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I tried high street’s best barrel jeans & was stunned by trickery

hora de lançamento：2024-04-30 09:09:39 fonte：caça niquel online halloween autor：slot bingo

I tried high street’s best barrel jeans & was stunned by trickery – my fave look so expensive but they’re a total steal

Clemmie Fieldsend

Published: 21:54, 1 Feb 2024
Updated: 21:54, 1 Feb 2024

HORSESHOE, banana or barrel – whatever you call them, they’re the jeans of the year.

Loved by Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and up-and-coming actress Tina Kunakey, these wide, curved-leg denims hug the hips, bag around the thighs, become voluminous around the knees then taper toward the ankles and might look like you borrowed a clown’s trews.

Alice Marsh tells whether the new barrel jeans trend is suitable for grown-upsCredit: Sarah Brick

Up-and-coming actress Tina Kunakey was seen in the horseshoe-shapped jeansCredit: Getty

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has also hopped on the trend

But barrel-legs are spring 2024’s coolest silhouette.

While the A-list are all over them, the shape doesn’t appear to be something us mere mortals can pull off.

But as a personal stylist, keen follower of fashion and jeans obsessive, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Can a size-12, middle-aged woman wear them? Or are they best left to celebrities and Gen Z?

Relaxed, boho style

But that does make me behind the curve, so to speak — as according to New Look the demand for a looser, Nineties silhouette is up 96 per cent this year.

The barrel-leg shape sounds as if it should tick all the boxes for my size-12 figure.

I’m slightly pear-shaped and am conscious of my bottom and thighs so will often size up in jeans.

At 5ft 6in, I am nowhere near the towering height of supermodel Rosie, so I’m dubious about how an exaggeratedly baggy, ankle-grazing jean will look.

But, after seeing a gorgeous pair from Free People all over my Instagram, styled in a relaxed, boho way — and noticing how the shape creates a thigh gap on other people — I’m all for giving it a whirl.

The first ones I tried from Asos swamped me.

They reminded me of Sam Smith’s latex balloon-legs look from the Brit Awards last year — a vibe that’s cool for the red carpet but not for Sainsbury’s.

And they were so long. Even with heels they were scraping the floor — and I’m of average height.

I have friends who are a few inches shorter than me and they’d be tripping up on them.

I tried several other pairs and with all them, even the Asos ones, I was surprised how flattering they were.

A high-rise really nips you in at the waist and, despite being worried the barrel leg would make my thighs look bigger, it created a lovely, soft, hourglass silhouette.

The barrel shape made my legs appear slimmer than any regular straight-leg jeans or mom jeans would.

But I definitely preferred the more subtle pairs — they were more wearable.

My favourite was the Barrel from River Island.

One pair reminded Alice of Sam Smith's latex balloon-legs look from the Brit AwardsCredit: 2023 Samir Hussein

The darts — the detail around the knee area which give the trouser the barrel shape — gave a more sculpted, horseshoe fit that wasn’t as extreme as others.

This pair was the right side of that dramatic shape, meaning I get to look cool and current without attracting glances.

But here’s the dealbreaker: Is this trend sophisticated enough for a grown woman?

It works on twentysome-things who don’t mind show-ing off their midriff in a crop-top or slouching around in an oversized sweat-shirt, but how should us midlife women style them?

Pointy stilettos

As a stylist I know that for everyday wear it’s important to balance them out a bit by tucking in your top so your outfit doesn’t appear too bulky on your bottom half.

A fitted long-sleeve tee like the one I teamed it with was perfect.

When it comes to footwear, best go minimal with classic trainers — though if you’ve got an invite to somewhere fancy, a pair of pointy-toe, barely-there stilettos will give you that sophisticated edge.

And, contrary to the myth that wide-leg oversized jeans are man repellers, my partner really liked me in this look.

But he had been concerned I’d look clown-like, so part of that may have been relief.

Out of all of the pairs I tried, he preferred the Marks & Spencer style which was a paler wash colour.

So, will I add barrel-leg jeans to my already over-spilling wardrobe?

Definitely.

It is a great way to update your look, particularly as there are so many variations to suit most body shapes.

I recommend trying on a few pairs the next time you go shopping.