Four Phenomenal Fall Jeans

Newness, novelty, and a Footnote that goes with everything.

Did everyone clock the Diesel show in Milan on Saturday? Yes, jeans, but the room – carpeted with approximately 32,600 pounds of denim scrapped from the brand’s own factories – looked incredible. According to Diesel’s Instagram, “the entire set will be reused and repurposed… in the automotive and insulation sectors,” for example. Diesel’s commitment to circular production practices is one to be applauded.¹ I recommend taking a look at the show stage – this video without the models is most impactful:

diesel

A post shared by @diesel

Today’s newsletter features four new pairs that descend from trends hovering in the fashion ether. Cargo pockets, patchwork bells, silvery studs, and trouser fits have all been runway regulars lately, and to see them landing on more commercial 5-pockets is exciting. Inevitable. I won’t spend too much time on the designer origins of these jeans (for a refresh on fall denim, read this), but I will say that a quick review of what’s on the runways now for next spring points to a lot of these statements continuing through early 2025. And that’s good. We should get more than one season of wear out of our jeans. I’m thrilled to see designers continuing to embrace baggy silhouettes and Jane Birkin-esque bohemia, beyond the present moment (it’s just what I needed to convince me to keep these Stellas). I hope you find something in this letter you want to wear for a long time, too.

Some of what’s been on the Spring 2025 runways. From left: Inserts at Gucci, silver studs at Monse, and trouser-style jeans with welt pockets at Tommy Hilfiger. Buy jeans that check any of these boxes now, and they’ll still be relevant next year.

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KHAITE: Hewitt High-Rise

I think these are supposed to be cropped, though they aren’t on me and I like them all the more for it. Did I need these jeans? No. But the wash and shape – similar to the Celine Kitty, if you’re familiar - got my attention, and before I knew it they were on and I was leaving the house. It’s just so nice when I don’t have to have my jeans shortened. Cargo pants are happening, but I am not into big pockets on the knee-side. For me, the ribcage-hitting man-rise and hearty, double needle patch-front pockets combo is enough.

Always looking for new ways to do a white t-shirt and jeans. I’m wearing a size 24. Re/Done x Hanes tee. My new favorite heels.

As for the shoe – it’s Gia Borghini’s collaboration with stylist Heidi Bivens, who told me “comfort is queen,” when I texted her about this style called the Heloise. “I can wear it all day with no regrets.” A closer look at the convertible heel – which switches from slingback to pump – is in the Footnote.²

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J.CREW: Studded Lower Rise Wide Leg in 1984 Rigid

I actually think – for a certain person, though maybe not me – this is an Everyday jean. There’s a girl out there who can pull-off this jean with a sequin-sleeved shirt on Friday night, and then turn around and wear it with a sweatshirt and sneakers on Sunday. J.Crew’s website even makes a point of showing it with a work-y, belted cable-knit sweater and heels. See? She could go to the office in this jean, too.

J.Crew’s Studded Low-rise jeans are made of rigid (100% cotton) denim. I’m wearing a size 24. The Lutz Huelle shirt is the best purchase I’ve made (beyond denim) this year. From Mameg in Los Angeles.

Make no mistake, round studs are a thing right now. Stella McCartney put them on chaps, Khaite put them on a huggie-style shoulder bag, and Miu Miu and Tory Burch affixed them to shoes. Reformation has this pair with studs around the pockets and Re/Done’s go all the way around the waistband. I showed you the Monse look for next spring, with the dime-sized studs up the legs (scroll back to the top). I like studs. In moderation. And I like getting the look for under $200 because I am not, like my imaginary girl friend, wearing studs every day. (Though I am wearing them with the Heloise, for sure.)

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STELLA MCCARTNEY: Corduroy Trimmed High Rise

If there is one look that’s taken jean legs by storm this year, it’s the panel-seamed patchwork flare. In all variations of the look – from Chloé to Undercover, and even at Gucci just three days ago – two different fabrications (mixed denims count) are sewn to effectively reshape the leg, literally and/or visually. Believe me, I considered almost every version of this jean – including the B Sides

Leandra Medine Cohen

loves – and ultimately decided on Stella’s because the corduroy drapes so luxuriously and the whiskering on the denim is dope. They are not cheap. They feel expensive. I love that the fly has a rivet at the bottom of the J-stitch. For me, it often comes down to the tiniest details.

