Need help with pants lengths --kick flare / cropped straights

In YLF lemming fashion I now feel the need to own and successfully wear a pair of these pants! Or in my case, jeans.

Picture 1 -- I got these Phoebe cropped straights last year, I like them a lot. They have a 26" inseam. I like this length but should they be shorter? They look sort of kick flare-ish on the model but on me they look very straight. Worn here with 1.5" heeled sandal.

Picture 2 -- An experiment. These are a pair of old 7 for All Mankind high-waisted straight legged jeans that I never wore because of the 33" inseam. I think they were in some "to do" pile for 5 years -- you know, hem, donate or post on eBay. I recently re-discovered them and decided they would be a good candidate for a cropped experiment. I have them pinned to 25". The leg opening is 14", which used to be the standard for straight leg jeans, so not exactly a flare. The sandals are flat. Should the jeans be longer? Shorter? Do they work or do they look ridiculous? They are a high rise cut, but what went for a high rise back then is more mid-rise now. I cut them off at 28" and if I can't make a cropped length work I can further cut them into shorts, since I have plenty of time to wear shorts (it's still in the 90s here). I do not have access to a tailor. I do have access to a sewing machine.

Looking at the two pictures it could also be that the Phoebe is a better/more flattering wash. Or maybe it's useless trying to make a dated pair of jeans work again?

Thank you!

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Phoebe Cropped Jeans

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9 years ago

Sal

Veteran

I like them both. On my phone so pics small but the phoebe look great, flattering and quite straight. The 7 jeans are more flared, and I like them too. Maybe a tad less flattering.....but still great. If keeping both I would be tempted to hem the 7 shorter to have variety but I am hopeless with pant length on others!

CocoLion

(website)

Thanks Sally. I own them both. So you think the Phoebes are good at the current length? And the 7s could be shorter. I can definitely pin them an inch up and see how they look. Thanks for the suggestion!

Maneera

I like them both. They DO NOT look dated to my eye, at all. The Phoebes look good....they could be just a smidge shorter to make them more 'deliberately' cropped. Can you wear booties with them and see how it looks?

The 7 needs to be shorter. You could remove a couple of inches more, I think. The fit of both is amazing!!!

Stephanie

Active Member

I agree with Maneera - both are beautiful! I would love to see some photos of both worn with ankle boots as well. At first glance, I prefer the Phoebes and agree you might want to try them just a tad shorter.

cheryle (Dianthus)

Interesting. My first thought was that I prefer the second as is and would leave them that way. I like the first pair too but they could be a bit shorter.

I don't think either looks dated. at all.

Debbie

I like them both. I think the 7's could be a little shorter but not much.what a great use of something you already have.

Anonymous

I'm fussing with this issue too (the cutting off of an old pair ) . Glad you posted this. Both jeans look great in terms of fit and current-ness (made that word up) but to be a true crop, shouldn't they be a tad shorter? I'm only asking that question of myself, or the universe in general because I'm not really sure. My eye wants both pair about an inch shorter to really show your ankle.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Both lengths look good, Denise. The hack job on the old jeans is a great idea.

DO try both lengths with booties too. That will determine whether you will want them a little shorter. Perhaps an inch or so.

Wore my Express cropped kick flares to the YLF gathering yesterday - more flared than your jeans. Haven't hemmed them but think they are a little shorter than your lengths here. See pic.

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Carole

Your cute and clever! Can't wait to see with booties!

Missey

I think the both pairs are very current. I would leave 1 as is foor now and since 2 was on the chopping block anyway, try with booties, and then chop away!

Gail

I think both lengths look good and I am sorry that I recently purged all my old jeans however I have ordered a pair of the Express jeans Angie recommended . They aren't arriving until October 5 though :((

Tanya

I think that they both work and fit you beautifully, Denise! And I love how you chopped the older jeans off.

As Angie said, try them with booties you are planning to wear them with - I have run into some unexpected issues with the loss of the flare if the booties do not fit snug (described on a separate thread).

Thank you for all of the honest and supportive replies! I think tomorrow or Tuesday I will try the jeans on with different booties.

In the meantime, I have some pictures with the Acne vs Marc Fisher vs Aquatalia bootie quandry. I will post about that in a separate thread.

Angie those Express jeans look AMAZING on you, and don't mess with the length to me it's fashion-shoot perfect.

*blushing*

Thanks, Denise. I wasn't planning on touching the length! Both of my cropped flares are a perfect length - I'm a lucky fish.

Deborah

Denise I really like the first pair. The length, the fit and the wash ...they look fab. I'm not loving the wash of the second pair:(. I also prefer the straight cut to the more flared versions but that's just me;)

Style Fan

I think they look great on you. Thank you for doing this. Now I might try it with an old pair of 7s that I have.

Jaime

The hack job looks great to me. Maybe they could be a smidge shorter but I would need to see them with other shoes to be sure.

Suz

These are great!! Wishing I had a pair in my own cupboard to play with like this.

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