I have a confession to make: I only stopped wearing skinny jeans quite recently. There, I said it.
I remember getting my first pair about 15 years ago. I had hair that reached my shoulders and a sweeping fringe that covered about 60 per cent of my face. I had the tendency to type “rawr” after every single Tumblr post, and I remember religiously listening to My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days album. What a time to be alive.
Skinny jeans then became part of my daily uniform. Gap hoodie? Skinny jeans. Plaid shirt? Skinny jeans. Everything else? Skinny jeans. In fact, if you were born in the ’90s, chances are they played a leading role in your fits, too. But, before we knew it, with their GRWMs, Gen Z-ers killed them in one fell swoop. The second skin look was no longer a vibe. The dream was dead.
“Cast your mind back to circa 2010 and almost everyone owned a pair; often, the tighter the better,” says Nick Drewe, trends expert and founder of online discount platform Wethrift. “Over recent years, society collectively agreed that men’s skinny jeans were a big no-no in the fashion world, with many sticking to this consensus and staying loyal to an ‘anti-skinny jeans’ agenda.”
According to market research firm Edited, sales of men’s relaxed-fit jeans increased by 15 percent around this time, but women’s wide-legged jeans skyrocketed by a massive 97 percent. All of a sudden, everyone was looking for roomier alternatives. And with the rise of gorpcore, menswear Twitter was stuffed with cargo pants, all equipped with more pockets that you’ll ever need. “From punk to preppy, the silhouette was a mainstay in various eras,” says Natasha Advani, consultant and founder at Not/Applicable. “However, over the past couple of years, mens’ fashion has evolved to embrace more diverse and experimental trends, featuring innovative fabrics, wider leg shapes, and a rise in recycled and vintage denim.”
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But at the end of last year, Bella Hadid did a very Bella Hadid thing: she went skinny. And one month later, Robert Pattinson was spotted in LA wearing some too. It wasn’t just on the streets either. Big labels like Balenciaga, Miu Miu, and McQueen (under new creative director Seán McGirr‘s steer) have all narrowed down on denim. And while they weren’t skinny skinny, it was a clear sign that, perhaps, you can elect for a tighter leg after all.
“It’s rare now to see skinny jeans in the wild, which subsequently means that brands and influential dressers will inevitably look to bring them back to the table,” says Luke Raymond, senior menswear editor at Farfetch. “Add the nostalgic throwback to the #indiesleaze early ’00s that has been gaining steam, and you have a perfect storm for the return of the skinny jean.”
