Jen’s Jeans Shop
Not sure which jeans are best for your body?
Take My Jean Quiz! Your personalized results will include links to shop a curated collection of options and fit tips just for you! Grab a Tape Measure to Begin
After more than 20 years in the dressing room with clients at Nordstrom, now I swear it’s easier to buy jeans that fit online more than anywhere else. Lots of jeans look good online but it’s hard to know which ones will look the best for your body type.
During the pandemic when stores were closed and everyone had to shop online, I knew that there had to be an easier way to find jeans that fit and look great so I created Jen’s Jean Shop and free fit finder quiz.
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If you shop for jeans online by looking at pictures and product titles you’re NOT going to find the best fit. Instead, use a soft tape measure to take two measurements. The most important is your rise.
Top 6 Jean Styles
Here is more about the 6 jean styles I suggest the most and some shopping tips to help you find the best fit. Now you can skip the store, go beyond trial and error, and make the most of your wardrobe from the bottom up. I’m here to help.
#1. Straight Leg Jeans
Straight- leg jeans fall straight from the knee to the bottom of your hem and usually have a leg opening between 12”-14″. Ankle-length styles can also taper slightly at the opening.
Every woman should own at least one pair of straight-leg jeans. Straight-leg jeans are the best style jeans to travel with. The most popular straight-leg jean styles are the Cindy from Paige, The Dazzler from MOTHER, the Cher From Fidelity, and the Le Straight from Frame.
Wear With – Most shoes, when they are ankle length! Straight-leg jeans are the best jeans for sneakers. Boots can be a bit tricky. Read more about mastering which boots go with which jeans here. In the winter you may want a straight leg style that’s a little longer and has a wider opening that easily glides over your shoes.
Popular Capsules With Straight Leg Jeans
Fit Tips
The most flattering classic straight-leg jean styles start right around your belly button. Jeans with a “higher” rise will make your legs look longer and a “lower” rise will give you a longer-looking torso. Remember that measurement is different for each of us.
If you want your stomach to look smaller a rise that stops a little below your belly will cut across your tummy instead of cupping over it, or stopping so low it makes a muffin top. Most modern-day straight-leg jeans have a rise somewhere between 9″ and 12″. That’s not a big difference in inches, but it makes the biggest difference in finding the most flattering jeans.
#2. Skinny Jeans
Don’t ditch your skinny jeans! Update them and wear them like you would leggings. Skinny jeans with teeny-tiny 5″ zippers are dated. If a low rise looks the best on you, newer styles will still have a longer zipper.
Skinny jeans should fit similarly to leggings and are fitted to your legs, top to bottom. They should stop close to your ankle and are usually about 10″ wide at the opening.
Wear With – Long tops, tunics, sweaters, or any time instead of leggings.
Fit Tips
If your shape is sorta square, and your waist and hips are a similar size, skinny jeans that are tight around your ankle will add some shape to your legs. If you’re sorta square but have super skinny legs, then a slim straight-leg leg pair of jeans with a narrow not fitted opening will look better on you.
Popular Capsules With Skinny Jeans
#3. Classic Bootcut Jeans
Classic bootcut jeans are fitted through the thigh and gradually flare to the bottom of your inseam. They usually have a 16” to 20″ opening.
Wear With- You guessed it boots! Bootcut jeans look best with a heel of any kind.
Popular Capsules With Bootcut Jeans
Fit Tips
If you want to add some curves, try flare-leg jeans styles with wider openings that will exaggerate your curves. FRAME’s Le High Flare has a wide 22″ opening. If your legs are skinny, a classic bootcut flare-leg jean with an opening of less than 20″ looks the best. If not your legs can get a little lost. Making your waist look smaller can add some curves too. If your waistline above your belly button is naturally smaller, try a higher rise to exaggerate the difference in width between your perceived “waist” and hips.
A lower rise also helps minimize curves and reduce the gap at the small of your back that you get when your waist is much smaller than your hips.
#4. Cropped Flare Jeans
Cropped flare jean inseams should stop right around your ankle. If you have skinny calves be mindful of the width at the opening or bottom of the bell. Smaller legs look more balanced with a smaller opening.
Wear With- Shoes you want to show off or fitted boots that tuck up and under the flare.
Popular For Petites
It’s hard enough to find jeans that fit, but when you’re petite it can seem impossible. Usually, after you find a style that fits your waist and hips, you have to hassle with having them hemmed! Premium denim brand MOTHER has a wildly popular new line called Lil Mother. Each style in the collection has a higher knee placement, shorter inseam, and rise, so it hits in all the right places. My 5′ tall neice and I are modeling four styles HERE. I’m 5’4″ and wearing the regualr versions of the same styles.
#5. Wide Leg Flare Jeans
Wide-leg flare jeans usually fit looser in the thighs than bootcut jeans, and have a larger opening, usually 20″+.
Likewise, if you want to minimize your butt and hips classic bootcut flare-leg jeans, with an opening of less than 20″, will balance your proportions.
Wide-leg jeans are especially slimming if you have big thighs and your natural waist is smaller than your hips and butt because the focus is on your waist and your curves are covered.
Wear With- Big heels if you want to look long and lean. Wide-leg jeans can be super slimming or make you look squatty. Keep your inseam close to the ground or opt for a high-rise cropped option, that shows some skin.
Fit Tips
Wide-leg jeans usually have a higher rise which helps elongate your legs. Be careful a higher rise doesn’t borrow too much space from your top half. The last thing you want is your boobs and belt to meet and greet. Check the rise to find the best fit.
Popular Capsules With Wide-Leg Jeans
#6. Cropped Wide Leg Flare
Cropped Wide leg flare jeans are fashionable all year long and can be so flattering. With all shoes, but boots make sure to show a little skin around your hemline.
Wear With- a heel height, sandals, pointed-toe flats, or boots that are fitted to your foot.
Popular Capsules With Wide Leg Flares
I’m A Jean Machine
“A treasure trove of resources, her website and the tips and tricks she offers on social media should inspire anyone who needs help getting a new look together or just doesn’t have the patience to shop for themselves. She’s even developed a jeans quiz for subscribers that takes some of the guesswork out of finding the perfect fit.
Robin Douglas – Comstock Magazine
Viral Jean Videos
A fabulous pair of designer jeans on sale will revive your wardrobe faster than any other item. If you add one thing to your wish list during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale make it a new pair of jeans from my tested and stylist-approved list.
