I probably shouldn’t say this, what with fashion literally being my job, but the honest-to-god truth is that you can safely ignore about 98% of fashion trends and it won’t make you any less fashionable. A sea change in how we dress only comes around every so often. Most of what the fashion industry calls trends are just the surface ripples that happen between these big waves.
Sheer skirts, mesh shoes, cowboy hats, that kind of thing. You can ignore pretty much everything else that has happened in fashion this year, except for one thing, which is that your jeans can’t be tight any more. A jean with a looser leg shape is the one change you need to have made to your wardrobe.
OK, OK! Obviously I do realise this isn’t an essential in the literal sense. But it is essential if you want to be in the world looking and feeling like you know what year it is. And, since you are reading this, I rather think that you do.
But how big your jeans need to be is the main question. They don’t have to be as dramatic as the pair pictured here, at least not yet, so please don’t panic. The only non-negotiable is that you need to feel space between flesh and denim, from the hem at least up to mid-thigh.
So the switch can be as low-key as swapping sausage-skin skinnies for a straight-leg jean, to start off with. But once you get used to the way a loose-leg jean feels on your body and looks in the mirror, you may be ready to take things to the next level. The barrel-leg jean, or horseshoe .
