Skinny jeans and high-waist pants have been the in-trend for a number of years now, but if you remember the 00’s, you remember the trend was low rise jeans and boot-cut jeans. After a long period of being dormant, wider leg are finally making returns to the mainstream!
I am giving you the scoop of how to style a wide-leg jean (in case you’ve forgotten, it’s been a while). I am also giving you my top ten choices to rock a boot-cut or flare jean.
First off, lets discuss the difference between flare and boot-cut jeans before we dive into how to style a wide-leg jean. A flare leg has a narrow knee and a wide-leg opening vs. a boot-cut jean that is not as tapered at the knee. A boot-cut is less dramatic (slightly more practical) and more of a 00’s jean and a flare is more classic and carries a 1970’s vibe. The biggest modern twist with both boot-cut and flares is that cropped styles are popular in both, meaning your have a lot of options in terms of styling and shoe selection. My outfit is a cropped retro flare look and I’ll be sharing it below.
Now let’s talk about styling!
For this week’s look, I paired my High Rise Wide-Leg Crop Jeans from Gap with a balloon sleeve top! I’ve said it before, but Gap knows jeans. They turn out a quality jean in a variety of styles and lengths and I return to their jeans over and over again. This Mock Neck Top from Banana Republic is almost identical to mine and is light and feminine. The Zala Wedge Platform Sandals are from Chinese Laundry and Kristin Cavallari is a shoe wizard. She’s a petite girl who makes short legs look fantastic. For me, platforms give me confidence and the wide-leg of the jean is offset by the height of the shoe. These jeans are high-waisted and they make me look taller than I am. Why? The wide leg is drawing the eye upward and creating a nice even symmetry with my top half. The high waist is also flattering and balances the wide style of the leg opening.
Here are my selections for both flare jeans and boot-cut jeans! All pairs have a petite option and include a couple cropped styles that are more popular than traditional jean lengths right now.
Styling a wide-leg jean is fun, flirty, and classic! I hope you feel inspired to try something new!
-xo
Darcy