Ooh, Angie. You're teasing me! I'd love to know more! I am definitely feeling a pull towards more streamlined looks. I need to keep examining the "Sophisticated" in my "Sophisticated Rock'n'roll" style. I experimented with so much in the first couple of years after I discovered YLF, I feel like I've gotten over a lot of fussier items. Maybe I'm not as RATE as I thought I was. And that doesn't necessarily mean that a really RATE item like the Muubaa jacket needs to go away, it just means I need to style it with care and play with the juxtaposition of that with streamlined simple pieces, perhaps. The new closet is really making this a lot easier. I can SEE things I didn't see before. Items I have not been wearing are staring me in the face, forcing me to ask why I am not wearing them, and challenging me to either work on them or let them go.

Janet, you asked "who are these jeans for?" and that's been exactly my question for a while now. I'm a member of the Narrow Calf Brigade and can't get any of these super skinnies to fit over my legs. It's so frustrating to not being able to find boots because your calves are too narrow and then not be able to find jeans because your calves are too large.

I had a few minutes to wander Nordstrom last weekend and was surprised to see that even in Point of View the only options were baby boot cuts (more versions than I've seen in a while) and the skinniest of skinnies. Not a single straight leg or moderate skinny anywhere. Bah.

The cream BR jeans really are in a class of their own this season.

Janet, remember that RATE does not equate edgy, (you might like to read today's post which explains that in more detail). I think you might be over the overly distressed and high-detail stuff. You are in the mood for simpler streamlining - would be my guess - your latest graphic WIW set the tone for the new leg of your style journey.

( I am soooooooo over the crazy super skinny jegging thing that suck the living daylights out of me, that I've just bought oversized chinos to mess around with. They might be returned. Not sure yet. But I'm having fun in the process, which is all that matters. I also bought a pretty pair of ink blue silk track pants with hemmed zippers from Sandro in Vegas. So loving fluidity. That fit looks fresh and elegant to my eye).

I haven't worn skinnies in the past year or so, and now have started to wear them again because they fit me! How funny is that. I have slim calves, average thighs, round butt and large waistline -- and I am so happy I can wear pants that fit in the waist. Sorry to all you waisted gals out there But I'm definitely looking forward to breaking out the bootcuts again. Need to get my CoH Huttons hemmed ASAP!

I'm still wearing my skinnies and enjoying them but have no real interest in buying any more. I'm so interested in finding out what other options there are out there .... and it was great to read this thread and hear about two ideas new to me first, Janet's Hudson Beth baby bootcuts (which I will check out) and second, Angie's oversized khakis, which sound so, so springy and which I am very excited to read more about. (Angie, have you read about Ines's Uniglo line? Sounds like those pants might have come right from there!)

I hate skinnies, and probably for a totally different reason, as the owner of larger thighs and butt, do you know how HARD it is to tame down and de-bombshell a pair of skinnies?? It's virtually impossible! Tunic tops hang over the curves like a pup tent, and shorter tops make me look like I should be dancing in someone's music video. There is no in between with skinnies on me. True...the arse looks fabulous...but I'm not up for the attention every single time I put on a pair of jeans.

Nice flattering boot cuts are SO hard to find!

I have issues with skinnies too. For me, pants that fit in the thighs are generally a little big in the waist but lately, I can barely get skinnies on without sizing up. I have found some nice straight leg jeans and baby boots at Lucky (they're my jeans go-to for my shape) over the past few months though.

Thanks, Angie! I did read your post today, and it was very timely because I am indeed feeling like I'm moving beyond highly distressed or very RATE style, and you're right that I am drawn to simpler looks. I totally agree with you that there are many ways to add edge to style. I do rely heavily on footwear and jackets to do that work for me, but I'm open to all kinds of ideas! I love simple but architectural pieces, but also looks with a bit of fluidity or drape. It will be fun to explore the next phase of my style journey.

I have some that I have no complaints about, shopping this week for at least one more pair was not fun. Everything I could try on I didn't because the calf part looked so skinny it looked like it would not even go over my feet. this was true of many brands and prices.

Just chiming in to say that I've had very good luck with BR jeans this fall - I have the "brocade" ones that Angie picked and the dark-wash skinnies (which are NOT ankle length). I found that they fit very differently in the bum and thighs depending on whether they were long, regular, or short length, so you may try messing around with them (e.g., I got the longs because they fit more like straights, and just hemmed them). I'm pretty well stuck with skinnies in the winter, for practical reasons, so I'm happy to have found some that work - they don't feel like they're falling down all the time, and they are not super tight.

Janet, why don't you look for the architectural top instead of the architectural jacket.

I still wear the OLD skinnies that I have because I love them. They aren't nearly as tight, and are virtually straight legs. They don't make skinnies like that anymore. And - I love my new straight legs with all my heart - white AGs and cream BRs from last year. I'm sitting here in my roomy cream BR jeans and just love the way they fit. I don't feel like I am enclosed in sausage casing that has had its top and tail cut off - which is how I feel when I wear those super, super tight cropped skinnies that are in every store right now.

hahahah - Angie and I posted at the same time. I think her cream and my dark wash jeans from BR likely fit the same way.

