Essential Jeans
The 5 Styles I Can't Go Without + A Footnote.
The situation is this: I’m moving to Europe for a few months and I can only bring so many jeans. My husband’s work is taking our family to Madrid (Spain!) and I have about a week to decide which pairs to pack. Now is when you ask me to name the styles I love and feel are most essential to our wardrobes today. If I had to bring just five jeans, what would they be? It’s a good newsletter-problem to solve.
Four of the five jeans I’m wearing in this post are pairs I own and reach for repeatedly. They check boxes and fill buckets – multi-tasking and second-or-third-shifting, and sometimes managing school drop-off and date night, both. The fifth pair (from Rachel Comey) is newer and does exactly what I’d hoped, which is offer up an element of surprise. All five general styles are relevant and versatile – and available from different brands at different price points. The examples of each that I own myself have already shown me they can go the distance. Next stop, Spain.
1. The High-Rise Straight: R13’s Jane Jean
Though the name of this jean is a total coincidence, the way they fit really does feel like they were made for me. OK, but what is R13’s Jane? It’s a high-rise with a very straight leg that I’d say is sort of tubular – a perfect circle from the thigh all the way down. Not exactly wide, but bigger than a stovepipe and broad enough at the hem to cover a cowboy boot. I shortened mine to wear with flats, and I feel fine about the fact that they hover above the ground with a kitten heel.1 Perhaps I’m done with puddly legs?, I say realizing that not a single pair of jeans in this letter drags on the floor.
From left (on desktop) or top (on mobile): High and mighty. Reformation’s Wilder, Jamie Haller’s Easy, and Nili Lotan’s Joan jean.
A most beloved version of this fit is Nili Lotan’s Joan jean, though others from Reformation and Jamie Haller are also great with heels and flats. I was once challenged by The Only
to find a good alt for the Joan for short girls. I suggested the B Sides Louis High Straight and Ref’s Wilder (above). It was a very fun assignment.
2. The Barrel: The Only Jane’s Bob Jean
I was talking about Barrel jeans with my mom friend Grace Na, who designs the L.A.-based jeans line Pistola, the other day and we agreed: Barrels are the new Boyfriends – a once-revolutionary fit that seems to have become a household name overnight; a super comfy look that so many women feel good in; a based-in-history silhouette that’s inspired hundreds of iterations, including my own subtle version with twisted seams in both the front and back. If you are a jeans company, you likely make a Barrel by now. Please, raise your hand if you own a pair?
From left/top: Barrel styles from Madewell, La Ligne, and Everlane.
Me, I’m partial to Barrels that bow without bending too sharply. I like versions that give legs the hallmark concave arc without making our limbs look broken or hinged like a marionette’s. The three styles above all get the gist. And though most brand’s like to show their Barrels with shorter inseams, I personally enjoy wearing my Bobs a little longer.
3. Black Denim: Frame’s Pixie Arrow
Yes, black jeans dress up nicely. But have you ever tried wearing them on a Sunday with a really good black sweatshirt and sneakers? It’s hard to go wrong. I like Frame’s Pixie Arrow because it’s made for shorties like me (I’m 5’4”). The same style also comes with a longer inseam (33”), for those of you with inchier limbs.
From left/top: Classic black from Citizens of Humanity, Madewell, and GAP.
I prefer my black jeans with a little bit of stretch. They’re less jeansy than blue jeans and so I don’t need them to have the same iconic rigor. GAP’s 90s Straight style, which I’ve been raving about since 2023, has 1%. Same goes for my Frames, which I also wear in Night Jeans, btw. If you’re really anti-stretch, go for Citizen’s beloved Annina High Rise, which comes in two inseams: 30” and 33”.
4. Novelty: Rachel Comey’s Handy Pant
In a suitcase full of extremely timeless-slash-versatile staples, there must be some quirk – a pair of chapped jeans with a long exposed button fly, for example. I first saw these Rachel Comey Handy Pants on designer Catherine Newell-Hanson who has the coolest kids clothing company, Milk Teeth. My need to try them was immediate. In fact, I’d say the sense of urgency I felt to get them is what novelty jeans do best.
From left/top: Novel patchy pairs from GAP, B Sides, and E.L.V. Denim.
Will I wear a jean like this every day? Maybe not. But I’ve been wearing it for a week and let me tell you – it’s very easy to forget about the chaps parts when they’re on. When they’re on, they feel like a pair of jeans you can get a sh•t-ton of work done wearing. They feel breezy and forgiving (of wrinkles and meals). I keep reaching for them because of how they feel, not how they look. If the color mixing happening in Rachel Comey’s Handy Pant is too much for you, Mother has a version in black-on-black, and Madewell makes this in all-white canvas. Cute.
5. Vintage: Levi’s 1982 Red Tab 501s
It will be hard to decide which vintage jeans to bring with me. Some, like the 1982 redlines I got @alteliervintage (if you shop there, please tell Patrick I say, ‘Hi’), are a no-brainer. Others that have either fallen out of rotation, or are too valuable or threadbare to risk bringing, might be better stored back home. Right now, I’m aiming to edit my travel kit down to three Levi’s – one classic 501, one high-rise zipper-fly 509, and a pair of Made in Japan 504s.
Some of my favorite vintage pairs, as seen in JOJ. From left/top: My Levi’s Big E 501s, 1990 Levi’s Made in Japan 504s, and the softest Levi’s selvedge 501s.
I won’t dive too deeply into decoding vintage denim in this post (if you want a refresh, read my guides to buying vintage online, Part 1 & Part 2), but I do want to quickly mention my favorite sources for vintage, for those who may be new here. First-time buyers who feel intimidated/confused/overwhelmed by the sizing situation, DM Meg @JeanGenieVintage. She’ll get you sorted. In L.A., the experts are at Denim Revival on 3rd Street and Denim Doctors downtown. If you want classic aughts 501s, Rachel Tabb at RLT has a beautifully curated selection of clean, Made in U.S.A. Levi’s. And last but never least, Eric Shrader at Junkyard Jeans is the ultimate guru and my first call when I need a vintage-related thing explained or verified. Will someone size 28 or 29 please buy these from Eric and report back? Thank you so much.
I’m leaving so soon for Madrid and I’ve spent exactly 72 hours there, to date, so if you have any recommendations – for stuff to do with kids, especially – please drop it in the comments. I’m so excited and can’t wait to share my travel diaries with you. How do you say ‘jeans’ in Castilian Spanish? Los Vaqueros Forever.
Jane
FOOTNOTE. I included these Emme Parsons Leandra kitten heels in a post I did few weeks ago, but I want to give them another mention because I find they go so well with so many pairs of jeans. Like, all but Barrels. Theater kids might see Leandra’s resemblance to the ubiquitous character shoe. Fashion people have to love her elongated toe and risky proportions – heft and delicacy; a big, giant triangle on top of a foot teetering quietly on a nipple-sized heel. (Should these mechanics feel too precarious, this is essentially the same shoe with a block heel). All of us, I think, can get behind the heel’s height, which is easy to wear for many hours. I know, I’ve done it, and it felt great.
Love the R13’s. I may pull the trigger. Also can’t take the Rachel Comey sweatshirt off. It’s a 10/10 purchase.
Hi Jane! What size are you wearing in your Bob jean? Love how subtle the barrel is.