Skinny jeans - how did they stay ‘in’ for so long?

[TheOGCCL]

Whether you like it or not, baggier jean shapes are more fashionable at the moment. There are plenty of skinnies in the shops but these are not what the high fashionistas are wearing and a glance down Oxford Street last night showed many more (youngish) people in looser clothing. It struck me that the real talking point is how skinny jeans managed to stay ‘in’ for so long.

They are so eminently practical for everything and everywhere you would have thought the fashion industry would have allowed them for a season or two maximum. Instead it feels like they were actually in for about 15 years, and that it took a pandemic, driving a new desire for relaxed shapes, to dislodge them, finally.

And that actually they haven’t really been completely dislodged, so many people have taken them to their heart, even where they don’t even suit their body shape particularly. Has people power kept them in fashion?

I think they look great. Not everyone wants clingy on the crotch.

Definitely an acceptable level of crotch cling to me.

Thinking of changing my user name to "mud sponge flappy bits" after reading your post. Made me chuckle

@SizzlerFizzler you can’t go by internet shopping photos. They pose in a way that sets the clothing off at it’s best and often use clips at the back or similar to cinch things in in the right place. Depending on your height and build you may still end up with a ‘crotch cling’. It’s usually not a problem for me until I sit down, then it sometimes gets uncomfortable 😂

This is style and beauty. Just because lots of people wear them that doesn't make them fashionable / stylish or the other. It's not a sum zero equation.

I’m really interested in people describing skinnies as classics. I’m 45 and never came
across that shape until the 2000’s and then def later in that decade. Appreciate that drainpipes may have been 80’s but all I’m saying is that until I was in my 30’s skinnies were a shape that I had never really seen out and about and certainly hadn’t bought. I live in a big city and have some very fashionable friends, I clearly remember discussions with my friends about how weird skinnies felt when we first tried them, which I’m going to say was about 2005. So I just can’t see that they are classics, they might become so but to me they were just the dominate shape for 10 -15 years and then other shapes started coming back in.
I wonder if people have just got so used to them that they now believe they can never give them up but I think that’s the same
With any fashion that has longevity. I reckon give it 10 years and a lot of people who now say they’ll never give them up, will have done.
its like those people who said they’d never give up bootcut because they “balance you out” but eventually did give them up

No, style is subjective.

Looking good/wearing what you feel comfortable in/Looking well put together always beats fashion victim.

I like skinny jeans but I like bootcut too. What I really want is good 90s combat trousers but can't find many petite ones.

Saying they make people's legs look like parsnips. Skinny jeans show the actual shape of a person's body and legs, and it sounds like some people think that looks dreadful.

Being comfortable in what you are wearing is the most important thing.

That said as someone who worked in fashion and design I think women trying to hide their stomachs accomplish the opposite. If you are apple shaped skinny jeans and a baggy top will accentuate your stomach.

I am not saying don't wear what you want, but that trend makes people look bigger than they are. You can create a waist a few different ways to balance your silouette more. And yes Apple shapes do have great legs!

On whether Oxford Street is a good bellwether, I picked it because it’s reputation is pretty mainstream. People are definitely wearing looser things in Hackney Wick as it is full of young trendy people. I’ve seen men in short loose trousers with sports socks and massive trainers. Not flattering in the slightest.

On who cares, this is S&B, I know some people might see it in Active but it’s a place for people interested in this topic; obviously people can wear what the hell they like and don’t have to care about what is ‘in’ or ‘out’, and indeed that is sort of part of my post - something quite unusual has happened with skinnies where they have transcended fashion for over a decade and may well continue to do so.

And I also agree that some people who think they very much suit skinnies might not actually be wearing the best shape for them - it takes a long time for the eye to adjust. But if other options aren’t practical then that often matters more.

