Marilyn Monroe once said clothes should be tight enough to show you are a woman but loose enough to show you are a lady. I know this sounds borderline problematic in 2022 but I don’t have time get into that here – and anyway, please don’t even think about trying to cancel Marilyn, kiddos, because for those of us who remember the 20th century, that is a red line.
The point is, she was right – at least when it comes to jeans. Just because it is time to leave the spray-on skinnies behind (and it is), you don’t have to embrace exaggerated wide-legged denim. Do you want to look like Justin Bieber? I didn’t think so. You want to look like Marilyn in The Misfits. (Google it and you’ll see what I mean.)
Jeans are the most useful item in a British summer. It is lovely to imagine a summer wardrobe of gauzy shirts and sundresses the size of hankies, but it’s also pointless. That wardrobe isn’t for summer; it’s for one or two brief spells of heatwave bliss. Your actual summer wardrobe – the clothes you will be mostly wearing between May and when Strictly starts – is a different kettle of fish.
There are winter clothes, and summer clothes, and then there are jeans. One of their superpowers – as well as never really looking dirty and having plenty of pockets – is that they work for almost any temperature – if they are the right jeans. This is most important now for two reasons: if you wear jeans with a plain white T-shirt, the denim has more heavy lifting to do, style-wise, than with a statement knit and big coat; and skinny jeans will make you sticky and uncomfortable on warm days, while a looser pair would be much cooler. In both senses.
Jeans used to be all about how they made your bum look. But to get jeans right now you need to focus on how they look at the waist and leg. The top button should sit on your natural waist and fasten snugly, so you can tuck (or French tuck) a top into the front of the waistband and have a defined silhouette without wearing a belt. But the jeans should “release from the thigh and knee”, which is fashion speak for being a bit loose almost all the way down. The ankle can taper for a more feminine silhouette – a balloon shape – or be straight-legged, which looks more menswear-ish. It’s really not that complicated.
Specialist jeans boutiques make it feel complicated. Jeans are folded into rectangles on shelves, which looks neat and minimalist but makes it impossible to see, without messing up the display and antagonising the staff, what shape they are or whether they might vaguely fit. There are grandiose explanations about selvedge and heritage. (Guys, you sell trousers. You’re not the British Museum.)
Vintage is a brilliant way to shop for jeans. If you spy a rail of old Levi’s in a thrift store (Beyond Retro is a treasure trove), look for the blue-sky washes of 1980s and 1990s denim, the sweet spot between flares and skinnies.
There are also great brands on the high street now. Good American is becoming many women’s favourite brand – its Classic Jeans are £150 at John Lewis, in sizes 2-24. To go a tiny bit Bieber in a wearable wide-legged jean, Nobody’s Child’s High-Waisted Wide-Leg are £55 at Marks & Spencer. Raey Organic Cotton Straight-Leg jeans are a perfect shape (£140) That’s your summer wardrobe off to a flyer. The only accessory you need is your first glass of rosé.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Tom Ford beauty. Polo neck: Jigsaw. Cardigan: Whistles. Jeans: Veronica Beard. Scarf: Toast
