Marianne's Exhaustive (and Exhausting!) Fun Denim Recs

For a while Adrien has been sweetly complimenting me on taking fashion risks, especially when it comes to denim. Now, I take that as she likely means it, which is as a compliment, but I know some people look at my jean choices with a wary eye. What can I say? Nothing edges up a basic jeans and a top outfit like those jeans being Fashion. And no, I don't mean like those clear plastic window jeans.

Sometime in the last year and change I got really tired of skinny jeans. I still have two pairs I wear sometimes, and my fave Target moto pants are a very skinny cut, but for the most part I'm just not feeling it. So I asked Adrien if she would like me to do a post on some fun jeans and she said duh, so here we are!

My absolute favorite jeans for over a year now are from H & M and man, I wish I could go back in time and buy a second pair of them in my size, instead of what I actually did which was buy a second pair in a size smaller which is JUST MEAN PAST ME.

Anyway! H & M is a good place to have some fun with denim. When I'm looking at cuts, here's what works best for me: I have a big butt and wide hips but skinny calves, so often times when things fit my butt they are naturally looser in the calf. So for me, straight styles look looser/more flared in the calf. I know for some of you straight styles fit closer to skinny jeans so take these recs with a grain of salt, etc. I like the look of these distressed jeans:

(I love these WITH that floral top and I also love her hair so maybe I just want to be her.)

(A lot going on here I know but these are outfit makers. I'd wear with a simple white top and slides on the weekend like some goddess of the farmers market.)

That said I continue to try and find a wide leg jean that works on my particular body. I feel like I'm getting closer! I need them to fit very snugly in the hip and the crop is key--in general if I'm not using a skinny jean to highlight the skinniest part of my leg (calves/ankles) then I need a crop to show a good 2-3 inches of ankle estate. These aren't exactly super wide legged, but they are the Conscious line and look like good quality:

Now let's talk white jeans! White jeans are not exactly groundbreaking, I know, but my favorite pair are again--not super skinny, have some distressing, and the perfect crop. They are from the Gap and yes I wish I had bought more than one pair. And I wear them allll the time without spilling all over myself, including when I'm traveling. I like to live dangerously (and I keep Tide pens on me, they work). I'd like a backup pair, so I'm currently eyeing:

(These look the most similar to my current pair, down to the raw cropped hem.)

(These are challenging for sure and not likely to work, but if they DO work they will be amazing.)

Can't do distressing? I personally am fine with distressing and obviously still wear distressed jeans, as evidenced from the above. However, there are times that I want to wear cool jeans to work but don't want them to literally have holes in them, because while my workplace is creative and casual there are times when you don't want holes in your jeans! This is a good time to consider patches. They give your jeans a little something without that something being your leg skin showing. My current fave are these:

which I got for cheap after Christmas. They have a lot going on and NO stretch so they are a challenge to get on and move and have organ function in...but they are COOOOOOL and I feel cool in them. These are an easy way to try this trend:

And these aren't from H & M, but Pilcro just fits me so well and I think they are fun without being CRAZY. I might have to buy these:

WOWWWEEE That was a lot of denim talk and I didn't even get very far. But I want to know--where are you guys on denim these days? Are you clinging to your skinnies? Did you never give up bootcut? Are you full-on normcore mom jeans? I am not lying when I say I really want you to tell me. I love talking about jeans.

Review: I Check Out Banana Republic Denim.

​Okay, so I spent a lunch break recently trying on allll the denim at BR and decided to report back because I was very pleasantly surprised. Also, that striped sweatshirt with the big sleeves that I linked to recently is reeeeally nice:

I'm wearing my own Madewell coated jeans in this photo. Also, I'm pretty sure the striped top was $58 in store, not $68 like it is online. I want it. ANYWAY, jeans. I tried on:

Your basic skinny in a mid-rise and ankle length which is perfect for me. The new denim is really nice quality and very comfortable. I feel like this style runs a bit big and was quite stretchy, so if you're between sizes, I'd size down. I quite liked them! Then I tried on these slim straight jeans and hated them:

Straight jeans seem like a good idea but never really work on me. (I feel like you have to wear heels to make a straight leg work and I rarely wear heels.)

I tried on a pair of light wash cropped jeans with an undone hem (which I can't find on the website but kinda like these) because the sales assistant brought them to me, possibly thinking she was helping an old lady out of her rut. They were fun but not for me. Finally I tried on these girlfriend jeans:

They were cuffed in the store and look really cute that way:

They have a reasonable mid-rise and are so so comfortable. I am a size 28 or 29 depending on the jeans and I went with a 28 in these. And, since they were on sale, I bought them. (They'll probably stretch out to hell and then I'll have to burn the store down.) Currently everything seems to be full price, but code BRFRESH gets you 40% off a $200+ purchase plus go through eBates for 2% cash back!

PS. There was also bright pink gingham in the store which NO. NO BANANA. WHAT EVEN:

In Which I Have a Tantrum About Denim.

My favorite pair of straight-leg jeans are a leetle bit tight right now and the weather is not yet cold enough for my standard spandexy-skinny-jeans-and-boots look. This creates a need. A need for a pair of basic dark denim straight legs that actually fit in the waist without having to loop a hair elastic around the button. Hypothetically. 

I went denim shopping and discovered that these days "straight leg" is now just another description for "skinny jeans." I mean, I have a VERY old pair of Citizens of Humanity Ava straight legs and they are straight legs. Not bootcut, not skinny. They are truly straight legs, meaning they do not cling to my calves in any way and can be cuffed. But look! Look at the Avas they're selling now:

Citizens of Humanity Ava

THOSE ARE EFFING SKINNY JEANS. I am looking for something like this pair (but not for this price):

AG Tomboy Straight Leg

I had the following conversation with the sales assistant in the fancy jeans section of Saks:

ME: I'd like to try on some mid-rise straight leg styles in a dark denim wash.

SA: Great! I'll pull some for you.

ME: These are all skinny jeans.

SA: They are straight leg jeans.

ME: But they fit like skinny jeans.

SA: So you want bootcut?

NO. I DO NOT WANT BOOTCUT. I DO NOT WANT MINI BOOTCUT. I DO NOT WANT SKINNY BOOTCUT. I want STRAIGHT LEG jeans that do not have so much stretch that I could shoehorn myself into a size 24 if I really took the time. I tried on this pair of 7FAMK (my go-to fancy brand) and they were so awful I almost cried:

7 For All Mankind Modern Straight Leg Jeans

They looked okay... and then I tried them on. They were obnoxiously stretchy and skin tight at the top, giving me immediate muffin-top while simultaneously attempting to creep down my ass. They remained skin tight until they hit ankle where they sort of...deflated sadly into a puddle of stretch denim. Rage! Modern Straight Leg? NO. THEY ARE GD SKINNY JEANS. Calling them "modern" doesn't change a thing.

So, I guess what happened is that jeggings became the new skinny jean and skinny became the new straight leg and if you want anything that isn't fitted to your calf you're basically in Bootcutville or you have to buy saggy-crotched "boyfriend" jeans? I hate everything.

To conclude: I decided I should just stop eating anything fun so that my favorite jeans will fit again. Haha just kidding. No, instead, I ordered these Gap jeans sight-unseen and they arrived and they are GOOD:

1969 real straight jeans

They are a true straight leg, the wash is plain, the rise is mid, the fit is great. And! I got them with a code for under $50. I am appeased and will stop throwing a tantrum for now.