Useful basics – Jeans

Jeans are such a useful, basic item of clothing and they must be the most worn item of clothing since the 1950s! They were invented by Jacob W Davis and Levi Strauss in 1871. They can be worn by men and women of all ages and sizes and can be bought in many different styles and colours of denim.

The most important element of jeans, however, is fit. If you don’t get the fit of your jeans right, you won’t wear them as they will be uncomfortable. When you get the correct fit for you, you will look and feel great in them and they can be worn with a variety of tops throughout the year.

For the past 15 years at least, skinny or very slim fitting jeans have been in fashion but now you can get jeans in different cuts – boyfriend, girlfriend, straight, wide leg, and bootleg jeans are back again also.

What to look for when buying jeans

When you are choosing jeans, you should try on lots of pairs until you find some you like. The rise can differ too – low rise, mid rise or high rise – the choice is yours but low rise isn’t flattering unless you are young and really slim!

As well as the rise, consider your body shape when buying jeans. For example, if you are apple shaped, i.e. you carry more weight on the top half of your body and usually have slim legs, you could try bootleg or a wider cut of jeans to balance your body shape.

Where to buy jeans

You can buy jeans from virtually any clothes shop, either on the high street or online. The above examples of jeans are all from Boden, who do a good variety of jeans shapes and are good quality. Other good places to shop for jeans are: Levi’s, who also do a wide selection of jeans to suit all body shapes (www.levi.com), Ruth Langsford’s jeans on QVC (www.qvcuk.com), Marks & Spencer (www.marksandspencer.com), Mint Velvet (www.mintvelvet.co.uk) amongst many other shops.

Dark wash jeans are more flattering for the over 50s and look great with dressy or casual tops. Look for some stretch in jeans too. I usually wear darker jeans in the autumn and winter with boots, and lighter ones in the spring and summer with trainers or flat shoes. In my opinion, you are never too old to wear jeans, provided they fit you well and the style and colour is right.