Are you ready for the return of straight leg jeans? For the longest time, it felt like baggy jeans were the only choice for the street style crowd—ideally low-rise, with some pointy or Tabi boots being swallowed up by the pooling hems. In recent months though, and as the weather’s picked up, another style of jeans has been shuffling their way onto our moodboards. I’m talking, of course, about straight leg jeans—not baggy, not skinny, but that sweet spot in between.
I first started seeing a noticeable return to the humble straight leg around fashion month earlier this year, when it was clearly the go-to uniform for off-duty models slouching around Paris and New York. Usually low or mid-rise, and worn with loafers, ballet flats, or boots, the straight leg feels casual and low effort, without totally swamping you like some baggy jeans can. And if, like me, you’ll never be on board with a return to skinny, the straight leg is an easy alternative that feels like a classic.
Bella Hadid—who I consider a sort of soothsayer when it comes to jeans—has also been on the straight leg jeans trend for a minute. Often pairing hers with a vest and trainers, or sometimes a lil stiletto, the 28-year-old model has got straight leg outfit combos down to a fine art. She’s also not averse to a high-rise straight leg with a belt, which feels very “early 2010s mom” in the best way possible. Controversial take, but: I feel like she eats in a straight leg even more than she does a bootcut.
Fortunately, finding the most perfect straight leg jeans for summer is a relatively painless experience—unlike, say, piling a gazillion bootcuts into a harshly lit changing room. My colleague Alice Cary swears by vintage straight legs, as the denim has a bit more life to it. “The pair of Levi’s 501s I found in a vintage store in the US several years ago are perfectly worn-in and will continue to age as I wear them,” she wrote for British Vogue recently. “They have a finish that’s hard to replicate in a factory.”
Obviously, models look good in anything—that’s literally their job. But if there’s one trend that’s worth replicating this year from the GOATs of low-key cool, it’s the straight leg. Whether you’re a model or not, I truly believe you can’t go wrong with this straight up-and-down classic.
6 / 6
Toteme straight leg jeans, $506
Available at Net-a-porter.
This story was first published on Vogue.com.
