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Original poster

So, are bootleg jeans a complete no no?

108 replies

DanglingChillis · 14/09/2013 20:24

I'm just too short and curvy to get away with skinnies (plus I wore them when they were called drainpipes and I was 2 sizes smaller). Can I give in to my age (mid 40s) and wear bootlegs that actually suit me?

OP posts:

Fishandjam · 14/09/2013 20:37

Oh dangling my love, these are murky waters you have waded into, aren't they just.

Opinion on S&B is, as far as I can see, bitterly divided on this. In the one camp, there are the likes of yours truly, who reckon that bootcuts and indeed flares are fine to balance a curvy or apple shape. (Though they do need to be long enough. No ankle skimmers!)

In the other camp are yer actual fashionistas who will throw up their hands in horror at anything other than skinny jeans - boyfriend at a push.

I say, you're old enough to damn us all to blazes and wear whatever you like.

Marylou2 · 14/09/2013 20:39

Mid forties is nothing! Have you tried skinnies? Perhaps dark denim with a heel for evening or biker boots for the day. What about boyfriend jeans? Boot cuts will have their day again but just not now.

DameFanny · 14/09/2013 20:40

If you're chunky of thigh then a pair of straight leg jeans will give you a bootleg profile without the silly pinched knees thing.

gaggiagirl · 14/09/2013 20:42

What body shape are you?

ithaka · 14/09/2013 20:44

Mid 40s is no excuse. My dear old mum is in her arly 70s & was appalled to see bootleg cords in M&S - as she knows it has to be drain pipe ankle skimmers at the moment.

I have to say, mid 40s is also no particular reason to be 2 sizes larger than you used to be, but that is personal choice, of course.

A straight leg with a chunky boot may balance out your profile. A bootleg will make you look frumpy, there is no getting away from it.

cupcake78 · 14/09/2013 20:46

Straight legs will be flattering! I am of a similar shape except taller. Skinny anything makes me look like an over stuffed sausage. I will be wearing some bootcut jeans this winter because on me they look far better than skinny jeans.

IMO its about what suits your shape not what is fashionable. Good quality classic tailoring will never go out of fashion.

Fisharefriendsnotfood · 14/09/2013 20:47

Wow Ithaca did the OP ask for your opinion on her dress size? Bloody rude!

Wear whatever the heck you like OP but I'd try straight leg/ slim over boot cut and see how you get on

NettoSuperstar · 14/09/2013 20:49

Have you tried straight legs?
I'm short and thighy and couldn't get skinnies to fit at all, as my thighs are a size above the rest of me.
Straights fit me like skinnies.

ithaka · 14/09/2013 20:52

Sorry, OP, I know you did not ask for my opinion on your dress size, but people 'giving into their age' annoys me, which is why I commented - getting older is really no reason to get fatter. Obviously your body, your choice.

itsnothingoriginal · 14/09/2013 20:56

I've noticed loads of boot cut jeans in the shops in the A/W ranges so they can't be THAT out of fashion (she says hopefully as detest skinny jeans!)

I just bought some bootcuts from DP but tbh they are pretty skinny with just a small flare. I don't really care if they're not 'in' - I'm pretty slim but skinny jeans make me look like a parsnip!

SanityClause · 14/09/2013 20:58

Can you even buy boot cut jeans?

Remember when we were at school, OP and how old fashioned someone would have looked wearing flares! That's what boot cuts are like, now.

Fishandjam · 14/09/2013 20:58

ithaka, the OP can lose weight, but you will always be bloody rude. Though I am seriously tempted to send your post to Private Eye's Pseuds Corner

ithaka · 14/09/2013 21:00

I am not sure what bit of my post would belong in Pseuds Corner - although obviously it would be great to get in there, so do please send it. May sure you post back if it makes the cut (which I sincerely doubt) so I can purchase a copy.

