Skinny jeans were once everywhere but in recent years the keen eyed among us may have noticed how rare they are in comparison to the olden days of the 2010s. That’s not to say they’re entirely out of fashion because there are still scenarios where I think skinny jeans are the best choice but they’re few and far between.

The upside of this is that you probably shouldn’t be wearing skinny jeans to begin with! This is because of how tight they are, they end up revealing the shape of your legs and hips a lot more than wider leg pants.

If you’ve read my other posts you’ll know why I advocate heavily for wide leg pants and skinny jeans are not an exception. They lost their gendered status of women’s clothing once they stopped getting called ‘girl pants’ many moons ago, and so they don’t even have the benefit that leggings would have despite being the same silhouette. Maybe once fashion trends change they’ll loop back around to being gendered again but it’s too soon to say since they were deemed dead during the pandemic.

An important thing to note is the general rule of women’s clothing where if you have tight bottoms wear a loose top, or tight top wear loose bottoms does not play into your favor with skinny jeans at all. Because our hips tend to be smaller, your upper body will end up looking larger than it actually is when following this rule.

Or when I do oversized both, and tight on both. They can work in some cases but it’s definitely a personal preference most of the time.

You can see me here NOT following the rules

Now following the rule you can see how it looks much better!

I know the desire to wear skinny jeans can be strong as you branch out into women’s clothing and you’ve seen women wear these for many years thinking they were super cool but newsflash, they’re ‘out of fashion’ nowadays too. That’s not to say they’re bad but you might get some additional looks from people who are questioning your fashion sense.

However there are some styles that work well with skinny jeans! Some of these styles do work best when wearing tight everything so your confidence mileage may vary. They’re also not very dated. 

• Punk 
• Athleisure 
• Business casual looks
• Bonus 

Punk

I started my transition journey working at a brand that really emphasized punk looks and so I have a lot of jeans that fit this aesthetic. Punk is very versatile in the sense that you can wear many different things. Aspects like ripped jeans have also managed to become a staple outside of just punk looks too!

Athleisure

Athleisure is about looking casual and relaxed. This look is a lot more popular in North America so if you’re somewhere like Paris you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Any kind of sport tops work for this, tank tops, bodysuits, t-shirts, etc. Hats and headbands can pull stuff together. Shoes don’t matter as much because they can be anything. You’ll also notice how the white jeans are not nearly as flattering as the blue. Solid white doesn’t do anyone favors for bottoms of any kind as it brings a lot more attention to your body and REALLY ‘brightens’ the look of your outfit since your legs are longer than your torso.

Businessy 

For a business look you need to look sharp. Thankfully it’s usually taboo to wear tighter tops in the workplace so you have wiggle room of what top to wear. Button up shirts fit this niche perfectly, as well as sweaters and cardigans.  T-shirt’s are alright but blouses are better.

Millennial cosplay

Skinny jeans are also great for mimicking what a millennial dresses like because they were and still are obsessed with skinny jeans. Throw on a flannel and a funny wide brimmed hat and you’re golden. Bonus points for excessive bracelets and hiking/work boots.

If you can pull it off well I’d say these styles can work but don’t commit too hard to the skinny jeans lifestyle. There’s a lot more to style than a few niches. Maybe it works for you but as you develop a sense for what you like overtime you’ll branch out and discover new things you might even prefer over skinny jeans! 

You may have also noticed all of these styles in particular tend to glorify being skinny to an extent. While that’s probably true of society as a whole it ends up reinforcing itself in these cases. The trends of thigh gaps and ‘slim thicc’ propped up skinny jeans longer than most styles. They also place a heavy emphasis on curves due to them being tight so they have caused some personal confidence issues that are best avoided. 

Now there’s also the caveat of skinny jeans not being terribly comfortable. I find I need to shave my legs to wear them so my leg hair doesn’t cause a sandpaper effect with the denim. This can also potentially lead to more ingrown hair because of friction causing the direction of the hair growth to change. Moving in them can be somewhat difficult if they’re rigid and combine that with being a day of being bloated they end up too tight and I’m just not a fan of them. Not to mention tucking as well. They’re just not a good time comfort wise.

As a result here is a picture of all my skinny jeans I hardly wear anymore because of either comfort or developing a better eye for what works with trans bodies.

Quite a lot isn’t it? And because of my history working for luxury fashion brands too this stack of jeans probably cost around 500$ and that’s with my discount! 

Most denim these days comes with ‘stretchiness’ as well and while most people love this aspect of clothes, I personally don’t. Elastane/spandex degrades overtime and especially the more you wash it. Exposing it to hot water can cause the elasticity to alter, resulting in warping of the fabric. Same goes for much of the chemicals we use in the laundry. Most denim is typically recommended to wash every 8 wears unless visibly dirty. I would recommend not going for anything over 5% elastane/spandex in your skinny jeans if you must. 

Now with all of that being said do I think you shouldn’t own skinny jeans at all? Nope. 

An indigo pair and black can go a decent way. But don’t limit yourself to just skinny jeans!

What do I suggest? 

1. Mom jeans are pretty good
2. Wide legs are good
3. Bootcut (tiny flare)
4. Flared
5. A WELL FITTING straight leg

I also would always get only high or mid rise since they’ll place a better emphasis on your legs and take away from your ghastly upper body. Unless you want people to stare at your midriff or boobies, then low rise is the way.

Eventually I’ll have a SUPER long article about jeans and denim since I worked at a specialty denim store before, but that will be far in the future so I hope this can guide you in the meantime 

In brief

• Not very gendered (anymore)
• Doesn’t follow the tight/loose rule so can be difficult to pair properly
• Uncomfy 
• Out of style for most looks
• Not great for trans bodies
• Your body can change overtime with HRT and skinny jeans in particular may not fit overtime
• Materials don’t hold up like most denim
• Plenty of other options are available and look better