Stella McCartney corduroy cut-out jeans. Ralph Lauren belt. Gia x Heidi Bivens Heloise heels (again). Vintage tee from Denim Revival.

A jean like this with a great vintage t-shirt seems destined, doesn’t it? My vintage guidance counselor Stephan Brovko at Denim Revival has a bunch, but this one of Marilyn Monroe’s face is outstanding. Please someone call Stephan and buy it. (I can’t keep everything, you know.)

This tee! DM Stephan Brovko at Denim Revival to get this vintage Marilyn tee. Or call him: (323) 852-0171. If you tell him I sent you, he may give you a deal. There’s only one and if I hadn’t just blown my budget on these jeans, it’d be mine.

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BODE: Murray Embroidered High Rise

I wear a lot of Bode. I love the store here in Los Angeles and I appreciate the whimsy that designer Emily Adams Bode sews into her one-of-a-kind camp shirts. The boxy fit suits my boyish style. The cardigan sweaters – embroidered with little bunny rabbits and kitten faces – delight my children and their friends. Pristine Bode pieces are plenty on The RealReal. I frequently browse for my husband there, too. Until now, I hadn’t tried the jeans.

Bode jeans. Ralph Lauren Belt. +J | Uniqlo cashmere sweater (similar here). Stan Smiths. I’m 5’4” and I did not have to have them hemmed, which is good because the embroidery would make shortening tricky. Of course, if you are taller than I am you could wear them cropped, like so.

If you can enjoy a pleated trouser – and I know not everyone does, it’s fine – then this Bode jean is terrific. The embroidery around the waistline is thoughtfully placed above the belt loops so it doesn’t interfere with a belt. The denim isn’t stiff or stretchy, so it really wears like a pant. Big in the legs. Body-obscuring. The actual shape of my butt is not something I want my clothes to show all the time. Some mystery is sexy (even if a saggy bottom isn’t). Did I mention I’m forty-four? It’s me I’m dressing for today.

I love the anti-fit of these trouser jeans. They’re roomy enough to tuck a t-shirt and light cashmere sweater into. Gigi Clozeau necklace.

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A total aside, I recently discovered this Hinoki-scented room diffuser from Officine Universelle Buly and I just don’t think a more elegant scent-vessel exists. I have always been of the mind that a really good candle (Hinoki-anything, here’s my favorite) or potpourri (Santa Maria Novella’s Melograno is iconic) is a wonderful gift for mid-life birthdays and party hosts. But this, with scented matches? Next-level special. Anyways, I had to share. Thank you for reading and subscribing and letting me get all nerdy about jeans. Denim Forever.

Jane

1. “Under the design direction of Glenn Martens and the direction of the Rosso clan [Diesel] has pivoted from using three percent to 57 percent regenerative, organic, or recycled cotton in the manufacture of its core material.” – Vogue, Diesel Spring 2025 runway review by Luke Leitch.

2. Ever since my conversation with Jamie Haller earlier this month, I’ve been thinking a lot about toe lengths and pointy shoes. Coincidentally, my friend Heidi Bivens just launched a collaboration with the Italian accessories label Giaborghini featuring two very needle-nosed heels – a boot and and a convertible kitten. Here is what I love about the latter style, called the Heloise, which comes in black and white: The whole front of the shoe comes to an acute V on top and toe. Plus, the heel provides height without being high. Personally, I like the backs of my jeans to hit the floor (tell any tailor). Hems that float like perfect angels just above the ground are much too meticulous and uptight for the messiness of life. Let the legs drag a little. Or graze your ankles, oddly. My advice: Buy these and wear them with all of your jeans, cropped, long, and everything in between. It’ll look great.

The Gia x Heidi Bivens Heloise pump has a convertible heel that folds down (right) or pops up (left). I’ve raised the legs of these Khaites to show you a.) the heel both ways, and b.) how long and lean this shoe makes feet look. With age, I’m becoming less interested in perfecting my hem lengths to accommodate heel height. Who has time? Wear jeans you love with shoes this chic and be happy.