Get ready for the ultimate guide on styling the Skinny Jean in 2024!
There’s nothing more controversial among the generations than skinny jeans. When styling skinny jeans, they stir up a set of mixed emotions. For some, they represent the golden age of fashion, when a fool-proof style would go with any oversized Tee. For others, connotations of millennial drunken days and Catfish and the Bottlemen spring to mind.
One thing is indisputable: they’re having a revival. Whether you’re over the moon or beyond anguished by this revelation, we hear from fashion experts about how to style them, regardless of your generation. Styling these skinny jeans has never been more versatile, according to experts.
Look for elastane-cotton blends in your skinny jeans
Once upon a time, skinny jeans were thick cotton denim, nicknamed “drainpipes” for a reason – they were fixedly rigid. However, times have changed, and elastane-cotton blends now mean you can move and breathe in your skinny jeans.
“Don’t take the word skinny too literally,” says celebrity stylist Ellis Ranson, “They need to be tight but not cutting off any circulation – we only look as good as we feel, and when we sit down we don’t want to have to undo any buttons.”
Celebrity stylist Flick Bartlett says, “think slim, not skinny, and always do the sitting-down test!” The waistband should stay in the same place as when you’re standing.
Regarding shapes, “Mid or high-rise jeans are often more comfortable and provide better support,” says Nick Drewe, founder of Wethrift, and “low-rise jeans can be restrictive.” And one word of advice for elastane-cotton blends: never tumble-dry them. Styling skinny jeans with care will keep them looking great.
1. Indie Sleaze
Nineties and Noughties fashion trends have been slowly creeping back into fashion. The return of Indie Sleaze has seen skinny jeans and ballet pumps make a return, influenced by the recent Amy Winehouse biopic.
Suppose you’re inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll fashion of the early Noughties from London it-girls like Alexa Chung. Team your skinny jeans with hyper-oversized silhouettes. “A great way to channel this look is with a leather jacket, band T-shirt, and mesh pumps,” says Bartlett. This combination is critical to styling the skinny jeans.
Drewe suggests dialing up the sophistication of your look by taking inspiration from present-day Alexa Chung. Pair your skinny jeans with a striped shirt and layer with a trench coat for the ultimate Parisian style.”
2. Prim and proper
Fashion designer Amanda Wakeley OBE says you can pair skinny jeans with a crisp white shirt and trainers. This silhouette is a staple for any wardrobe. When styling skinny jeans, simplicity can often be the most effective.
Alternatively, “Pair your skinny jeans with an oversized white shirt, trench coat, and a loafer for that clean, sophisticated look,” says Wakeley.
3. Cool girl
Who said skinny jeans weren’t relaxed? Their return shows they’re not the millennial faux-pas they were once associated with.
To channel the ultimate cool-girl vibe, Bartlett says it’s all about balance, “Style an oversized white shirt (tucked in) with your skinnies. Add chunky jewellery, a studded leather belt and metallic kitten heels.”
Wakeley says you can take inspiration from the ultimate cool-girl muses like Kate Moss. “She wears a vintage band T-shirt, a mannish jacket, and high-ankle boots that elongate the legs. Styling skinny jeans like Kate Moss brings out that timeless cool.”
“Take inspiration from Balenciaga and wear [skinny jeans] with an oversized leather blouson jacket with over-the-knee boots and a blanket-like scarf and sunglasses.”
