Anyone else not like bootcut jeans?

[Sonotkylie]

Just that really? I keep reading that they are back and really flattering so I tried a pair of slim bootcut jeans. Good fit but the flappy bottom material looks weird and they make my (not very long) legs look short and dumpy. Is it just conditioning? I am small and fairly curvy, so I thought these would be made for me but apparently not ...

This thread made me have a quick look on Pinterest and it looks like bootcuts look great on tall and skinny. I just think they must be so hard to find the exact right length so they aren't bunched on the floor or too short

Yes, those photos are of tall, slim women. But this is what we all said when skinnies were trying to break into the market! They could only possibly look good on tall, slim women, bootcuts are much more flattering, etc.

Shet - agree about the fabric - I found a couple of pics of bootcut jeans that did look good, but not as nice as non-denim fabric.

The length has to be 100% right. Get that wrong, and it distracts from the entire outfit.

And I don't think the appeal of bootcuts was just that they balance out hips. It was also that they elongate your legs.

That's why Gap's Long and Lean were so popular. They did what they said on the tin (unlike skinnies!).

Again, it's all conditioning about what we see as flattering, and what actually is flattering.

Having been through both cycles twice, I would say the advantage - but also the disadvantage of flares/bootcuts/demi flares etc etc is that they're not all the same. It means you have to try on lots of shapes and sizes to find the right ones. They're also harder work when it comes to finding the right shoes. But if - and I repeat if - you find the right pair then they can look amazing and yes, can have magical, leg slimming powers.

Skinnies on the other hand, are what they are. They're easy, practical, warm, good in bad weather but if your thighs are out of proportion to the rest of your leg then basically you've no room for manoevre and nowhere to hide other than in plain view. Which is fine as long as everyone else is wearing them too.

I used to swear by Gap Long and Lean, but around 2008 I made a reluctant change to skinnies (and leggings, but I now feel very "dated" in leggings)

Just before moving to skinnies, I bought my one and only ever pair of expensive jeans: 7forAllMankind (or something), skinny on the thigh, but bootcut and long

Never wore them

Because once I started wearing skinnies, there was no way back

Weird, isn't it?!

When will skinnies go? Will they be like Uggs,and refuse to leave?!

I think they're already on the way out but it takes time because the whole silhouette has to change too. It probably took at least five years for them to get established last time round.

Skinny jeans can also be the "wrong" length.

If they are too long there is extra material bunching up at your ankle.

If they are too short they don't go as far down your leg as you'd like.

Propensity to be the wrong length is not limited to bootcut jeans.

Straight trousers are dated and frumpy

Straight trousers are never precisely straight, anyway.

Straight from what point? Where is the widest point?

Those little details of cut make the difference between a 2018 "mom jean" and an actual pair from the 80s. (both of which are tapered, not straight, IMO)

Not worn anything with a flare since the seventies! Horrid things!

Boot cuts now seem to be shorter than in the 90s so you don’t get that dragging in the street debris effect.

I’m an appley size 10 so most jeans look ok on me but I’m having to get my head round that new length.
Looks ok with ankle boots, no idea what shoes will work when the weather improves.

*Skinny jeans can also be the "wrong" length.

If they are too long there is extra material bunching up at your ankle.

If they are too short they don't go as far down your leg as you'd like.*

I personally find skinnies way more flexible because I can wear them with pretty much every pair of shoes I own

I can wear them full length if I want, but usual I will turn them up to wear 7/8 with ankle boots / trainers / brogues / sandals. Makes no difference whether there's a heel or how chunky the sole

If they're too long I just roll them up one more cuff!

Depends on what style you like though. I can't imagine how I'd wear a boot cut with any of my shoes without looking frumpy. Or indeed having them be the right length with different shoes / boots. But different shapes will suit difference styles. Difference strokes for different folks!

I also like a slim cut straight leg / cigarette style for a similar look that isn't quite so fitted as a skinny

They probably won't work with a lot of current shoes but the shoes change too which is why the whole process takes such a long time. It's not like buying a flouncy top to freshen up your wardrobe. You're gradually - half the time without even noticing - changing your whole silhouette. I find its often the shoes rather than the jeans that reel me in. Last time around I was determined to give skinnies a miss but then I fell for some biker boots that I couldn't wear with flares and that was that.