Thurlow · 14/09/2013 21:05

Fuck it, I still wear mine. They are so comfy, I wear them on days when I'm not really doing anything more exciting than pottering to the supermarket. I do wear chunkier brown books underneath which seems to detract a little from the bootcut-yness.

Fishandjam · 14/09/2013 21:06

This bit: "My dear old mum is in her arly 70s & was appalled to see bootleg cords in M&S - as she knows it has to be drain pipe ankle skimmers at the moment."

Pure gold.

blibblibs · 14/09/2013 21:24

I kept all my bootcut jeans from pre DC and have finally lost the weight to wear them again and they look bloody awful.

I've kept one pair from 7 and only because I used to love them so much rather than actually liking them now

My knees are to chubby for skinnies but straight leg and boyfriend are good choices - for me anyway.

Fishandjam · 14/09/2013 21:28

I'll agree that bootcut jeans from somewhere like Cotton Traders are not to be considered. But you can take my dark blue Joe Browns ones when you pry them from my cold, dead legs.

treehouselover · 14/09/2013 21:30

Well I just bought 2 pairs of jeans from Next yesterday. One bootcut and one skinny. They're my first skinnys and I'm seriously considering taking them back. I just hate the way they look. I don't think they're flattering. I'm a size 12 (10 in Next) but I'm a fell runner and I do a lot of mountain biking and I have very solid, large thighs.

I'm 39 and I remember drainpipes the first time round, but mainly I think I hate them because I look like I'm trying to be fashionable. I love my bootlegs with DMs or Converse. I'm a bit of a hippy at heart, and would wear bellbottoms if I could find them.

The anti-bootleg bias on this thread is making me rebel. I think I'll go and look for the receipt and take back the skinnys!

dingit · 14/09/2013 21:33

Oh crap. Wish I hadn't seen this. I bought some dreaded boot cuts yesterday in Dotty Ps. I am a lollipop shape, 16/18 top, the jeans are 14, and I thought they would balance me out. Are they a no no then?

racmun · 14/09/2013 21:35

Blib

I've done exactly the same I had a pair of bootleg from 7 which I just loved and loved. They were such a treat at the time and whilst I agree they look crap now I cannot get rid of them. I will keep them forever.

itsnothingoriginal · 14/09/2013 21:47

I don't think we should worry about whether they are 'in' or not.. jeans should suit your shape and make you feel comfortable.

I personally feel uncomfortable in skinny jeans as they show off my worst bits. DH, whilst no fashion icon himself, thinks they are the work of the devil for both men and women!!

Bunbaker · 14/09/2013 21:56

Can you even buy boot cut jeans?

Yes, they are everywhere

If bootleg jeans are frumpy why are all the shops, including the ones that sell trendy jeans, full of bootleg jeans?

I prefer straight leg or slim straight as skinny jeans don't suit me and I have never been able to find a pair that were comfortable anyway.

I don't think we should worry about whether they are 'in' or not.. jeans should suit your shape and make you feel comfortable.

^^ This is what we should all be considering when buying jeans. not what the fashion police on MN dictate.

Fishandjam · 14/09/2013 21:59

tree, something like this?

NoComet · 14/09/2013 22:05

I shall wear skinny jeans/jeggins as long as I can get them as I like wearing long boots. And I will still wear my boot cuts when they are in the wash.

I'm not throwing out/not wearing perfectly good jeans in the name of fashion. Ian throwing out my one straight legged pair due to them being 10 years old and having holes in embarrassing places.

Quangle · 14/09/2013 22:06

unless you have good legs and slim hips, skinnies look pretty dreadful imo. Everyone I see is wearing them, and everyone really shouldn't. Even straight legs look pretty bad on me - I just did a jeans revisit and straight ones make me look as though I'm just off out to muck out the horses. Just sort of drab and shapeless and workmanlike. At least the slim bootcuts gave me a bit of shape (I'm not short but have short legs, big bum, small waist).

I hope I don't meet Ithaca and her mum out shopping. They would judge my leg shape and my jeans choice

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