A shopping cheatsheet I live by

Finding a good pair of jeans is a LOT harder than you would first think. The leg, the wash, the length, the brand … cue continuing my scroll through endless pages of something altogether more straightforward to shop for – like Hermès bags! I joke of course, but my point is that shopping for jeans can feel daunting to say the least. So over the years I’ve resorted to making myself a little mental cheatsheet for investing in the best jeans for me. Because a good pair of jeans can (and will) see you through a lot.

From simple straight to elevated wide-leg shapes, and casual cropped to retro-inspired bootcut, I’ve finally got around to curating an official jeans shopping guide for you guys. I’ve featured my top picks from all of my favourite jeans brands, including high-street options to make this appropriate for all budget types. So, let’s get started already!

My Latest Fashion-Forward Denim Find

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Straight & Slim Leg

I would say the simplest and easiest style to wear are straight-leg jeans so finding the right pair (or ideally a few) is crucial for your wardrobe. You can’t do better than AGOLDE for this classic shape, and I love the ‘90s iterations which have such a cool-girl vintage feel and are so comfortable. Khaite’s Danielle straight-leg pair are such an easy choice for me (I love throwing them on when I don’t want to have to think about what I’m wearing). Plus, Saint Laurent has a dark-wash option that feels so elevated for a pair of jeans, so of course this makes them super versatile.

Straight is of course a little bit looser (ideal for everyday) but slim-leg options are too often overlooked as impractical when in fact they can hug you in all the right places and prove really flattering. AGOLDE is another favourite of mine for these too.

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Wide Leg

Anyone who knows me knows my penchant for wide-leg jeans. Relaxed and a little baggy, but with a dramatic enough silhouette to really anchor a whole outfit. Wide-leg jeans are often a cheat code for me when I want to look more put together than I feel. I especially love wearing wide-leg jeans with point-toe heels (this kind of pairing feels like the perfect mix of casual and sophisticated). AGOLDE is another favourite brand here (a pattern is emerging …). Chloé and Isabel Marant are good options if you’re looking for quite an exaggerated wide-leg shape (very French girl cool courtesy of Jane Birkin kinda vibes) and Citizens of Humanity offer great casual baggy options.

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Bootcut

Retro and fun, there’s always a place in my wardrobe for a pair of bootcut jeans. I tend to avoid the more extreme bootcut styles and instead opt for softer iterations of this vintage-inspired shape. Frame and AGOLDE are great for this. I love wearing as part of softly tailored looks, especially with (you guessed it) boots.

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Cropped

I find that cropped options can make for unlikely versatile styling heroes in my rotation of jeans. They’re great for the warmer months and transitional dressing, and I love to wear them with loafers and slingbacks, plus light jackets (trench coats are a good choice). Khaite and Frame have some great picks.

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Black & White

This doesn’t exactly qualify as adding colour to your jeans collection but if you want to branch out a little from the light, medium and dark wash offerings that you see all the time, I’d recommend adding a black or white pair to your wardrobe (or both). A black option is of course the most versatile (great as part of all-black looks to add a little edge and mystic to your everyday style). And a black pair of jeans also makes a great addition to your rotation of pieces for the office, they feel a little smarter than classic indigo but they’re still jeans so casualness is a given.

White jeans are such an easy way for me to add understated elegance to pared-back looks – bonus points if they’re worn as part of an all-white outfit. An off-white shade is also a good idea, especially in baggy, boyfriend and barrel-leg styles.