Some of you may disagree with me on this, but I think it needs to be said: I don’t like high-waisted jeans and shorts. I find them ugly with very few exceptions.** While they may be “one of summer 2007’s hottest trends”, this is one fashion craze that I’m just going to skip.
To me, the high-waisted jeans we’re seeing right now look unflattering at best. This is because they draw attention to the crotch-meets-thigh area, which is where many women carry weight. This makes them uncomfortable and unflattering. As an extra bonus, they often bag in the tummy area (see Mischa Barton at right), creating a weird, diaper-like “pouch” shape. Unless the sizing is exactly right, it’s not so cute.
Sure, maybe Nicole Richie was able to pull off a pair of high-waisted short-shorts with ease, but she has tiny legs and nothing in the way of a butt. Even the equally skinny Mischa Barton managed to make her frame look out of proportion to her top half when she rocked a similar pair.
Therefore, I won’t be caught dead in anything resembling a mom-jean. I’m not at all interested in looking like I’m wearing a baggy diaper and/or pregnant just so I can follow a celebrity trend.
My take on the Micha Barton jean trend is that it won’t last, and I couldn’t be happier about that. While I have no problems with jeans that aren’t super low-rise, I think that the new mom jean extreme is too ugly and impractical to remain popular for long. I also think pocket placement is big and wash matters here. Baggy diaper-style medium wash jeans are a no. Properly fitted styles have more potential.
Sorry over-40-mothers of America, the jeans you’ve been wearing since 1985 are not making a comeback for long. It’s really time to move on.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you love high-waisted jeans or loathe them like I do? I’d like to know your opinions so feel free to leave them in the comments!
** The only exception to the uglyness of high-waisted pants is when they aren’t denim and are worn trouser-style for work as seen on Mary-Kate Olsen here. I will admit that the look is extremely classy and cute.
idk i would rather have my jeans a litte too low because you can always wear a longer shirt to cover anything you want to hide! but you cant ever cover up unflattering bulk…magazines have been pushing this look for years and it just isn’t working for me…it has a little breeze under it’s wings right now but not enough to take off commercially…besides they are the most uncomfortable things iv’e tried in my life, not to mention im not a big fan of wearing anything my mom would wear…sorry mom
Gia, I dont think skinny jeans are going anywhere now that people are realizing that it is better to have jeans that fit right into your boots rather than having to fold your flared/bootcut pants to fit into boots because I know for a fact that by doing that it makes it bunch around my ankle and just plain uncomfortable if not painful.
http://www.drjays.com/shop/P512706/product.html (i have ordered these)
these are a gorgous pair of high waisted skninnys. I think skinnys look great with a high waist but i hate these washed out blue straight legged or flared mum jeans!!!!!!!!
they’re disgusting.
Dark blue skinnys look fab – i’ve just ordered these pair.
I adore the skinny cigarette pant look, but only if the leg follows the trend and fits snug all the way through. I am a size 00 and anything that gives me that hourglass look I crave is top in my book. Trend or no trend, wearing whatever is popular is always a bad idea because eventually something is bound to come into fashion that doesn’t flatter your particular body type. Wearing something classy that fits right and flatters your shape is always on trend, no matter what is being pushed at you. Take a tip from Coco “Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
Wear what you want just be aware of what looks good on you and you’ll always be fashionable
A great pair of skinny leg high waisted jeans in my opinion:
http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Bottoms/Pants/Time+To+Waist+Jeans
I think Mischa’s jeans are a terrible style for her! I like high-waisted jeans…but it totally depends on the design. In particular I like the corseted, or naval button-detail styles (ala kim Kardashian), because they split the body shape and don’t make it look like one continuous bulge. Also in my opinion I don’t think they suit people with larger middle section…apple shapes??
I agree with the comments about trends becoming a social norm. Not all styles are intended for every female figure…but they tend to grow on people…..I think skinny jeans are a the perfect example of this
…as they are now being made in all sizes are rises.
If a high-waisted jean is cut so the fabric is snug around the waist, as opposed to bulging around the waist, it could totally cure muffin tops.
Heyhooo….we’ll see if it filters into the mainstream like the skinny.
They flaunt a girl’s curves- what’s wrong with that? Zephyr, high-waisted pants only add 20 pounds if you have the wrong fit (like Mischa does). There are several great ways to wear them if you give them a chance. They look great with crop tops, for example.
oh god no. high-waisted jeans make everybody look like they have a muffin top. ugh, no thanks.
I love high waisted stuff! I own some high waisted, ripped up denim cut-offs and I don’t look like a mom at all because I wear funky shoes, shirts, jewelry and makeup with it. I also own some tan 50’s esque trousers and if I wear them with a black tank, they’re super cute! I don’t like the jeans shown here, but I wouldn’t knock all high waisted stuff. It’s all about how you wear it, like with all fashion! and I’m a size 4, myself.
I don’t care if they add twenty pounds. I find them comfortable and nice on me. I am a size 12 and they look great on me. I always hated super low-rise jeans, not because of muffin tops but because my butt could never fit in them. I also hate seeing crack. High-waisted jeans and shorts are awesome and can flatter many body types.
Hahahaha I think this is hilarious! In 2007 everyone was basically against this trend and now in 2013 it’s still around and even bigger than it was then! I don’t think this trend is going out of style anytime soon!