Janet, I am right there with you. I've got a little fatigue over the skinnies plus tall boots look, just because it is literally what every woman between the ages of 16 and 60 is wearing here right now. But the cropped skinnies, argh! First off, it's January, so most people don't want their ankles exposed, even here in California. Secondly, it doesn't flatter anyone with hips, or saddlebags, and the proportions are tricky to get right even if you're slim and toned. Thirdly and selfishly, the ankle length on average height ladies mean they come to some sort of weird mid calf high waters look on me which is just horrible.

Joining this chorus. Janet, you coined the brilliant term calf-sucking, and it is so right. I bought my new KUT Mias even though they ARE calf-sucking (after vowing I was done with calf-sucking) just because I wanted a bit of pattern in my long, long winter (where I will mostly be tucking into boots). But my favourite skinnies fit much looser.

I really like my BR cream skinnies. I wonder if we all wrote to BR praising them, if they would make more like that? Because not all their jeans are the same fabrication or fit the same way.

Sarah, that was really interesting about what you said. I tried a different pair of BR jeans this fall and sent them back for being way too stretchy and soft.

Beth, laughing about your jeans vs. boots comment. Too true!!

Am I the only one who doesn't mind a bit of calf suckage? Because it has yet to happen with my bony gams! The waist fit, on the other hand, is like an overstuffed sausage on the recent skinnies - everything seems smaller and tighter... Even the Gap sizing has changed.

Hmmm, Suz, yes, they are a bit stretchy and soft, but they don't

For you ladies looking for denim, I just got some new jeans from Madewell for Christmas. They are the only jeans I have that do not seem to bag at all...and are super comfy. I'm pretty sure the store just re-did their denim line. And, if you order online, I think they come in different lengths...

Size 8, 22 in thigh, 15 in calf, not much bootie, 34 in inseam. You know what? I don't have any skinnies at all, but rather slim straight cuts! Can't stand calf suckage.

I'm hoping to find the perfect white jean...a fashion unicorn!

Runcarla, sounds like you and I could be pants twins!

I am another one hopping on board the please make more styles in jeans other than skinnies. I enjoy my skinnies but it is frustrating that it's all you see in stores. I am so glad I still have a few pairs of bootcut jeans because I really don't think I could replace them if I wanted too right now. Of course with our cold weather I'm wearing skinnies most days anyway, but come summer or a rare dry winter day I break out my bootcuts and it is SO refreshing to wear them.

Thank you for starting this thread Janet. There is nothing like pant/jean shopping to throw me into a pit of despair.

Janet, I follow your WIW, etc., because I think our sizes and issues are similar and if you find a 'score' maybe I should check it out? I think you have a nicer bust line, and I have the broader shoulders, but otherwise pretty close.

Style wise, you're more luxe/rocker/ creative and I've got 'prissy' in my style descriptor, and think it's a compliment!

BTW, did you lemming the BR cream trews? I'm wondering if I should give them a try.

I am still totally enamoured with a skinny leg. Jeans, ponte, leggins... my love affair runs deep. However the cropped, patterned versions are not part of world. My black skinnies are due to be replaced so I just hope I can find something as comfortable.

I tend to have larger calves, and most skinnies fit like Saran Wrap around my knees and lower legs. Interestingly, I LIKE skinnies - if only I could find more than one or two pairs in the last three years that FIT. Like Angie said, straight legs have always been more my style, even when bootcuts were all the rage, but they are desperately hard to find.

And what does it all mean? For me it means that when I wear skinnies they are black ponte pants and not jeans. I simply do not wear jeans much at all because none of them are comfortable or fit properly.

Carla, I did indeed get the cream BR jeans. I actually took a pic this morning and haven't posted it yet. I will try to do that now.

Amen sister! I've been singing this song for a few years now. Really do not like skinny for multiple reasons.

I am crossing my fingers hard for something new to come along. I can maybe MAYBE see a glimmer of hope from a couple edgier designers... saw some EACHXOTHER (French?) jeans at work yesterday that were a really cool, dropped crotch, slouchy fit with coated panelling in front. I still kinda want them, even though I don't need more denim. Current & Elliott looks like they have only sent us BF jeans so far.

I still like skinnies, too, but now I wish I had stocked up on my favorite wide-legs when I had the chance!

Rae, it's encouraging that you are seeing something else out there, at least. Here in my area, the pickings in denim seem really slim. In fact, there is not much interesting in the stores at all right now.

Slim pickings indeed! Way to skinny for my calves! Between gaining a little weight this season and the smaller fits in jeans, I'm just not trying them on.
What I'm wearing lately, besides my boyfriends and slouchy skinnies, are my Lucky ankle skinnies, tucked into boots, because they feel so much less constricting than my other jeans.

Janet your description is hilarious. That is EXACTLY it! And I fully agree with you. The last few times I have gone shopping skinny (ridiculous skinny) is what I have mostly encountered.

Although I have noticed - but is it only wishful thinking? - that the elephant legs-high waist type is trying to make a comeback. Or am I dreaming?