Are skinny jeans dead?

Saying goodbye to my skinny jeans and searching for a stylish pair

Jul 28, 2024

hanged jeans lot — Photo by lan deng on Unsplash

Are skinny jeans dead?

It’s the question I’ve been asking for a long time. The answer it seems is yes.

Jess Cartner-Morley, the Guardian’s fashion editor, confirmed my suspicions in a recent Saturday magazine article.

‘Let’s start with the question everyone’s asking right now,’ she wrote. ‘Are skinny jeans dead? This is the pressing denim matter of the moment, so I’m going to dive right in and answer that first. Are you sitting comfortably?’

I was sitting very comfortably in my favourite pair of skinny jeans (Levi mile high super skinny, if you’re wondering).

‘Yes. That’s it, the whole answer,’ she continued. ‘Yes, skinny jeans are unequivocally over. OK, thanks. Bye now.’

Immediately, I grabbed my phone, took a photo of the article and sent it to my friend.

Just this morning, we’d been having a chat about the changing style of jeans. It’s something we’ve been discussing on and off since the pandemic when everyone emerged wearing ‘Mom’ jeans, a trend I ignored because I loved my skinnies. Even when I realised no one under forty was wearing them any more, I refused to be turned. No matter what jeans trends came and went, there would always be a place for skinny jeans in my wardrobe.

But now, I wasn’t so sure.

As I waited for my friend to reply, I hoped she would understand, perhaps even join me in skinny jeans solidarity. We would be the only two women in the world wearing them, but we would stand together.

‘Oh, interesting!’ she said. ‘I have to say, I really enjoy wearing slightly looser jeans at the moment, especially ankle length with trainers. They’re much more flattering.’

I read and reread her message, feeling my panic rising. While she was making an effort, trying to find a new style, I was clinging on to my super skinnies and not letting go.

‘I also think you should wear what you like and what makes you feel confident,’ she added.

Ten minutes ago, I would have said the same thing. But now, I was having to face up to reality. Everyone had moved on.

I returned to the article.

‘If you want to wear them, you are entirely free to do so,’ Jess Cartner-Morley wrote. ‘Hey, go ahead and wear a bowler hat, if you fancy it. Or a gown with a bustle. Why not a powdered wig? You do you!

‘Fashion isn’t compulsory. But are skinny jeans still in fashion? No, they are not.’

I took a deep breath.

That’s it. It’s over. After two decades, it was time to say goodbye to my skinny jeans and find a stylish pair.

Skinny jeans had always been so easy. I knew how to style them—didn’t even have to think about it. I wore them with heels or flats, trainers or boots, and could dress them up or down, throwing an outfit together in a matter of seconds.

The new jeans styles are overwhelming, requiring significantly more thought and effort. Maybe that’s a good thing, I told myself. It’s a chance to be more current in my style, less of a relic.

I finished reading the article, trying to take in all the different styles, from carrot to horseshoe, and memorising the terminology I would need to find the perfect jeans for me.

‘The “rise” is the measurement from the crotch seam to the top button, so high-rise (or high-waisted) jeans have a waistband that goes to your belly button; low-rise jeans will only just cover your knickers; medium-rise sit somewhere in between.

‘Wide-leg is exactly that. Flares get wider from the knee down, while bootcut are slim to below the knee and then kick out. A kick-flare is a slightly cropped bootcut that ends at the ankle. “Carrot” jeans are generous at the hip and thigh, tapering to a narrow ankle. Horseshoe shapes are similar to carrot, but don’t narrow as much at the ankle.’

Got it?

No, not really.

I read it again, wondering when buying a pair of jeans had become so complicated. Thankfully, the journalist recommended a lovely pair from M&S. They were wide legged in a dark indigo denim and available in longer length. I grabbed my phone to place an order. Unfortunately, every other middle-aged Guardian reader who didn’t know their carrot cut from their horseshoe had obviously thought the same.

They were out of stock in just about every shape and size.

But all was not lost. I’d read the fashion editor’s guide to finding the perfect pair of jeans. Surely, I knew enough to visit a shop and choose a style that was right for me. The next day, I set off to M&S in Meadowhall with high hopes that I would return super stylish.

There were jeans in all shapes, sizes, lengths, and widths. Some styles like ‘Cigarette’ and ‘Boyfriend’ didn’t even get mentioned in the Guardian. I grabbed whatever caught my eye and headed to the changing room.

Shopping for jeans in the ‘straight’ section…

The first thing I noticed as I slipped into a pair of wider jeans was the comfort. They were so soft I didn’t want to take them off.

The second thing I noticed was that they were exactly like I used to wear back in the nineties. I stood in the changing room, staring at my reflection, and it was like being reunited with my younger self. For that reason, I loved them straight away. But as they were a little big on the waist, I’d need a smaller size.

I looked on every rail, then asked a retail assistant. She checked in the back, in the fitting room, and online. Just when I was losing hope, I spotted a mannequin wearing the same jeans.

‘They’re my size!’ The only problem now was how to wrestle them off the mannequin without drawing attention to myself.

I turned to the retail assistant, hoping she would understand my predicament and help.

I didn’t need to ask. She was already disconnecting the torso from the legs.

‘It looks like a crime scene.’ She laughed, throwing body parts onto the shop floor.

She lowered the jeans, slipped one leg out, then the other, and passed them to me.

‘Thank you so much,’ I told her. ‘I can’t tell you what a nightmare I’ve had with jeans. I didn’t know what to wear.’

‘I’m so pleased you’ve found what you wanted,’ she said, smiling, genuinely happy to have helped.

On the way to the checkout, I picked up a few more pairs—cigarette, slim and flare. Now that skinny jeans were dead, it was time to embrace the change.