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Given that Amy Winehouse is front and centre of creative directors’ moodboards (hi, Seán McGirr at Alexander McQueen, Interpol have announced a UK tour, and Alexa Chung is in presenting mode (see the recent Louis Vuitton VIP arrivals live stream), you’d be forgiven for thinking that the world had been shot violently backwards to 2004. Particularly if like me, you saw Interpol play their first two albums back to back in the dark and beer-sticky confines of Birmingham Academy that year, and you’ve been confronted by the fact they are returning to old Blighty to celebrate the 20th anniversary of said tour.
Luckily, I can’t access many photographs of what I might have worn to that gig (I asked my husband to change my Facebook password in 2020), but I can imagine my interchangeable Topshop or H&M spray-on skinny jeans prevented much lower body movement, my monstrous side fringe made for basically zero visibility of the stage, and that the chance I’d have to peel one of my gold Topshop ballet flats from the Carling cup-caked floor as the lights came on was high.
For most of us who came of age listening to The Strokes and The Libertines, danced in clubs which were essentially cesspits (when smoking inside was still legal!), and pledged teenage allegiance to skinny scarves, spindly heels from charity shops and anything they could afford in American Apparel, the oft-threatened indie sleaze resurgence is enough to send shivers down their once indie Cindy spine. After all, legendary Soho nightclub Madame JoJos–which hosted renowned indie club night White Heat and impromptu acoustic performances by Jamie T–closed in 2015, Pete Doherty now lives in rural France and Blur’s Alex James spends more time making cheese than music (the less said about his “cheddar and tikka masala” flavor for Asda the better). Plus, I never want to pretend to like whiskey and coke, or Hadouken, again.
It appears however, that swerving the indie sleaze revival is not that simple. Mere weeks ago, Kate Moss–who alongside the unofficial Queen of Camden Lock Amy Winehouse, became the poster girl of indie-cool in the noughties–was seen shopping in the Cotswolds in a pair of low-rise (!) stonewashed skinny jeans, ballet flats and RayBans. Likewise, Miuccia Prada became the doyenne of the drainpipe, when ankle-squeezing denim appeared on the recent autumn/winter 2024 runway, teamed with a pair of chunky brogues which Carl Barat would approve of. Skinnies also made notable appearances on the Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen catwalks.
Naturally, conversation at Vogue HQ has turned to who still has skinny jeans in their wardrobe. Back home, I had a rummage through my own sizable stack of denim, which these days reflects a rotating commitment to the boyfriend fit, the bootcut, the emphatically baggy, the bell bottom and the flare. There’s Japanese selvedge denim, ripped denim, stonewashed denim, dark denim, but when it comes to the stretchy drainpipe silhouette, all traces of elastane have been abolished.
So, when tasked with test driving the skinny jean comeback, I turned to my old faithful denim brands for options: Mother, Agolde and Frame. Tempted by the taper? Read on to find out how I’d style the skinny jean now…
The dark denim skinny jean
When stylist Allison Bornstein devised the “wrong” shoe theory–the idea that the unlikeliest shoe completes a look–I find it unlikely she considered skinny jeans. Going through my usual roster of shoes, like stacks of chunky mules by Loewe, Studio Nicholson and Birkenstock, or colourful dad trainers by Hoka, On or Asics, it is clear they would look absurd and far too clunky and cumbersome with skinny jeans. For how to find the right shoe in this styling situation, I turned to my colleague Alice Newbold’s recent treatise on how Kate Moss consistently nails the skinny jeans look. Cue a roster of slender boots or spindly heels, and nothing too bulky or clumpy. Here, I’ve worn Agolde’s high-rise raw-hemmed Riley jean, in an elegant dark denim with a vintage pair of Miu Miu heeled Western boots, that sit snugly over the ankle. Even if you’re considering skinny jeans in 2024, you still need to hark back to indie sleaze staples of yore, so I’ve layered with a Supriya Lele leather jacket and a CDLP white vest top. To elongate the leg, I’ve left my waistband visible, for probably the first time in a decade!
The gray skinny jean
If you want to err away from elastane, Frame’s Le Mec jean has a looser fit, which still leans into indie sleaze aesthetics. I love this style in washed grey denim with subtle ripped details, which don’t feel like too much of a deviation from my go-to boyfriend or baggy jeans. Denim, a black blazer and a white tee is a classic office look, and is effortlessly simple and sleek here. As for the shoes, I’ve paired with my favorite Alaïa ballet flats, a shoe which is potentially more popular now than it was in 2005. This pair in question are now a couple of years old and have lost their fair share of studs…17-year-old mosh pit-obsessed me would be proud!
The high-waisted white skinny jean
Elegant and sleek, dark denim is a great way to tip a tapered toe back into the skinny jeans trend, but a pair in polar white is surely the most controversial. They also remind me of this 2006 Ebay auction–which featured a pair of Johnny Borrell’s famed white skinny jeans–that I was desperate to bid on. As a teen, my favourite pair of white jeans were from Topshop, and I wore them with needle-sharp tan kitten heels and a fake fur leopard print coat. Here, I’ve taken notes from Razorlight’s front man and paired AGolde’s Riley crop jeans, which sit flatteringly on the waist, with a white Toteme vest and an oversized Wrangler denim jacket. Accessories wise, I’ve lent into the mid ’00s affection for It-bags with an oversized Versace tote and smart Prada Mary Janes. When my husband saw this look he remarked: “Very Alexa Chung!” Surely a clear sign I’ve nailed the brief…
The mid-rise blue skinny jean
I have memories of being extremely uncomfortable in skinny jeans, but I think my mind is playing tricks on me! When I slipped on Mother’s Mid Rise Dazzler Ankle iteration I felt immediately more alive, buoyant and flexible. This is denim comfortable enough for a yoga class and I can’t for the life of my understand why I have been succumbing to stiff selvedge denim for so long. These are by far the most skintight pair of skinnies I have tried on, so to counterbalance the extreme bodycon below, I’ve paired them with an oversized striped shirt by H&M Studio up top. And in a look that just treads the right side of a Ziggy Stardust impersonator, I’ve finished up with of bright red Molly Goddard boots.
“Skinny jeans walked so that jeans in boots could run,” said my colleague Julia Hobbs, referencing Kate Moss’s affection for Vivienne Westwood pirate boots, Hunter wellies and Alaïa booties. Mossy famously paid tribute to David Bowie in 2003, with a Nick Knight-shot cover for British Vogue. Fingers crossed she approves of these!
Riley Straight High-Rise Regular-Fit Organic-Cotton Jeans
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The Hustler Ankle Flared High-Rise Stretch-Denim Jeans
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Riley High-Rise Straight-Leg Stretch-Organic-Denim Jeans
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Le Mec In Malibu
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