Get This: Wide-Leg Jeans

This month, take your denim to the other extreme.

By Rachel Baker

After spending numerous seasons in the shackles of skinny jeans, denim designers are coming forth with smarter, and considerably more forgiving, wide-leg shapes. With higher rises and ankle openings of up to 30 inches (compared with 8-inch cigarette styles), the sophisticated, menswear-inspired silhouette is relaxed from fly to heel. The extra volume balances out a fitted tank and flat sandals for a classy Katharine Hepburn–esque look, while the downtown material takes the edge off a tailored cropped jacket.

Pictured: J Brand palazzo jeans, $220, GrettaLuxe, Westin Copley Place, Boston, 617-536-1959, grettaluxe.com. Other options: Rich & Skinny wide-leg jeans, $198, Intermix, 186 Newbury St., Boston, 617-236-5172, intermixonline.com; Citizens of Humanity Birkin jeans, $167, Barneys New York, Copley Place, Boston, 617-385-3300, barneys.com; Paige Premium Denim high-rise trousers, $210, Jean Therapy, 524 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 617-266-6555, jean-therapy.com.

Originally published in Boston magazine, August 2007