Few items of clothing are both as iconic and ubiquitous as a pair of jeans. With era-defining silhouettes that capture cultural moments in time, jeans are a wardrobe staple. But they’re also one of fashion’s most polluting categories, prone to high trend cycles and – as a result – hanging in our wardrobes unworn.
Getty ImagesTake this season’s trends. Last year, Vogue reported that skinny jeans were making a comeback, only to call it a fleeting moment 12 months later, and now they’re back again – with the Princess of Wales as poster girl. “Slim” silhouettes are in, too, alongside belted and baggy, and – the shape of the season – barrel-leg jeans: a fitted waist that leads into a slightly voluminous leg and then tapers at the ankle. With as many fits and trends as there are body shapes and tastes, how do we invest in the perfect pair?
Personal stylist Alexandra Fullerton says that the barrel-leg silhouette works with most body shapes. “They are pleasingly loose across the legs and sit around the true waist, therefore they should have a lasting place in one’s wardrobe,” she tells the BBC. “They are just a baby step away from the boyfriend jean, which is now a perma-trend.”
But Fullerton stresses that buying a pair of jeans should be a marathon, not a sprint, and advises her clients to build a shortlist of styles based on research. What washes do you like? Which brands do you admire? Who in the public eye has a sim