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I look for three things in a pair of jeans: full length (I am 5ft 5in and wear a 32in leg), a high-rise waist and, most importantly, a straight-cut. Done right, they should sculpt the waist, scoop the bum and skim the legs, offering comfort and cool with a vintage bent. Here’s our round-up of the season’s best…
Foolproof finds (if you can get your hands on them)
LA brand SLVRLAKE’s “most coveted jean” is its London design (from $269), which has an open-weave construction creating an authentic-looking patina that also helps the jeans hold their shape. The full-length is available in 10 washes – or try the ankle-grazer for those who flirt with a crop.
Agolde’s ’90s Pinch Waist (from $208) has assumed similar cult-like status. “Sales were up 50 per cent from last year,” says the brand’s vice-president, Jordan Fink. Designed with a high-rise waist and close-fitting top block through the hips, the jeans are now offered with a 32in inseam. In SS25, expect to find a stretch-crop version.
Rouje Germain jeans in Original Blue, £160
From LA to Paris, Rouje’s Jeanne Damas has recently expanded her offering of straight-leg styles. Try the Germain, a vintage cut, in Original Blue (£160).
Lengths for longer legs
Frame Le Jane Supernova, $288
Kendall Jenner has long-professed her love for Khaite’s Danielle Stretch high-rise (£430) and reportedly owns a pair in every wash, while the 6ft stylist and creative director Djuna Bel has declared Frame’s Le Jane in Supernova (£280) to be “the perfect tall girl jean”.
The unisex cut
London/New York-based content creator Lizzy Hadfield keeps two pairs of Eytys Benz jeans (£360) on rotation. “They are so flattering over the waist and bum,” she says, “and loose through the leg – which, for me, is the making of a straight-leg jean.”
Designer Noriko Machida’s New York-based Japanese brand Chimala (from £424) complements the body in much the same way. Made from 13.05 selvedge denim and woven on pre-world war two vintage shuttle looms, they have a “lived-in” feel. All washing and distressing treatment – from frayed hems to subtle nicks at the pockets and knees – is done by hand, making each pair individual.
Stretch versus structure
Mother caters well to all shapes and sizes; its deliciously stretchy fabric is for days where slipping into raw denim seems an impossible feat. Current highlights include the Maven Sneak and Kick It styles (from £264) with the signature “M” emblazoned across the back pockets. At the opposite end of the spectrum, check out APC’s raw-denim Seaside Jeans (£235) for a more structured fit.
Variations on a jean
Saks Potts Salma Jeans, €385
Copenhagen’s Saks Potts, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, segued into denim in 2021 with its Salma mid-rise jeans (€385). These offer contrast double topstitching, construction-style patch-pockets and a lambskin coin-purse as embellishment.
Day-to-night washes
“Indigo denim is so versatile,” say Tove founders Camille Perry and Holly Wright, whose Linn jean (£340), made from recycled cotton, is “easy to wear day to day, but also works well when combined with more elevated separates for a more refined look”. For an ’80s feel, Guess straight denim pants (£110), made partly from Lyocell, come in a charcoal acid wash with a two-tone hem.
Thrifty purchases
Denim Library specialises in secondhand Levi’s (501 ’90s editions keep you zipped in with a slightly snugger leg), Wrangler and Lee; it provides limited-edition specs and a swift returns process if they don’t quite fit the bill.
With Love, Lenny, an LA-based platform that offers entirely bespoke jeans made from repurposed denim (thrift your own, or they have a good selection of styles to choose from in their showroom). There’s the option for extra flourishes from embroidery to distressing. By appointment only, but virtual fittings are also available.