I remember lots of “you’ll prise my bootcuts from my cold dead hands, skinny jeans are so unflattering” from friends in 2005. They all switched eventually. Anyone remember Posh Spice saying that if you wore flats with skinnies your legs looked like golf clubs?! No one cared about that after a couple of years of them dominating fashion.
I am sad about the demise of my long leather boots though, really can’t see them working until the cycle of fashion comes round again. Also agree with posters talking about the difficulty of winter - I basically gave up on jeans in cold weather last year and wore either sportswear or posh wide-leg trousers and heels on nights out (therefore maybe twice)

Do people really listen to and wear what is "in" and what the "high fashionistas" are wearing whether or not it suits them?!

Yes. I pretty much always go to London Fashion Week. I love everything about fashion.

Haha my teen dds can wear what’s in fashion. I’m sticking with my skinnies! They suit me and I will not be parted.

I’ve rediscovered baggier jeans with no lycra, so much more comfortable for me and I don’t have a problem with wet jeans any more as I like them rolled up slightly with my lovely Birkenstock Chelsea boots and woolly socks. I feel cold when I wear skinny jeans and I hate being cold. Am pleased I’ve found something that is both comfortable for me to wear and that I feel (for me) socially comfortable in.

Skinnies never really took off until lycra....you get the shape but you can still move and breathe in them.
I never take any notice of anything that posh Spice says

If you don’t switch though ( as is your right) they won’t “suit” you they’ll look dated and frumpy. In the same way heels sloop good but looked wrong when flats were in.

Straight or skinny are more forgiving if they are too long whereas bootcut need to be the right length

two words

Bubble. Skirts.

I also love my Levi 927s, always for sale on EBay though can be a wait for get my size. Am sad I can’t find the corduroy version I had in the 90s☹️ Definitely not for wearing in the rain!

Skinny jeans simply do not look good on most people and can be quite uncomfortable.

Kate Moss is probably the only one who ever looked really good in them!

I happily donated mine to my local charity shop...

I was queuing behind a middle-aged woman yesterday who was wearing incredibly tight skinny jeans and Birkenstocks on her feet and it really was not a good look. It just gave her the shape of a toothpick wearing flippers.

The comments on this thread are hilarious and pretty bitchy. People telling each other what suits them, going on about fat stomachs and legs.

Skinny jeans are definitely going out of fashion, doesn't mean you can't still wear them though. I'll be keeping a pair or two for winter as in my opinion they still look nice with a longer coat, boots, a long shirt and so on.

Mom jeans do not look shit on everyone and are definitely not just for teenagers. Some people just don't like change. I'm a slimmish but certainly not perfect, late 30s mum. I've embraced the mom jeans and straight leg. They're super comfy and make a welcome change after 20 years of skinnies. They are a bit more awkward to style but they definitely have a place in my wardrobe.

If you think that Asos model looks bad then you need your eyes testing.

I like skinnies because I'm tall. They are the only cut of jeans where it doesn't matter if they're not quite long enough as either you have long boots over the top, or little pumps and you can turn them up a bit and pretend you meant them to be that length or whatever. With anything like bootcut or flares, they look silly if they're too short and the cut is also wrong on longer legs so the knees etc look funny.

I'm 40 and I couldn't give a toss if they're not in fashion.

I wore skinnies for years but finally stopped a couple of years ago. I recently tried my old ones on to see if they were worth keeping… but they looked awful!
It took a while to get used to seeing myself in different styles but they definitely look better.

@SirBarneyPlumsted > I didn't even know Birkenstock did Chelsea boots so now, thanks to you, I've now gone and ordered some 😐because I love my Doc Marten Chelsea boots.

Skinnies have never, ever suited me. God knows why, as I’ve got decent legs and am quite tall. The new style jeans look great on me, so I am glad!
However…. I get why skinnies have been so popular. They tuck into boots - knee highs, and of course Uggs when they were everywhere. They go well with slouchy sweaters, plimsolls etc. stuff that lots of women like wearing. They are worn by women with all different kinds of figures and suit a wide range of shapes. I think they will always be worn by some people.