Sorry, but moms do NOT wear high rise jeans. 1985 was alooooong time ago. Moms today wear ugly low rise jeans, because they fear being labeled. I however, will be wearing nothing but high rise, as I have been doing for the last five years. Its now 2016, and they are still here, and still gaining ground. Love hi rise skinny, hi rise flares, and even hi rise boot cuts. My very fave are Levi’s hi rise skinnys, or else Levi 501’s thrifted from TADA!!!!! 1985. So, to whoever wrote this; suck it. 😉 I guess we can agree to disagree.
Did anyone else get here by googling “high waist jeans are ugly”?
yes!!!! 🙂
This article is just too funny. How how the times and styles change. Some people still despise high waisted jeans but I can’t live without them now. Of course, they are a bit different now than they were a decade ago. Bagging and sagging in those areas is still very unattractive, but a high quality denim holds shape well and hold in those problem areas.
I think that high waisted jeans look awful. Even Nicole Richie looked awful in them, in my opinion! I’m glad that the ultra-low-rise jean craze is wrapping up, but I hate the way fashion swings from one extreme to the other. I just want some nice mid-rise jeans for goodness sakes! I wish designers would stop trying to push the envelope and just make clothes that look great on people.
hey high waist can be nice sometimes
some can work it some cant(anything looks good if u can work it)
i like high waisted skirts and short shorts
high waisted jeans 4 me should be dark washed and skinny and a good fit
its quite classy.
btw i think they look nice on nicole
This is a bit late, but I just wanted to say that I LOVE high-waisted shorts/jeans/skirts/ ANYTHING! It’s quite flattering and makes my legs look longer. And I am sure as hell not a size 0 i’m a size 2/4 so yeah. low-rise causes love handles.
I know this article was from 9 years ago when the trend was just starting, but I still despise high rise jeans! Like every trend, they will go away, I just wish it could be sooner. It’s hard to find jeans I like anymore. To me, the main thing that I don’t like is that they are uncomfortable. Standing, they fit as they should, but sit down and they squeeze my stomach in to the point that I get a stomach ache. They hike up to my ribs and go into that awful pooch at my lower abdomen. No thanks. I lived through this terrible trend in the 80s and 90s, and was sooooo happy when low-rise jeans became the go-to. You can accent your natural waist (the thinnest part of your body, generally) without wearing high waist pants with a shirt that fits properly. 5-10 years from now (hopefully sooner) the trends will change and everyone will laugh at high-waisted pants, just like 80s and 90s youth laughed at bell-bottoms (the flares of the 70s). But, then in another 10 – 20 or so years, the high waist trend will be back.
I think too high or too low are equally unflattering, HOWEVER, Chloe Sevigny is living proof that a normal sized woman CAN pull off high waisted, and she has been rocking high waisted shorts, pants and jeans since way before it was “in” again. She also admitted that she has a “pouch” and high waisted jeans act as a corset effect sort of…anyway, I think it defines the waist and if correctly fitting, make one appear more streamlined.
Streamlined? We ain’t sharks 😛
I think that high-waisted pants show off a female’s natural waist, the smallest part of the torso. They don’t allow muffin-tops, which I HATE. [Check out Cybill Shepard in The Last Picture Show, that’s how they’re supposed to look!]
On the other hand, I suppose that only slimmer(but not just skinny!) body types could get away with wearing them more… And the mom-pants argument is a good point, but if you buy the right cut and style you won’t look like your mom. Mischa’s jeans in that pic are just embarassing, those pants just suck!
But I’m really done with low-waisted pants, they hit at the widest part of our bodies and that’s not flattering on anyone.
It is now 2020 and you’re ABSOLUTELY right. I Just. Don’t. Get it.
You’re also 100% correct about there being *very few exceptions*. I am nearly 35 so I realize that the age gap is a huge thing. I also realize that with women’s empowerment in the last 5 or so years, that many women wear them because they’re comfortable and they just don’t give an F if guys find them attractive or not. On a personal note my husband, who is 5 years my senior, finds them, and I quote, “absolutely repulsive”. So I realize the age gap is the main factor for the difference in views on mom jeans and high waisted jeans. Hell, we even hate skinny jeans and have since they made their unfortunate debut. We’re old. We’re the bootcut, low- rise and even the occasional JNCO type people. Which is fine. Everyone’s different.
However, no one can tell me they are an “attractive” and “fashion-forward” option of jeans. That’s a lie. Don’t lie to me. They make the vast majority of women look frumpy and boxy. Now, I have seen a few STICK THIN girls pull this trend off surprisingly well. I saw a young girl yesterday wearing high waisted black skinny jeans paired with a skin tight black tank top. She had quite the waifish figure, appearing like a little dark fairy. A beautiful, little, dark fairy. She was sporting some black mid-high heels.
But ladies, you’ve gotta accept something: we’re not all waifish size double zeros with virtually no chest and tiny adorable little booties. And those girls are LITERALLY the only body type this is attractive on. And hey, kudos to them! I’d kill for that body type but I know my body and my best physical assets and I know what looks good on me. And WAY more importantly, I love my body. Sure I’ve got flaws. Who doesn’t?
So when it comes down to it, if you learn what works for you and makes you feel good, that’s what really matters right?
P.S……. they still never be “fashionable”.
Even in the eighties, high waist anything wasn’t flattering. It wasn’t back then, I doubt it ever was (but nobody said anything about it in the distant past), and frankly, it never will be. Low waist is just okay, but it depends who’s sporting it. It looks great on somebody with a so-called “hot-bod”, but if you’re overweight or underweight, low waist won’t work. Mid waist and form fitting suits pretty much everybody and mid waist will always be my go-to for both comfort and somewhat sexy at the very least.