After weeks, maybe even months, of avoiding wearing any form of jeans, I’m ready to embrace them once again. The truth is, I haven’t liked the way my current denim collection looks, or how it feels to wear compared to my comfy slouchy trousers. After a much-needed wardrobe clear-out, I’ve now got rid of all the pairs I dislike (yes, especially the ones that no longer fit) and I now have space for a few new key styles that I can add to my repertoire for 2024.
As we all know, jeans shopping can be a stress-inducing process. To minimise the potential trauma, I decided to try-on some of the best-selling pairs fellow fashion editors and influencers seem to rate highly. Because like a holiday destination or brunch location, a trusted recommendation is always welcomed. Whether it’s COS’ Arch jeans, Reformation’s straight leg styles or Raey’s new oversized collection, here’s my honest reviews of some of the key jean styles. For reference, I’m a size 10 (a 28 or 29 waist) and 5’4″.
Style Notes: H&M is a favourite of mine when it comes to high street denim, and I already own quite a few pairs. In my experience, I would suggest always sizing up as they run small so here I’m wearing a 12. I love this pair, they’re soft and sit at the right spot on my waist. The wide-leg, slightly flared style makes me legs look so much longer than they are—especially with small heels. I would definitely buy these.
Style Notes: To back up my point of loving H&M jeans, I also really appreciate this wide-leg blue pair. These are super high waisted and felt really comfy and not tight around the crotch like some high-waisted pairs tend to be. These are the perfect length for me with heels, but I also think I could wear them to sit baggy at the bottom with loafers or trainers.
Style Notes: I’ve seen Raey’s new denim edit all over Instagram, so I was desperate to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, it was funny justified, and I’m obsessed. Machesfashion’s own brand is known for its oversized silhouettes, so I expected the denim to be baggy, but I would suggest going a full size down. Here I’m wearing a 28 (size 10) but I think the 26 (size 8) would actually fit better. The perfect shade of ecru, I like how slouchy these are and how I could wear them bunched at the bottom or as a turn-up. P.s. say hi to Parnsip, my cat.
Style Notes: Again, my first thoughts are to size down, especially if you want them to sit slightly higher up and it would also make them slightly shorter (probably what I need being 5’4″). But I’m a big fan of these baggy jeans and they are so soft if feels just like wearing wide leg trousers. Well done, Raey.
Style Notes: What I enjoy most about the denim at M&S is the fact most styles comes in three lengths—short, regular and long—so you’re bound to find the perfect fit. With that being said, I tried these in short, and as you can see they’re a bit too short even with flat loafers so I would opt for regular. I do however love how soft they are, how the dark denim will go with everything and how they are very much true to size—I’m wearing a size 10.
Style Notes: A classic everyday style, the ‘mom’ jeans are just an easy throw-on-anytime pair to rely on. I enjoy how these are an angle grazer, but if you’re a lot taller than 5’4″ inches you may want to opt for the ‘long’ pair so they don’t bridge into ankle swinger territory. You could wear them as a turn-up if they were slightly longer, too.
Style Notes: Although I only own one pair of Reformation jeans, they’re definitely some of the best around. True to size (I’m wearing a 29) they always fit perfectly. The Abby jeans are really soft, fit high on the waist at the back and considering baggy jeans are usually too long for me, these are just the right length. I also love how all jeans come with a QR label that you can scan to track the journey of the jeans—a great sustainability step other brands should take note of.
Style Notes: Proving my point about having brilliant jeans, I also rate the Wilder. These fit snuggly on the waist (they’re a 29, too) and they feel similar to shaping jeans without being too tight. They’re supposed to be cropped but as I’m 5’4″ they’re a little longer on me, but I actually prefer this so I can wear them with heels, too.
Style Notes: I really want these COS jeans, in fact, I’m 100% going to buy them. The perfect everyday pair, I like how they’re high waisted but not too high, how they’re not too tight around the leg and that the length will work with both trainers and heels. I’m wearing a size 29.
Style Notes: I’ve heard great thing about the ‘Arch’ jeans, so I was excited to try them. I’m wearing a size 29 and they feel like a good fit but I don’t think they’re quite the right pair for me. The wider leg and tapered hem makes me look a bit shorter and would definitely be better suited to someone slightly taller. But all in all I do rate them and like how they sit on the waist and just above my trainers.
Style Notes: I have no idea how this is my first time ever trying Arket jeans! I tried on three pairs in total, all in a size 29, but they were all on the snug side so I think they tend to come up smaller than usual. The Shore jeans are super soft though, so they may give a little bit after a few wears. And I feel like you would get so much wear out of these slightly baggy blue jeans.
Style Notes: I wanted to ‘Rose’ cropped straight leg jeans, but considering they’re so popular, they were impossible to find in my side. This is why I tried the ‘Darlia’ which are a straight leg with stretch. I tried on my usual size (29) and what I found is these were even tighter so I would maybe have to size up once or even twice in these for them to be the perfect fit. If I had more time to be like Goldilocks and find the right size, I think these would be a brilliant addition to my denim collection.
