Bootcut jeans are back, but for Jennifer Aniston, they’ve been a wardrobe staple since her Friends days.
It seems inevitable, given fashion’s predilection for bygone trends, that bootcut jeans would mount a comeback. Now, thanks in no small part to Kendrick Lamar’s legendary Super Bowl performance, they have. Yes, the divisive denim is back, and already my Instagram feed is filling up with nostalgic outfits, it’s all very ‘jeans and a nice top’.
Google Trend data shows that “bootcut jeans” are currently being searched more than ever and the somewhat clunky search term “women bootcut jeans” saw the greatest jump in interest between August and September last year, and searches keep soaring. Trend analysts at @databutmakeitfashion say that Celine’s popularity is up 294% after Lamar wore the brand’s Marco jeans and the brand dressed Selena Gomez for the SAG Awards.
Basically, it’s time to get on board with bootcut jeans, but if like me you’re feeling a little apprehensive about the return of flared cuffs, let me point you in the direction of Jennifer Aniston who has been working bootcut jeans since the nineties.
An eternal symbol of effortless So-Cal cool, Aniston’s low-key looks are the things of fashion lore. It’s hard to find a fashion editor who doesn’t have at least one of her outfits etched in their memory.
Part of her appeal is that she’s always stayed true to her signature style and her wardrobe is anchored in timeless staples. After losing the better part of an afternoon sifting through some of her best bootcut jeans moments, I’m a convert. I think part of my initial unease is because as a child of the nineties who discovered fashion in the early oughts, bootcut jeans by then were low-slung and skin-tight.
The bootcut jeans I grew up with in the early 2000s demanded a washboard stomach, perma-tam and a bejewelled belly bar. So I’ve long since written them off as another slightly problematic Y2K trend, but I was looking at it all wrong and following Paris Hilton’s lead (which, sure, iconic, but not easily replicable) rather than Jennifer Aniston’s.
It turns out, bootcut jeans are—a revelation!—really flattering. The right pair will fit snugly at the hips and thighs before kicking out below the knee for a leg-lengthening silhouette.
They also work with way more styles of shoe than most denim (again, we have Aniston to thank for this realisation). The girls in my London borough have been wearing theirs with ballet flats, Adidas Sambas or Puma Speedcats. I’ve also seen bootcuts styled with heeled boots at London Fashion Week, as well as cowboy boots, the latter is another sign of things to come with boho set to stage a revival.
Read on for the 7 best bootcut styles to shop now
