Why Bootcut jeans are never out of fashion

Though many styles of jeans come and go, a few different cuts seem to remain popular indefinitely. In the 90s, baggier jeans and jeans with various pockets and loops were the trend, but followers of style now wouldn’t be seen dead in such creations. Though not as popular as they were a year or two ago, skinny jeans are still filling High Street store windows, with slimmer fitting jeans in general still very much the norm, but one cut of jean has stayed consistently popular throughout the various changes in fashion: bootcut jeans. As is often the case, what’s fashionable is largely dictated by what celebrities look good in, and thankfully they have been wearing their bootcut jeans regularly in recent years.





Originally influenced by the naval-cut trousers of the 1850s, bootcut jeans found prominence amongst cowboys and ranch workers as they allowed them plenty of room to wear their favourite boots, whilst still being tight enough around the hips to wear whilst riding a horse. Of course, to a certain extent the idea of slightly flaring the end of a pair of jeans took off and, in the 60s, wide, billowing flares were the popular choice. Today though, the slight widening of the lower leg is all that really remains of the original wide bootcut, marking a combination of both past and present trouser design.

With women today, the bootcut is the perfect choice of jean. They were originally designed with comfort in mind, so for when formality isn’t a concern, it’s easy to see why so many celebrities choose to wear them. The popularity of Ugg boots for women, and high-fastening workman boots for men, means that more people are turning to bootcut jeans as an accompaniment to their everyday wardrobe. Also, the super skinny look of 2009 has thankfully faded away, so more and more people are ditching their ’painted on’ skinny jeans in favour of a more everyday and comfortable fit.





Another reason bootcut jeans seem to be making a bit of a comeback is no doubt thanks to their classic look. While other cuts, like skinny, give a very contemporary and stylised look, bootcut jeans are as classic as little black dresses and Levis themselves, so their return to popularity probably marks a move in fashion towards an overall less fussy look. For everyday wear, TV stars like America Ferrera and Eva Longoria have recently been spotted adopting them, and even the usually on-trend A-listers like Julia Roberts have been photographed in a pair.





To the average shopper though, the return of bootcut jeans’ popularity is a great thing, as not only are they readily accessible at good value right across the High Street, but they are a staple of most of almost every jeans wearer’s wardrobe.