The right jeans for your body

True Religion straight cut from Bloomingdales

More than 20 years ago a young Brook Shields shimmied into skin tight Calvin Klein jeans, a white shirt partially buttoned and gushed on TV’s across the world, ‘nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” Oh, the innuendos, the uproar, the soar in CK jean sales everywhere!! That ad campaign made its mark in advertising history but perhaps also firmly established the denim blue jean as a wardrobe staple. Let’s face it, jeans aren’t going anywhere—in fact every year designers make improvements in the fabrication, design and fit that make them that much more a closet basic.

These days there are options galore for women of all shapes, ages, sizes and fashion tastes. But sometimes, the more options women have the more confused they become. So to take some of the mystery out of figuring out why certain pairs of jeans fit you better than others here are some key pointers:

• What silhouette in a jean is right for you? It depends on your figure mostly.

• -If you are pear shaped (heavier in the hips and thighs than the shoulders and bust) you can never go wrong with a boot cut jean as the flared lower leg will ‘balance’ out your hips. A wide leg trouser style jean will also work.
• -Who can wear skinny jeans? Well as the name implies, that style is best suited for those who are slim with thinner thighs, hips and smaller behinds. For these women, the skinny jean, because it is meant to fit tight all the way down the leg can be a great look when paired with a tunic top or mini dress because it gives a legging effect but with more substance in the fabric.
• -Straight leg jeans will always be the standard as it is the epitome of the classic American relaxed style—blue jeans and a T.
• -Boyfriend style jeans work with many figure types (except those that are really boyish!) and curvy cut jeans like the new CJ line at Nordstrom are great for those with fuller rears hips and thighs in terms of fit.
• -High waist styles are on the way out and peg leg styles (really narrow leg openings) may be on their way in.
• -And because it is summer, cropped, cuffed styles are everywhere—just don’t make them look like capris!

• A variety of washes can be seen in stores. My favorites right now are white jeans (summer staple) grey washes, and blue/black tones. And back in style are very distressed jeans, whether shredded, torn, thrashed or otherwise essentially ruined. But hey, all in the interest of fashion, right?

More to come on finding that perfect pair of jeans in an upcoming edition!