Skinny jeans, like many fashion styles over the decades, rose like a phoenix and became THE essential pair of trousers for not just young people, but anyone who was slightly fashion conscious in the early part of the 00s.
Baggy jeans were all the rage until the skinny jean, resurrected by indie bands, emo and supermodels, took over. And now they sit upon a throne, unchallenged by other, lesser jeans. But will they fall out of favour again?
Enduring Cool
The skinny jeans’ endurance has been tested but they’ve steadily grown in popularity over the last 10 years and they show little sign of slowing down. Although at first it was only the trendiest and most alternatively inclined people who wore them, eventually the mainstream caught on and now every high street shop sells a pair – even to older people.
Usually once a trend becomes so popular that it becomes uniform and the older and established order accepts them, it soon dies as it loses its cool credibility and rebellious stance. The skinny jean still remains popular though.
For whatever reason, the skinny jean has resisted losing its cool and fashionable brands continue to find new styles and colours to sell them in. It seems the kids just don’t care that their favourite jean has been usurped by mainstream fashion and continue to wear them with pride.
It’s an imbedded part of the cultures of emo, punk, metal and hip-hop, and they won’t soon abandon wearing skinnies just because a few Johnny-come-latelies noticed how great they were.
In fact, in reaction to the standard jean’s popularity, alternative designers are coming up with more creative and daring looks to differentiate them from the classic plain blue or black jeans.
Here To Stay?
The trend maybe isn’t so much a trend any more, but rather a staple part of any wardrobe or clothing collection as much as a T Shirt. The ubiquity of the skinny jean, to the point where they’re no longer such an exclusive prospect, means that maybe this time they’re here to stay.
From now on in every shop you visit, the skinny fit jeans will just be an alternative fit for anyone for whom slimmer fits more naturally suit. It’s quite hard to imagine now wearing baggy jeans, since the snug and sharper image of the skinny jeans has taken over.
There are of course detractors out there to skinny jeans that have been waiting and hoping for them to be consigned to the trash bin of forgotten fashion fads (at least until some fashionista goes bin-diving in the future and revives it).
There are men that have always been against the jeans, saying they look feminine and are way too tight and uncomfortable, especially in… sensitive areas, but also women who have considered themselves too curvy to pull off the skinny jean. Both would happily like to see the skinny jeans banished, but they don’t seem to be going anywhere.
The popularity of the skinny jean does pose a problem for anyone who either can’t or won’t wear skinnier fitting jeans. With them featuring in almost every high street clothing store, sometimes to the detriment of other styled jeans, it leaves some people feeling marginalised and left without any alternative.
Not everybody can wear or enjoy skinny jeans due to their body shape and the insistence on them by fashion retailers is bad news for many. The fact these kinds of jeans are maybe not a trend, and perhaps the norm from now on, means they represent a standard of body image which some people may never hope to achieve.
Love them or hate them, skinny jeans are probably here to stay for the long run. They’re fashionable, sharp looking and have become a cornerstone of many different fashion styles and cultures. It’s difficult to imagine any outfit without them and long shall they remain!
