And well, I could do with a spring jacket (although it's still wintercoat weather at the moment and a pair of jeans.
In this case, I'm going for a more classic design: scoop pockets at the front, normal back yoke and patch pockets at the back and a curved waistband, the top of which should hit at the natural waist. And, after some consideration, I cut the legs with a slight flare from the knee.
I've worn boot-cut jeans for most of my life. By the time they were really disappearing from stores, I had started making my own. It was only when I got some experience with pattern making that I even tried out other styles. And yet, the boot-cut remained my default shape until about two years ago. There is a pattern I drafted which I made no less than four times... Those were my usual work-trousers too. Which is probably one of the reasons I got tired of the look. I haven't made new flares in the past two years. I've made just about any other trouser shape I could imagine though.
I'm trying again now. I have enough of this fabric for two pairs of jeans and I would like those two to be different from each other. And, with stretch denim like this, it makes sense that both with will be close fitting at the top (which is also a good idea because the fabric turned out to be a bit narrow). I think the other pair will be skinny again but for these, the mild flare seemed like the obvious choice.
Especially because I'm seeing 1970's styles again in magazines and shop windows... I kind of like that look but I'm not sure it suits me anymore.
Oddly, when I had a look at H&M's website for some RTW jeans to link to, all I could find there were skinny jeans which looked spray-painted on and a few pairs with a 'boyfriend' cut. Despite the fact that I'm sure I've seen flares on display at their stores in town.
Of course, I'm not really worried about being on-trend here. I'm usually far away from RTW trends anyway. I just like to have a wide choice in trouser styles which work for me.
And yet, seeing those 1970's inspired looks was a reason to cut these trousers the way I did. I don't mind a nod towards mainstream trends. And I have to say I'm curious to see whether this will finally be the trend which breaks the dominance of the skinny jeans. Over the past few years, we've seen other styles come and go without ever really making an impact.
By now, my jeans are almost finished and I'm not 100% sure about them yet... We'll have to see when they're really finished.
Do you have a preferred jeans style?
I find that in recent years I am much more drawn to the very high waisted shapes of the '70s and early '90s, and while I have always liked boot cut legs I really like wide, trouser legs and narrow '60s style shapes as well. It depends a lot on my mood. My favorite pair of jeans in the world is a pair from the 90s that were my brothers. High waist, boot cut, light denim with huge holes in the knees.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to seeing your new jeans, I am making some new trousers/jeans/pants this year and all wiill be high waisted as they are so comfortable for me. i do have a pair of summer flare jeans that I love as they are 70s style with front patch pockets! i probably could wear them any time of the year but they seem to make sense in summer!
ReplyDeleteThese look really cool :) Like you, I've always liked bootlegs, and though I've enjoyed wearing flares every now and again. Lately I'm finding myself wanting to experiment with quite different styles though, some wide legs, and also a slightly shorter, more pegged trouser style.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for practical sewing! I'm kinda off the deep end in costuming-land right now and it's fun but very, very weird because I'm not getting anything that I can actually WEAR. Which is why I shifted gears to regular sewing in the first place. But anyway... I hope you have lots of fun with your flares! I remember when they were first coming back in in the late 90s and I was horrified... and then they became completely normal and ubiquitous. Although, I always felt like they looked better on people with more hips than me. I was not sad to see the skinny jeans return, personally, but I am a bit sad that flares have been edged out---wouldn't it be great if we could wear all different styles all the time? /sigh. My personal "fave" for jeans shape is what I call a stovepipe leg (though I'm not sure anyone else calls it that)---fitted to the knee and then straight down from there, so the fit is still close around the calf but with a bit of excess at the ankle. As seen in almost every pair of jeans I've ever made, actually. Though true skinnies are still better for putting under boots. ;)
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