Hands down, no brainer, clear winner - the boyfriend jean. My poor skinny jeans are sitting, folded in the back of my drawer with no hope for seeing the light of day. Then again, my skinny jeans have zero stretch in them (not for the faint of heart) so they were already at a slight disadvantage. But I wore them faithfully all last season and switched to the JCrew skinny cords for fall. However, when walking through Bloomies a few weekends ago I saw the most adorable mannequins situated in between the Vince and Denim sections (be still my heart). They were decked out in boyfriend jeans, Vince white shirts, and Theory blazers with the cuffs rolled and collars popped (to show the pinstriped lining). I die.
I tried on all three of the brands on the mannequins - Seven, Paige, and J. While I love J Brand jeans, they were a little too distressed to wear to work so I had to let them go. The Sevens were a little slimmer and very soft, but they didn't have my size and I wanted to go all the way with the "baggy" boyfriend look, so I settled on the Paige Wilshire style. A-mazing. I would wear them every single day but that would ruin my reputation. My suggestion for fit - go with your "true" denim size. I'm usually a 26, sometimes a 25 if I'm afraid of too much stretching. I went with the 26 after trying both, because the whole point is to have them look big. If I were taller, I might have even sized up to get the true effect but alas at 5' 2" it is not really in my best interest. Anticipating your next question, my shoe suggestion is a rounded toe heel. I've been wearing mine with purple patent round toed pumps (Kate Spade), black suede wedges (also Kate Spade), or my favorite booties. I have actually worn the outfit as shown at Bloomies and gotten many compliments, and I've dressed it up a bit with a fun silk BCBG blouse. Here are fun pictures and links so you can get the full idea. In the spirit of the current economy, I've tried to find "bargains" whenever possible ;)
Paige Wilshire in Rebel Wash. Don't pay full price - shop around until
you find them on sale. Retail is $220, I paid $140ish (that's with CA
sales tax).
Seven Josephina Boyfriend Jeans in Vintage Cal. Wouldn't pay full price for these either. You can see from the pictures that this is a slightly slimmer fit through the legs. Very cute.
Theory blazer. If you don't have one of these in your closet already, shame on you. No, seriously you need at least one one. I have three - black two button, gray three button, dove gray two button. Turn up the cuffs for a super cute peek at the piped lining. [Not sure why this won't align properly, whatever Typepad.]
BCBG silk ruffle top. No idea why they've styled this with the collar all the way buttoned. Silly, and definitely not the way to wear it. This is a pretty, girly top to glam up the bottoms a bit and go for a less androgynous look.
Kate Spade purple patent pumps to finish off the look. DON'T pay full price, these are seasonal and should drop. I paid a fraction of what they're charging at Zappos.
Finally, Kate Spade black suede wedges. SO chic and ladylike, you need these shoes, especially at the price.
That's all for now - happy shopping!!
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