All About Denim and How to Wear ‘Em!
Jeans have revolutionized the fashion world in many ways after WWII, it essentially changed the ideals of daily wear after it hit mainstream. Daily fashion during pre-war days were about formality, the more layers you have, the higher the status you are, but soon after the war, daily wear became something of comfort instead of status.
Thanks to Levi Strauss, a Bavarian-born American who found a new fabric in France called “serge de Nimes” was more durable than the widely used Canvas, to dress his clients who were mainly blue collared men and cowboys. Serge is a type of twill fabric, and Nimes is the name of a city in France that founded this fabric. Shortly afterwards, the name was shortened to Denim. The word Jeans, comes from the French word of Genoa, Italy (Gene) where the first pair of denim trousers were made, but the first official pair of denim jeans were made in San Francisco, the same city where Levi Strauss lived.
Jeans come in many styles and fits, here’s a list of popular styles and fits:
* Baggy
* Bootcut
* Boyfriend/Weekend
* Carpenter
* Cropped
* Flare
* Embroidered
* High-waisted
* Loose
* Relaxed
* Skinny/Stovepipes
* Straight-leg
* Wide leg
* Drain Pipe
Tummy Problems
**To fake a flat tummy, wear jeans with thick waistbands or do something high-rise to minimize the middle
**Handling love handles, go for mid-rise styles that are 8 to 8.5 inches from crotch, make sure the waistband is stretchy if it’s anything lower than mid-rise.
**For the boyish figure or people with angular hips, choose jeans that rest on the pelvic bone and AVOID boyfriend cuts
**Hippy ladies, find jeans just below your belly button when you do up high-rise jeans. AVOID wearing jeans with tight ankles, find something that flares out a little to balance out the hip area.
Bootylicious
**If you’re quite bootyful, find jeans with stretchy fabric with great support for the jiggly wiggly.
**Tone-on-tone design and embroidery will minimize attention to the bum
**Find back pockets with inverted triangular shapes and vertical lines will help minimize the bum
**Rounded pocket edges will give square, flat bums a nice rounded apple shape
**High flap back pockets will create the illusion of a higher, perkier behind, as well as stitching across the top of the pockets will draw attention to the top of the butt and not the bottom
**Remember: Pocket placement and design is crucial when choosing jeans and making your bum look good,90% of men do not check their bums when purchasing jeans
Slimming Styles
**Find side seams that curve to the front for a narrow silhouette. Try Fidelity’s Skip jeans which are probably the strongest denim on the market currently, with polyester woven into the jeans to hold their shape, so say goodbye to VPL!
**Jeans that are 1/4 inch smaller at the thigh and knee actually directs viewers eyes to the ankle and not the rear. Try City of Others’ Minsk which flares out below the knee.
**Jeans that hug a little tighter on the top with a straight-leg style will create a sexier, curvy look than the usual straight-leg tomboy style. Try Habitual’s Straight Leg Isolation which is stretchy, but will hold you in.
**Always hard to find low-rise jeans that cover love handles, but there are jeans that sit between a low-rise and mid-rise, it’s 2 inches higher than the usual low-rise. Try J Brand’s Heartbreaker jeans which went waiting list crazy across the U.S.
**Wide-leg in mid-rise with minimal pockets and detailing is super trendy this season and this flatters ALL figures.
According to the Denim Blog it seems like PRPS is really taking the denim celebrity world by storm. Of course there’s the usual J Brand, 7 For All Mankind, etc.
The other trend for 2009 is the “Thrasher” look, jeans that have been ripped and cut up are back in rage. And be on the lookout, seems as though Denim shirts and Jeans Jackets are slowly making a comeback…
Resource: Some adapted from InStyle Magazines