/build (and don't get me wrong. That's not a complaint on my part. Those thighs are powerful and I can easily leg press over 300 pounds with them (but I don't because, really, I'd end up with massive thighs because I have a tendency to bulk up there --either with muscle when I'm body building or fat when I'm eating too many nummy desserts -- it's genetically a predisposition (aka I have my mom's thighs).

So those flare-from-knee looks simply don't work for me --and even back around the last time they were popular and I found some in short lengths they weren't terribly flattering on me, imho.

Lisa

Veteran

A blazer, t and jeans, always a favorite look of mine. At 5'3" I often don't fit into petite (usually too short) but never fit into average length bottoms without hemming (unless they are called cropped). For bootcuts to work on me, it is real hit or miss, and I always end up with a 'short' or 'petite' version IF they have moved up the knee break AND the length is longer than your typical petite length (if it is 30" it's too short for me, but 31" is nice).

Whenever I have taken the length off of an average length version, I've lost the flare at the bottom and end up with a straight leg. This is one reason why I am so devoted to Joe's Petite Provocateur's. The knee break is higher, and often they come with a 31" inseam, which works nicely for me with a 1" heel on a boot. I am very careful about the inseam length, I've tried on 'petite' jeans (including Joe's) with long inseams (the manufacturer probably thinks a gal will sport a big heel) and petite jeans with inseams that are too short for PPL, unless I am going to walk around barefoot. It is a lot of searching for the right pair for me. I've had Hudson's petite jeans in the past that have needed hemming but not too much, and have the higher knee break.

DonnaF

Veteran

Una, are you going to try the Paige Fiona @ an inseam of 32.5"? I'm wondering if the wash looks better in person. My thighs are too big to fit flares or skinnies, much less bend my knees. . .

catgirl

Veteran

I don't think so - that hem seems stumpifying to me with the horizontal line and I just don't love if. I have this coming from my Piperlime rewards. Will see if 35" means chopping off a foot of flare!

http://piperlime.gap.com/brows.....=945055002

ironkurtin

Veteran

Other people will have to rock these. Not for me at all.

Ag, are you going to try it?

catgirl

Veteran

Yep! I am going to do my stubborn best to find the right pair...

Suzanne (ambergreen)

Veteran

Well, I know from my own experience that I would look for the right inseam to begin with. It may just take some patience and waiting for those of us who aren't the ideal fit model size. (This time I wouldn't compromise with knee-area fit either, which has often been a problem with shorter sizes...they often don't narrow there proportionally as much as they should.)

Glad I have a few pairs that basically suit this trend already, 'cause I would not be happy to feel like I always did back in high school and thereabouts when every pair of jeans was made for someone with legs 6" longer than mine...

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

i have a similar pair of Paige flares but in dark wash (Janet, together with you I am hoping they are not passe...) and I think they are quite flattering on me even though my thighs are big - but what Suz is saying about Janet fits me as well so it all makes sense. It is amazing how wise you are, Suz1
I may have a rekindled love affair with those flares this spring: they were pretty much orphans for 2 years...

rae

(website)

Veteran

You and I are on the same wavelength - just recently pinned something I called a skinny bell bottom. I think for us the other problem will be the knee break... don't want the flare to start flaring down at our ankles! Hopefully stores will do petite versions.

catgirl

Veteran

Rae, of course we are! Did you see these?

http://www.anthropologie.com/a.....Regular_30

rae

(website)

Veteran

Yes! And these...
http://www1.bloomingdales.com/.....?ID=830251

I am also considering ordering another custom pair so I can get a "high-for-me" rise that I don't need to alter in the back. I have really liked my button fly slim legs lately.

catgirl

Veteran

Omg why the horrible length in the stock photo?! Those are great though. I'm looking for a summer wags as that's the only time I'll be able to wear them. Keep me posted and I'll do the same!