Baggy jeans; the calling card of skaters, rappers and every boyband/girlband of the early aughts. Calling to mind the mischievous chants of Madness; baggy trousers have a carefree nonchalance, connoting freedom of spirit and imparting the wearer with freedom of movement.
Some say ill-fitting, others say lazy, I say chic.
The antithesis of the skinny jean, the baggy jean offers an easiness not synonymous with anything tight fitting. The breeziness offering relief from the skinny jeans that have reigned supreme ever since Kate Moss revived them way back in the mid-noughties. Since then 'skinniness' has been redefined many times over, as each season jeans appear to have shrunk ever skinnier. Squeezing into these jeans has become a daily feat of shimmying, necessitating much huffing, puffing and great contortional capabilities. In spite of this, skinny jeans have continued to remain on every must-have list and in the wardrobes of the masses thereafter.
However, the monopoly held by the skinny jean may just be over, as Bibby Sowray definitively wrote for Elle magazine, "the skinny jeans are dead". Though undeniably the skinny jean is a very handy commodity to own, one that can be worn for all manner of eventualities, befitting coffee catch-ups, shopping trips, lazy days, date nights, going out out, staying in in. However, there is one scenario that betrays the skinny jeans' winning streak; the Summer. As the British weather breaks into *dare I say it* actual high temperatures, I posit that an alternative exists for the bare legged averse (myself) out there. All with the added benefit of increased agility, useful for all manner of lolling about that one is sure to do during Springtime.
Unlike the aforementioned skater bois, rap stars and pop people, baggy jeans needn't hang about mid-arse, held up with a belt looser than Scary Spice's lips. Rather the baggy jeans of 2019 are chic, skimming the body with a sense of casual reminiscent of that indescribable French essence. The voluminous shape is impactful, riling against its skinny foe. Paired with a plain white t-shirt, the oversized silhouette ensures that outfits remain interesting as opposed to basic. Much like the skinny variation, baggy jeans can be elevated just the same. However, the innate casual associated with loose-fit clothing encourages play between dressed down and dressed up. The versatility lying in the unconventional, as the baggy trousers offset feminine stylings, embuing outfits with an attitude of cool.
Much like a masculine blazer paired with bare bosom, baggy jeans disrupt the natural flow of the female body, placing sex appeal elsewhere, like at the ankle, wrist or collarbone. And during the daytime, the androgynous sex appeal of baggy trousers is replaced by an effervescent youth, a sense of enduring adventure. The physical space about the body of baggy jeans mean that physical movement is boundless and during the heat, ventilation is possible. Gone is the clingy-ness of the skinny jean, as the drop crotch and loose waist feel somewhat freeing.
With mom jeans, boyfriend jeans, girlfriend jeans, straight leg jeans and a renewed interest in vintage styles, denim is far broader than just its skinny variant. Baggy jeans allow for experimentation, inverting troupes of femininity by clashing with boyish stylings. Aesthetics aside, baggier styles allow for denim to transition between seasons. With increased temperatures comes impatience and feelings of suffocation by clothing not befitting one's environment. Baggy jeans appease the need to at least appear chic in the heat, without actually overheating. In specific scenarios of life the phrase 'the bigger the better' is apt (the individual can choose which scenarios this is most applicable). Yet, in fashion, I posit a reworking of this sentiment, as during the summer it truly is 'the baggier the better' at least for denim anyway...
(Photos via : stylecaster.com & pinterest)