Yes, exactly. When the move to skinnies happened, I really struggled with the 'hockey stick' look. Wearing bootcuts, I'd been used to most of my foot (shoe) being hidden.

With skinnies, your leg shape, ankle and foot is exposed, like a hockey stick! I'm tall, and although my feet aren't huge, I really couldn't get used to my whole foot being exposed.

So, yes, it really is about so much more than a shift towards one individual item.

If you buy fantastic boots, you'll want them where you can see them, not under flappy denim.

Fantastic boots can hide parsnip in winter, and cropped summer jeans look awful in 'fit and flare'. So I really hope that skinnies don't vanish from sale.

It is a great shame that in the name of fashion, the choice of clothes in shops can be surprisingly narrow. And it's worse for jeans, because that's something people are extremely unlikely to make for themselves.

If you are a bit of a parsnip fantastic boots help. If you are significantly parsnip skinnies and boots still make your legs look like parsnips.

Different shapes suit different legs.

We may see boots disappear for a while and shoes becoming more delicate. Kitten heels are already around and no, I'm not a fan either but they're a sign that the scene's shifting. And some of the shoes I've worn with flares have been marvellous - I've not worn platforms since I was a teenager but I still have a soft spot for them because they're so ridiculous. But I guess part of what I like about flares is they are intrinsically a bit silly, whereas skinnies are very easy, very practical but, after a while, I get bored with them.

I took ages to move to skinnies but I love them. I do have a pair of Gap Long & Lean and can only see then working in summer with a pair of flip flops or something. Skinny and straight just look so neat and smart. And I have memories or wearing ridiculously wide jeans in the 90s and rain water soaking up to my knees.

Yes, I remember wearing skinnies for the first time, and thinking my size 6 feet looked enormous!

I’m moving away from skinnies now. They feel like bootcuts did around 2004 - not quite dated yet but not up-to-date. I have a pair of straight trousers and a pair of cropped slouchy trousers for work, and when I next buy jeans I’ll get some with a more relaxed fit.

I’m not quite ready to return to bootcuts yet - they remind me of being a teen too much - but as tops and shoes change too I’ll probably come around.

It wasn't just bootcuts in the 90s, it was also combats, which were invariably very wide-legged.

Tops were all fitted, and shoes just mustn't have mattered as much back then..?!! I do remember Kylie ushering in heels + combats, which was a move away from the All Saints combats + trainers look.

I'm sure eventually I'll adapt but it's wet here. I hate wet hems. Plus I don't do heels anymore and wonder about boot cuts without heels.

When I was young in the 80s straight legs were in, any trousers which had even a hint of a flare were beyond passé. Then Madchester and rave happened and flares, (anyone remember those massive wide leggged Joe Bloggs jeans?) came back in, suddenly straight legged looked old fashioned. After a few years of everyone wearing bootcuts skinnies suddenly looked really edgy and new, now they’re the default cut. I’ve seen a lot of fashionable youngsters in three quarter length wide legged trousers recently (which I thought looked odd at first, but I quite like now), I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the beginning of the end for skinnies.

This. Pure conditioning.

You are an excellent fashion historian bluth. Thanks for reminding me of those huge Joe Bloggs things

"Different shapes suit different legs."

Utterly and completely agree. Which is why I really wish that the 'standard' styles (skinny, straight, tapered, flare/bootcut) were always available. So people could always buy what they feel suits them.

They suit me whereas other jeans don't - im 5 ft 2 and a size 14/16, probably pear shaped.
I thought they are still in fashion!!! Buy hey - I've never been fashion conscious - I bought a couple of pairs in the next sale approx 7 years ago just after having my son. I've only just started loosing the weight so have started wearing them. Should I be embarrassed? (Light hearted) Im 53 and if anyone can recommend any jeans that may suit me I'd be grateful.
I'm trying to get more current by read S and B more.

Dowager oh god, cargo trousers! I had a pair of jeans with cargo pockets as my sister had the traditional beige cargo pants, and in retrospect, what a way to make your thighs look wider - attach a giant pocket to each one!

Whoever said that tops were different then too, hell yes. It was low rise jeans and slightly cropped, fitted t-shirts to show an inch of lower stomach a la Britney. I think you need the fitted top to balance out the baggier trousers.