similar shirt (same brand) | jeans | boots | sunglasses
Hey, hey, hey!! The Mom Edit’s Cropped Flares Week….or Mom Jeans Week…or whatever else you may want to call them, has come a close. In case you’re coming late to this party, last week, each editor on the TME team was “forced” (haha) to give this trend an honest try. You can see how Amanda, Laura, Cam, Scotti and Jess all wore rocked them in their own ways.
Soooo…what did we learn from this past week? (Besides the fact that A. there are some really STRONG feelings on this trend and B. this trend is so diverse in cut that we’re not actually sure of the proper name….)
Well…first of all, there’s a strong element of WEAR WHAT YOU WANT. This trend is not necessarily about leg lengthening, or bum flattening, rather it’s about….fun. It’s about doing something different, it’s about wearing what makes you feel cool/sexy/edgy/whatever.
So for many of you – and you made yourselves very clear this past week – this trend isn’t for you. And obviously, that’s OK. But there are a bunch of us who are totally intrigued by this trend. So based on what we learned this past week, I’ve come up with a few general guidelines to help you get started.
(I’m always loathe to call them ‘rules’ which are totally made to be broken….)
1. Keep The Leg Lines Long (Cover the Skin Gap)
sweater (xs) | jeans (size 25, hemmed) | boots
As we demonstrated over and over this week…..the mid-shaft ankle boot (or sock boot) is the Cropped Flares’ best friend. Hands down, the easiest way to rock this silhouette – in ALL of it’s iterations: flare, bootcut, kick flare, or even tapered leg – is with a heeled ankle boot that completely closes the skin gap.
vest (size xs) | similar top (60% off!!) | jeans | boots | glasses
Below I’ve compared two pairs of cropped flares – one is shorter than the other, and the second doesn’t *quite* fit over my Sorel wedges. (My black sock boots work with both pairs of jeans, so I wanted to use a different boot to actually illustrate the problem.)
jean 1 (size 25, hemmed) | jean 2 (size 25P)
The half-tucked sweater does wonders for leg lengthening (showing off that high waist), but there’s no doubt that the jeans on the left are more flattering. I had kicked off this week talking about needing an “aggressive crop” since I’m only 5’2″….but it looks like you almost need to pick which shoes you plan on wearing, then figure out the right length. (We’ve done this before – remember bootcut jeans?)
Note for Northerners: Many of you were wondering about wearing this trend in the winter. First of all, start with long wool socks. In fact, in all of these pics, I have on a pair of knee-high Smartwool socks. You’d never know. Or if you have an old pair of tall boots….some of them could slide right up under your cropped flares for a truly warm option. I find that the wedge Sorels (as long as I haven’t cropped too much), are a good option, too.
sweater (size S) | jeans (size 25, hemmed) | boots
2. Try Nude Shoes
Nude shoes always seem to help trick the eye into thinking there’s a longer line than there actually is. I was surprised by how much I liked the nude booties with the cropped flares – even without a heel. I think a nude ballet flat would also work.
similar shirt (same brand) | jeans | boots | sunglasses
3. Heels Always Work
For some reason, high heels always look good with this silhouette. Even lower heels with ankle-straps.
4. Try a Less Dramatic Flare…
So this really comes down to personal preference….but in general, a smaller flare (a cropped bootcut, or kick flare) looks less dramatic than a true cropped flare. So if this silhouette makes you nervous, you may find the cropped bootcut easier to style.
In fact, I just did a closet-clean out with my dear friend, L. She’s never been a huge fan of skinny jeans, and has always rocked varying forms of cropped jeans, ranging from cropped straight legs to cropped bootcuts. She even wears them with her beloved ‘comfort boots’ …but as long as the skin gap is closed, it works!
5. …Or No Flare
Giant zipper? Check. Tapered leg? Check. Stiff, 1980’s fabric? Check. These are the mommest of the mom jeans….but for some inexplicable reason….I LOVE THEM SO SO MUCH.
My one word of caution: Giant, longer sweaters look terrible with the looser thigh. These jeans feel so sexy (and make me feel so curvy! #don’tlaugh) as long as my waist is showing via a half-tuck of the sweater.
I applied the same styling tips as above: cropping them just enough for my short self, but long enough to fit over my sock boots.
sweater – xxs | jeans – go up a size | boots
As my mom pointed out, we’ve now officially come full circle. Hello, Mom Jeans.
Shop Our Favorite Mom Jeans / Cropped Flares
xo,
S
