Styles of jeans have evolved immensely over the past several years, especially as they have become a more popular trend for women to wear. All styles come in different fits, rises, and washes, and these features can vary from designer to designer as well. With so many options to choose from, female shoppers should understand the differences between each style in order to pick the pairs of jeans best suited for them.
Bootcut Jeans
Bootcut jeans were originally designed for working men of the 20th century. These jeans were meant to wear well in somewhat dirty environments, but still look clean and professional while on the job. As the name suggests, bootcut jeans flared out toward the ankle to allow room for boots beneath the jeans. By the 1960s and 1970s, this look evolved into a wider, more flared fit at the bottom of the leg known as the bell bottom jean. Bell bottoms went out of style in the 1980s, but came back in trend in the 1990s. Today’s modern bootcut jeans are form fitting around the backside and thigh area, and then tend to flare out at the knee and fit loosely around the ankle. The term "flare" is used to describe a bootcut style of jeans with a wider opening at the ankle.
Bootcut jeans flatter a fuller figure, but look just as attractive on thin women as well. For that reason, both flare and bootcut styles remain a popular pick among women. They are often appropriate to wear in business casual work settings, making this style of jeans very versatile as well. Bootcut jeans can be found in almost any clothing store, from discount merchandisers to high-end designer labels.
Straight Leg Jeans
Straight leg jeans are also a popular style of pants for women to wear. They are designed to be straight throughout the entire leg, slightly loose on the thigh, and hang all the way down to the ankle with no shape change at all. This style of jeans usually ends one to two inches below the ankle, and is commonly worn with tennis shoes or tucked into boots. Straight leg jeans come with a high or low waist, and are a great cut for shorter women who are trying to lengthen the look of their legs. With the right outfit, straight leg jeans can appear more formal than other jean styles, making them appropriate to wear almost anywhere, from the office to weekend parties.
Skinny Jeans
Interestingly enough, skinny jeans began their rise in popularity thanks to rock icons of the 1970s. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, as well as band members from The Sex Pistols favored this style of jeans and instigated the trend. Skinny jeans were also popular in the 1980s, with the spandex era making it hip to wear tighter pants. The skinny jeans of the 1980s were made of material that was stiff and stone washed. This style of jeans started to fade away from the spotlight in the 1990s as bootcut jeans came more into style. However, the skinny jean returned in full force in the 2000s. Today, this style of jeans is a very trendy option for women, with almost every designer offering their own take on the skinny jean. While at first look, a super-slim fit may seem unflattering to most women, more often than not skinny jeans are made with a bit of Lycra or stretchable fabric, which allows the pants to stretch comfortably to any figure.
Determine the Right Jean Style for any Body Type
When it comes to buying a great pair of jeans, it is very important to take into consideration the woman’s body type before deciding which pair will work best. A woman’s shape and weight will factor into which style will look best on a particular body type.
Jeans for Petite and Short Women
Women of a shorter stature would be smart to consider petite sized jeans in order to ensure a better fit without the need for any tailoring or hemming. A straight leg style of jeans in a solid and dark color will be most flattering on a petite woman. This style will make the legs appear longer than they truly are. Jeans for shorter women should have a standard rise, with the waistband meeting the woman’s regular waistline. Rises that are too low will cause a woman’s legs to look shorter, and rises that are too high can put emphasis on the wrong areas of the body.
Straight leg jeans that have a slightly longer inseam may be a smart buy for petite women as well. If the jeans need to be hemmed, this style will allow the jeans to maintain their original look more so than most other styles. It is best to avoid capris or cuffed jeans, which will cut up the length of the leg and can make a woman appear shorter than she already is.
Jeans for Full Figured Women
For women with fuller figures, it is best to choose a straight leg style of jeans. This style is a great cut for curvier women who are trying to give their body a more uniform shape from the hips down to the ankles. Look for a straight leg jean in a mid-rise style in order to fit around the body in a way that does not create love handles. For women who are more apple shaped, a wide leg jean is a good option. While apple shaped women tend to have a smaller bottom half of the body and fuller top half, a wide leg jean will give off the illusion of a fuller bottom half of the body allowing one to look better proportioned overall.
If a woman is more pear shaped, a bootcut style will be a flattering cut, as this style will make the hips look smaller and more proportionate in size to the upper body area. For more rectangular-shaped women, a skinny jean style will often be a great look. Skinny jeans will put emphasis on any curves the body may have, effectively creating an hourglass figure, which is a commonly desired shape by many women.
Size is critical. Though every woman wishes to fit in the smallest size possible, if the jeans feel too tight in any style, they will cause an unflattering look. Women should always go up a size if this is the case. If the jeans feel a bit too loose the next size up, a belt can be worn, or the pants themselves can be altered to get the perfect fit. Buyers should note that darker colored jeans will often make the body appear slimmer, and will be more flattering overall than lighter colored jeans.
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