to think that those Mnetters who think bootcuts are Mum jeans and we should only wear skinnies are either a size 10 or smaller, and/or 5ft 6 or taller?

[LittlePandaBear]

Surely people should wear what suit their figure? Skinnies only seem to look flattering on tall and/or slim people if you ask me! Aren't most women pear shapes with bigger hips and thighs and therefore would suit bootcuts much more?

Discuss.

Loads of generalisations on this thread.

You can't shovel everyone into straights/skinnies and neither can you write off all bootcuts as Mumsy/frumpy.

Obviously there is way more chance of veering dangerously into the latter territory in bootcut jeans, but that's not to say all of them are.

And I'm sorry, but not every shape is going to benefit from a skinny or even a straight leg.

The thing is, if you find the Hoy Grail of jeans - a pair that is genuinely flattering - nips in the tum, reigns in the arse, slims the thigh and lengthens the leg, you'd be a mug to reject them because of someone else's perceived ideas of what is and isn't stylish based on a few bad examples of the genre, as it were. And that Holy Grail pair of jeans will be wildly different, style/cut-wise from one person to the next.

I have two pairs of said jeans and don't bother with any others. I wear other things on my lower half, instead of shoe-horning myself into jeans that don't do me absolute favours.

One pair is a pair of long-length Top Shop bootcuts, and the others are 7FAMK Kimmie straight-legs. Two very different labels and cuts, but both amazing jeans on me.

I am a size 10-12 and 5"9' (late 30s, in the interests of full disclosure), so admittedly am probably going to have an easier time that some other body shapes finding a really good, flattering pair of jeans, but I'm not going to bin a pair of bootcuts which do me all sorts of favours for no good reason.

Hmm. No doubt that bootcut are more flattering on the generous of thigh. But no doubt either that they do look a bit dated now.

It's very annoying. I prefer bootcut too.

All lot depends on the shoe, in fairness...

I've seen someone who wasn't even a Mum rendered completely Mumsy by a bootcut extreme pointy courtshoe combo. The bootcuts were allegedly VB as well.

I had no idea bootcut jeans look dated. How do other people know this stuff? It seems to just pass me by.

I love the way skinny jeans look on well-proportioned legs. However I've battled with come to know my own legs well enough to realise that they're not well-proportioned, that I will always be chunky of thigh no matter how close Jillian Michaels and I become, and skinny/straight jeans only advertise this fact to the rest of the world. And don't say, oh, just get a long top - that only leads to awkward 'jokes' about folic acid.

Paige Hollywood Hills, and Gap Sexy Boot/Curvy for me - but definitely long. Nothing worse than slightly short jeans.

Flowery tunic tops trimmed with buttons and stupid little frills. I have a couple of these make me feel stupidly Mumsy.
I am a 44 year old mother of two, so I suppose I shouldn't mind.
I'll do jeans and mum boots quite happily, but the flowery tops make me feel frumpy and a bit silly.

i love boot cut - am a skinny but curvy size 10 and 5ft 6 in. Dont like straights - always feel tight to me.

I quite like tunics

Why can't I decree that they are fashionable and everyone agree with me?

I think you can tread a fine line with the tunic thing. some of them are great, elegant, floaty, flattering, and some look like oversized little girl's party dresses and make anyone over 40 look like Widow Twanky.

Excellent post SlinkingOutsideInSocks

I was in town today and the shops are full of bootcut jeans. Surely if they were that dated they wouldn't be available. I don't think bootcut looks dated - Loads of people still wear them. I think my favourite style is slim straight jeans. I saw a tall, slim lady wearing some today and she looked sensational (age about mid thirties). I happen to own jeeans in straight, skinny and bootcut and wear whatever takes my fancy, although I admit to finding the skinnies rather uncomfortable.

People who say they are size 12 but wouldn't be able to fit into size 12 skinnies, what do you mean?

What I mean is:
My waist is about size 10
My hips are about size 12
My thighs and calves are big.

Size 10 or 12 skinny jeans would fit around my waist. If I could get them on. But I can't get them on because they don't go over my big calves/thighs/butt. Size 14 skinny jeans would fit over my legs/hips, but would are massive (and I really mean massive) around the waist.

Size 12 bootcut jeans fit over everything. Can be too big at the waist sometimes, but generally buy Gap curvy fit or similar.

I have that same problem panettone

There are lots of us real women with hips and proper waists. I get so irritated with shops (yes, you M & S and Next) who only cater for women with square bodies with no waist and hips.

I hate these rules that some people seem to live by which basically mean if you're not 20, 5ft10 and a size 6 - well you should just give up.

I'm 5ft and nearly 40 but I wear super skinny jeans and slim bootcuts and I really don't look awful or mutton.

Its how you wear things not the item itself in my opinion.

So basically exactly what Noddy said.

I only tried skinny jeans recently and am a convert. Being a size getting toward 16 14 and not that tall I figured they would look awful. But then I just decided for some reason to try some and they are actually slimming if worn with a top that doesn't accentuate a muffin top mummy tummy. DS2 is only a baby so I still have a bit of squidge about me. I left the shop with two pairs and now think they are far less aging and mumsy on me. But you absolutely need to choose for your figure and style and just what you think looks right. Some ladies look fab in bootcut jeans. I look plump and dumpy as they seem to add width.

YANBU. People should wear what suits them. But some people don't know what suits them! I'm 34, 5ft2, size 8 with size 10 thighs. I have jeans in boot leg, flare, straight leg, boy cut and skinny. After years of hating my thighs and trying to "balance" them with boot legs and flares, I have just realised that skinnies make the most of my nice calves and narrow hips, so sod the thighs. I love my skinnies.

Right, well I think we can now conclude that people should wear what suits them, be that skinny, straight, bootcut or not jeans at all! Young or Old(er) can all look good depending on how you wear it - I guess confidence never goes out of style.

Now, who wants to start a thread about those awful animal face wooly hats that I see adults wearing...

Oh yes I'm with you on those hats.

DD has a furry hat with ears but she is 2 - I believe about the correct age for such things.

Bunbaker FFS. I'm a real woman, thanks. I've given birth to 3 DCs. I am beyond fed up of reading comments from people who are, let's face it, clearly not happy with their bodies trying to pretend that they are real women and those of us who aren't fat are somehow not real. it's rude. It doesn't fool anyone.

I agree.

Thetasigmamum - I too have no waist but its fine - works better for jeans in my experience

Pros and cons to every bodyshape really - well unless your Gisele bundchen - guessing she doesn't struggle too much with what to wear.

I wear skinny jeans, they look good on me as I have skinny legs and no bum. Boot cut make me look about a foot shorter than I am and I'm not very tall!

"real women" - give me a break. I am a size 6 and I am a real woman. I have a vulva, I have a pair of tits. Being bigger than me doesn't make you more real.

mrscampbellblack oh, I have a waist. :) it's in 'proper' proportion to my hips and my chest therefore I fit into standard sized clothes and don't have to pretend that high street shops are for some reason selling clothing that 'doesn't fit real women'. If one part of my body (say, my hips or arse) was so big that disease completely out of proportion to the rest of me, such that I couldn't fit into a standard size of clothing, I'd blame that bit of my body, not the shops that sell clothes to everyone, and I wouldnt constantly try to denigrate the people who fit standard sized clothes. :)